merlinrkd

Picked up an '08' Fuji Absolute for a short friend. It's a 15" frame size. Clean original except for the cables. It has Jagwire cables. The brakes levers take way to much effort. The caliper centering springs are adjusted overly tight to ensure they return to center. Pulled the brake cable system apart. Found there's a whole lot of drag in the noodles. Bought a 4 set package of new generic noodles off Amazon. They drag also. Tried a new inner brake cable wire thru the new noodles and it drags. I thot brake cables are a standard diameter. Do noodles have different I.D. measurements?

3alarmer 

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...at a minimum, I would need a few decent photos to hazard a guess at the issue. Even then, I'm uncertain.
You can measure the diameter of your cables with a caliper, and the openings of the noodles similarly.

Sometimes used bikes can get modified with different parts in unnatural ways, so don't assume brake noodles were on there originally.
Fuji used that name for a long time, before the current owners of the brand name re-envisioned it. So I honestly don't have a clue about what you are working on.

merlinrkd

Im working with new noodles. Checked their internal fit with a new brake wire and the inner Jagwire wires that came on the bike. Both brake wires drag noticeably using new noodles. I did compare both inner wires with my micrometer. They are within a thousanth or two. I don't know why.

Andrew R Stewart 

Do the new noodles have a plastic liner tube? Andy

merlinrkd

They are new. New noodles come with a liner ??? It's obvious to me the lining sleeves are too tight on my brake wires. I'm looking for some guidance as to why.

hokiefyd 

Noodles and brake cable are pretty standard. I've never seen a case where a noodle or its liner was not large enough for a standard brake cable. Yes, the noodles should have a liner in them. You can pull the cable stop out of the top of the noodle (or "push" the liner out through the top with the brake cable inserted into the exit end). With the liner out, does the cable slide smoothly through it? It should.

dabac

.... for a given value of ”smoothly”...
It should move easily. But IMO you often get a ”notchy” feeling when pulling the brake lever. The cable does move smoother when its running through the noodle.
Not to mention that it’s entirely possible to saw your way through the noodle in a surprisingly short time if you don’t use the noodle liner.

cxwrench

You sure it's the noodles and not the housing?

kingjason

Did you waller out the holes at each end? I will be the first to admit I never knew this until recently, but in my defense, I cut them with a Dremel so never had an issue. Still, it makes it better.

JoeTBM 

Noodles come in various variations of bending arcs, maybe you have the wrong ones? Maybe too much arc. Maybe a combination of the routing of the housing and the arc of the noodle. Really tough to guess without pics. IMO checking the diameter of the inner wire would be the last thing I would suspect.

Eric S.

I'm pretty sure I tossed the liners on my two MTB commuters with V-brakes (built them up years ago). I seem to remember one being pushed out as I fed the brake cable so I just yanked it. Put a couple drops of Tri-Flow in them, everything works fine.

merlinrkd

It's not the housing. It's the 90 degree bend. I pulled the liner out and there is no friction between it and the wire when it's straight. I'm comparing this setup to my late 90's XT V brakes on my Cannondale M1000. Those are delightfully light and smooth. I'll pull the M1000 out of storage and compare this week.

merlinrkd

Update: I found the Amazon noodle I was using had a defect. There is a small burr inside the aluminum housing. It's small but bumps into the nylon liner. I switched housings and used Shimano premium grease on the cable and it works OK.