Broken cable guide

IdahoBrett

IdahoBrett

Well-Known Member
While troubleshooting a binding rear brake on my BL I put too much stress on a cable guide and it broke. They must get brittle with age as I don’t think I had a lot of force on the plastic guide.

Any suggestions for a fix would be greatly appreciated.


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IdahoBrett

IdahoBrett

Well-Known Member
I found the reason for the binding rear brake. It was in the cable housing. A flat spot that is right where the housing has to make a bend exiting the brake lever.

Fortunately I had another new section of 11/87 dated Dia Compe housing. Installed, re-wrapped bars and ops check normal. Now I await the arrival of the cable guide via ebay.

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black lightning 1987

black lightning 1987

Moderator
Staff member
Those printed ones may be the only thing available these days. A long time Cannondale dealer might have some originals. I have a dealer about 50 miles away who still has some old parts.
 
W

willmill

Member
I’m glad you found a solution on eBay — good to know. When my original 1998 plastic housing guides failed I was able to salvage by glueing them back together (and glueing them to the top tube with an epoxy glue). It only bought a few years. I am so thankful the Vintage C’dale store had the good A113’s 5-7 years ago. Also, sort of related: my 650b all-rounder (2014 VO Polyvalent MK3) has a similar uninterrupted housing and brazed-on top-tube housing guides. Brazed-on is such a better design.

PS The above close-up photo of vintage aluminum large-diameter tubing and downtube shifters just makes me happy.
 
Brian

Brian

Administrator
Staff member
FYI, the 3D printed will flex and possibly break. These sold on eBay were one of the main reasons I stopped my CNC A113. PLA can crack and snap.
 
IdahoBrett

IdahoBrett

Well-Known Member
Brian said:
FYI, the 3D printed will flex and possibly break. These sold on eBay were one of the main reasons I stopped my CNC A113. PLA can crack and snap.
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Unfortunately I wasn’t around when you were selling good ones.

Other than robbing them off another Cannondale I’m at the mercy of what’s available only on ebay.
 
Brian

Brian

Administrator
Staff member
Yeah, I’m just saying. I 3D print. And it is not strong. Just saying. It is layers that can fail. I say use them till it breaks. They are cheap. :)
 
Pfmedic

Pfmedic

Member
I started restoring my bike a month ago and was late to the game. However, I talked with one vendor on eBay that appeared to be selling a superior product compared to the others, so I asked him what filament he uses for his a113 cable guides. He told me he uses Elegoo ABS. I then asked ChatGPT to weigh in and it said that material is good to go for this application. I posted a photo in case anyone is looking to make this purchase from this vendor on eBay.
 

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JohnnyD

JohnnyD

Well-Known Member
Pfmedic said:
I don’t own a ton of bikes but I will say that my r400 is very fast and a joy to ride.
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So you are saying that a 33 year old aluminum alloy bike is fast and fun to ride? Better not let the marketing department at Cannondale hear that, they will tell you that you need a new carbon fiber wonder that requires a home refinance to purchase to ride fast and have fun doing it.
 
J

JinWV

New Member
IdahoBrett said:
Ordered these from ebay

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I ordered a couple sets of these awhile back and they were terrible. The tunnel for the housing was too small the pin/rivet head rests proud making the entrance for the housing even smaller. I took a dremel to both enough to allow the cable housing to pass only to realize after that the pin/rivet does nothing to actually hold the cable guide in place because the stem is so much smaller than the hole in the frame. This was on a 1990 SM2000.

I also paid to have someone print a couple versions from free files and they both were to brittle and broke on installation.

This other offering on ebay looks pretty good aside from the ridiculous price. Printing cost about $2 a piece.
 
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