Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Road Cycling
Reload this Page >

cantilever brake cable popped out

Notices
Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

cantilever brake cable popped out

Old 10-05-22, 10:05 PM
  #1  
Frenzen
Junior Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: Montreal, QC, Canada
Posts: 179
Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 94 Post(s)
Liked 12 Times in 10 Posts
cantilever brake cable popped out

Hello, today I was biking rather quickly and someone in front of me braked super hard and I had to use both of my brakes to stop. However my front cantilever brake cable popped out of the brake cable hanger, thus making it inefficient and I had a little accident but I did not crash or anything. The straddle cable was still in tact. Either way I think it was my fault since there was little to none of the braking cable hanging on the hanger and was not tight enough. Do appreciate any other advice as I will be replacing the brake cable and not bike as fast.
Frenzen is offline  
Old 10-06-22, 04:04 AM
  #2  
delbiker1 
Mother Nature's Son
 
delbiker1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Sussex County, Delaware
Posts: 3,111

Bikes: 2014 Orbea Avant MD30, 2004 Airborne Zeppelin TI, 2003 Lemond Poprad, 2001 Lemond Tourmalet, 2014? Soma Smoothie

Mentioned: 14 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 838 Post(s)
Liked 1,414 Times in 801 Posts
You pretty much answered your question on advice. With properly operating brakes, and appropriate circumstances, nothing wrong with a lot of speed. I love to go fast, and I like excellent braking just as much.
delbiker1 is offline  
Old 10-06-22, 04:20 AM
  #3  
Jeff Neese
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 1,486
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1080 Post(s)
Liked 681 Times in 438 Posts
The first thing that popped out at me was "I had to use both of my brakes to stop." That implies that you normally only use your rear brake, and that when you had to stop suddenly, you did something you don't normally do, which was engage the front brake.

Always use both hands for braking. Always, always, always. Even if you're just slowing down or coming to a gentle stop, you want to train your muscle memory to be reaching for both brakes. And you should exercise those brakes by practicing your panic stops occasionally. Know how your bike (and you) are going to behave when you have to stop suddenly. What happened to you is exactly why. You're not used to using the front brake and so your brain had to "remember" that it was there - you didn't reach for it instinctively. And then you discovered that your front brake wasn't working correctly anyway. And even if it had been, you're not used to engaging the front brake and under the panic-stop situation, you might have sent yourself over the handlebars.

Fix your brakes, then find a nice place to practice hard braking. Use both brakes and get a feel for it. Most of all, make sure your brakes are fully operational before you hit the road. When you're about to hit something is not the time to find out your brakes don't work right, or that you don't know how to handle the bike under sudden stops.

Last edited by Jeff Neese; 10-06-22 at 12:50 PM.
Jeff Neese is offline  
Old 10-06-22, 11:48 AM
  #4  
Frenzen
Junior Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: Montreal, QC, Canada
Posts: 179
Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 94 Post(s)
Liked 12 Times in 10 Posts
Originally Posted by Jeff Neese
The first thing that popped out at me was "I had to use both of my brakes to stop." That implies that you normally only use your rear brake, and that when you had to stop suddenly, you did something you don't normally do, which was engage the front brake.

Always use both hands for braking. Always, always, always. Even if you're just slowing down or coming to a gentle stop, you want to train your muscle memory to be reaching for both brakes. And you should exercise those brakes by practicing your panic stops occasionally. Know how your bike (and you) are going to behave when you have to stop suddenly. What happened to you is exactly why. You're not used to using the front brake and so your brain had to "remember" that it was there - you didn't reach for it instinctively. And then you discovered that your front brake wasn't working correctly anyway. And even if it had been, you're not used to engaging the front brake and under the panic-stop situation, you might have sent yourself over the handlebars.

Fix your brakes, then find a nice place to practice hard breaking. Use both brakes and get a feel for it. Most of all, make sure your brakes are fully operational before you hit the road. When you're about to hit something is not the time to find out your brakes don't work right, or that you don't know how to handle the bike under sudden stops.
Thanks for the advice and you are pretty much spot on because I am used to using my rear brake!
Frenzen is offline  

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.