Ess4Bee

Hi All,

I've been fixing up a 1985 Fuji roadbike with Dia-Compe brakes and AGC-250 levers. The previous owners had clearly not taken care of the bike, so I decided to totally disassemble the brakes, lube everything, put in new pads, and put in new cables and housing. The front brakes now work great, but the rear brakes are proving to be utterly impossible to get working. I'll get the brakes nicely set up, go for a ride, and after a dozen hard pulls of the lever, the rear brakes are loose and no longer apply sufficient force to stop the wheel. Essentially the "bite point" requires a larger pull each time until it runs out of travel and a full pull wont apply the brakes.

I have a pretty good idea of at least part of the problem. No matter how much tape (first electrical, then shipping tape) I use to attach the brake cable housing to the handlebar before wrapping it with handlebar tape, the lever always draws the end of the housing into the lever assembly. With each pump of the brakes, the lever will increasingly fail to return to the fully open position because the housing is blocking the first portion of its range of motion. However, this doesn't really explain to me why the "bite point" is moving. If anything, I would expect the brakes to jam on. Does anyone have any ideas?

Other possible contributing factors: There is a little play in the lever simply due to wear, but it's quite minor. Additionally, I had to make a small adjustment to how the rear brakes are mounted, but I don't see why the mounting of the rear brake calipers to the frame would cause the brake cable to come out of adjustment.

I would really appreciate any advice on how to fix this.

KCT1986

The early AGC levers I had, 1985 or so, had a large hole in the lever body that used a threaded ferrule for the brake housing end. This reduced the diameter and provided a solid stop for the housing. Another option was to use a alloy domed shaped ferrule that was large enough to provide a stop and also provide some leeway for the housing to adapt to the exit angle to the handlebar.

A large alloy ferrule on the housing end will provide the stopper that you need.

dsbrantjr

Perhaps the large ferrule included with this kit would do the trick: https://www.amazon.com/Bell-PITCREW-.../dp/B01F44P7EK It is made to fit the older Schwinn/Weinmann brake levers but might fit, with perhaps a little file work.

Ess4Bee

I found NOS of both components on bike repair supply websites. I just ordered both and we'll see which one works best! I'll report back once they arrive for anyone finds this thread in the future.

KCT1986

Pic of the cable ends that DiaCompe provided back in the day. The hole in the lever body is aprox. 6.5mm, so a alloy ferrule with a thick OD will work.

Back in the day, when installing these levers, either was used depending on the cable housing flexibility and routing style.

OP, glad you were able to source the parts. Don't forget to check your front lever, wouldn't want that one to fail when it is really needed.

Ess4Bee

Could you explain where the the threaded ferrule screws in? I was slightly incorrect in my original post; I have AGC 251 levers, rather than AGC 250. I understand how the round one works -- it doesn't fit through the hole at the back of lever. However, I don't remember seeing anything threaded. I'd include a picture or the schematic, but I can't include attachments until I have a few more posts!

Sigh. My beautiful, new bar tape is getting all messed up. Then again, stopping is nice too.

KCT1986

The hole in the bracket that you're running the cable up through should be threaded. You use either one on the cable housing end. If your housing fits tightly to the threaded one, you can use that to screw in, if not use needle nosed pliers. Removing the handlebar clamp will give you more room if you need to go with pliers. Doesn't need to be really tight, it's just a stop for the housing. The 251 has a smaller bracket but should be the same, mines are.

You'll get it when you try it.

KCT1986

Forgot to mention, the threaded one has the benefit of keeping the housing end lined up better for future inner cable replacement. The domed end's play may not allow easy cable replacement later, depending on how it sit in the hole. Then you get to pull the lever and re-tape again.

70sSanO

Is this what you have, or don't have...




The easiest way is to look at the left lever that is working to see what you are missing.

John

Edit added: Upon further review, you probably have the rounded ones since the threaded ones only come out if you go to the trouble of unscrewing them. You can find the rounded ones on ebay for more than you want to pay, or worth... unless you don't have one. Maybe if there at a co-op close by.

Ess4Bee

I nearly forgot to provide an update! The threaded ferrules worked perfectly. It took a bit of finesse to get them screwed in, but it immediately solved the problem. I also tried the non-threaded one from a few posts above, but I found that it wouldn't take my new brake cable -- the cable was too large in diameter. We had a warm, wet day up here in the northeast over the weekend and I had no problems whatsoever on a 40 mile ride. Thanks for the help, everyone!

KCT1986

Glad it worked out for you.

The domed one may be a little smaller since not all cable housing at that time had interior lining and were slightly thinner. During those days we sometime had to strip off the plastic casing to get it fit into levers and caliper adjusters.

You're at 8 posts, 2 more and you can show us pics of your Fuji.