Wisper 905SE Brakes

[wibble]

Yep, I too would love a link!.

The brakes are definitely a concern for me and something that I've been meaning to address. I just keep putting it off because of all that gunk that's holding the cables together.

Was it easy to unravel the cables and replace them?

 

[wibble]

Found and ordered!:

Goodridge Brake Cable Kit - Cables - Brake - 17.99 GBP - Free P & P to UK & Ireland, Cheap International Rates. Next day delivery from Europes Largest Online Bikeshop.


They're quite expensive, but they could literally save my life.

"Because I'm worth it.."

 

[the_killjoy]

Wibble, can you give us an update when you have fitted them. Personally I would tape them to the original cables rather than unwrap them ~ then I am naturally lazy.

 

[Mussels]

Mussels, do I take it that you have kept the original brake and have just changed the cable?

Can you give a link to the cable you bought.

Thanks

It is the original brake with the red adjuster that doesn't do much and wibble has the link I got them from.

Was it easy to unravel the cables and replace them?

Yes it was easy*, took about an hour to do front and back. Took me a while to figure out the front brake setup but it isn't difficult really and I replaced one of the front pads as it had worn at an angle where it was set up badly before.
The original cable outers looked well terminated so it may be possible to fit just a front inner to get a big improvement, this will cost about £2 from most shops and can be fitted in ten minutes. I'm happy I took the time to fit the Goodridge kit as feel to the back is much better now but for someone who does less mileage it may not be worth the investment.
* The cable and outer are not easy to cut, I used a large set of DIY wirecutters but it took a lot of effort and a bit of work hardening. Recommended is a set of good cable cutters but you're looking at about £20 for them, a Dremel with a disk cutter will probably be good as well but not a hacksaw.

 

[the_killjoy]

Flecc will probably say you shouldn't do it but, if I want to shorten an inner cable I run some solder in where I want to cut it to stop it unravelling (if using a small hacksaw).

 

[Mussels]

One side effect of the cable upgrade seems to be the disintegration of my rear pads, they have worn at an incredible rate. I have replaced them tonight with some Clark's premium MTB pads so I'll see how these fare.

 

[wibble]

me waits patiently for my cable cutter to arrive from Wiggle...

 

[wibble]

me looks at all that wrapping around the cables and decides to put off replacing them until another day.

Maybe tomorrow...

 

[Mussels]

me looks at all that wrapping around the cables and decides to put off replacing them until another day.

Maybe tomorrow...

It's much easier than it looks to remove the wrapping, it's not sticky at all and more like the cheap cable tidies that computer shops sell. You may want to take a photo before dismantling it so you can see how it goes back neatly, I didn't but it wasn't hard to guess.

 

[wibble]

Wibble's log..

Star date - 14th Oct 2008


New cables finally connected!. WOOT!

I couldn't wrap them back up the way they originally were because the new cables aren't as flexible, which I suppose is a good thing as it shows that the outers are made from stronger stuff.

I'll get to test them out tomorrow to see if they're any better..


Over and out..

 

[Mussels]

I'll get to test them out tomorrow to see if they're any better..

They shouldn't feel at all spongy now, when I did mine they felt much harder with me not able to pull the lever back to the grip as I was doing before. If the disk is correctly adjusted it will feel much more like a hydraulic system with braking controlled more by pressure than actual lever movement.

 

[wibble]

Best report in or you'll be thinking my new brakes have failed and I'm tangled up under a tractor somewhere.

I'm happy to say my brakes are now much better.

I expect my brake pads to last longer now because I wont have to constantly apply them in order to hold back on my speed when going downhill. Previously I had to constantly limit my speed in case something popped up in front of me.

 

[Mandy]

Hi Guys
Whilst I agree the cables on the Wisper are a bit spongy/stretchy, has anyone's actually snapped/torn?
I am still riding with mine after 9 months and whilst yes they do need tightening on a regular basis they have not let me down yet
I guess they will give up eventually but I am sure both won't go at the same time?
I am just holding out and will put them to the test I guess, so will let you know how long they last and boy I apply that pressure as don't go slow!!!

 

[wibble]

Hi Guys
Whilst I agree the cables on the Wisper are a bit spongy/stretchy, has anyone's actually snapped/torn?
I am still riding with mine after 9 months and whilst yes they do need tightening on a regular basis they have not let me down yet
I guess they will give up eventually but I am sure both won't go at the same time?
I am just holding out and will put them to the test I guess, so will let you know how long they last and boy I apply that pressure as don't go slow!!!

I use my old Wisper cables as knicker elastic.

Seriously though - you may find that your brakes get better as time goes on as they should become less stretchy. My fancy new brake cables were prestretched and so worked straight out of the box.

I dunno how they prestrech them. Maybe they get all the old brake cables that were thrown away in China? hehe

Brake cables in general are very very strong and I've never known one to snap. Me and my friends used to ride BMX's when we were younger and we did all those silly tricks that involved very heavy brake usage and not once did a cable snap.

 

[Mandy]

I use my old Wisper cables as knicker elastic.

Seriously though - you may find that your brakes get better as time goes on as they should become less stretchy. My fancy new brake cables were prestretched and so worked straight out of the box.

I dunno how they prestrech them. Maybe they get all the old brake cables that were thrown away in China? hehe

Brake cables in general are very very strong and I've never known one to snap. Me and my friends used to ride BMX's when we were younger and we did all those silly tricks that involved very heavy brake usage and not once did a cable snap.

Hi Wibble

LOL!!! I will bear that in mind when mine needs replacing, knicker elastic that is

Well I will officially test them to the end and take them to their limmit!

I still have the original tyres too but do have a pair of Marathon plus in the shed if needed. Had one pucture so far after running over a large shard of glass but fingers crossed eh

I love watching the stunts people do on the BMX's and it is reassuring to know the cables shouldn't snap.

Happy Leccy Biking!

 

[the_killjoy]

Has anyone else changed their brake cables besides Wibble and Mussels ?
I know I should but it does seem like a lot of money for a couple of cables, or am I just tight ?

 

[torrent99]

Has anyone else changed their brake cables besides Wibble and Mussels ?
I know I should but it does seem like a lot of money for a couple of cables, or am I just tight ?

I think "Phil the Drill" might have done it too (from memory)! However, Bob "Blew It" traced the problem to the brake levers which are made of plastic. (Wisper upgraded the brake levers last year because of this problem).

PM David "Wisper Bikes" and I'm sure he'll add you to the list of people (me included) wanting the new more solid levers.

 

[Mussels]

Has anyone else changed their brake cables besides Wibble and Mussels ?
I know I should but it does seem like a lot of money for a couple of cables, or am I just tight ?

It is a fair bit of money, if you do go down the brake cable route you only need to change the front.

 

[the_killjoy]

I do have the metal levers

 

[Mussels]

I do have the metal levers

You brake may not be set up right, does the disk flex at all when you pull the lever?