My rear Ultegra lever has gone very notchy on the brakes, to the point that when on the hoods its a two stage braking process overcoming resistance past the “notch” which doesn’t inspire confidence.

I’ve undone the cable at the caliper and when its not under tension it feels smooth through the outers.

What could be wrong and what to do to fix it – I need this quick as I’m off to Flanders Friday and don’t have bar tape etc to re-cable etc..? Nothing has changed on the bike recently.

Thanks

Stick a new cable in anyway and check the nipple areas on the outers.

I don’t have one, and don’t want to untape the bars.

You could thread a new inner through without bothering the tape,then check the ends that are showing on the outer.Have the brake blocks maybe got a wear ridge on them?
Oh,and check that the wheel is in square and hasn’t moved.

Ridged brake block is the most likely reason. When was the last time you took the pads out and picked out the grit then “faced” and de-glazed the pads with wet ‘n dry?

I know roadies don’t need brakes very often, especially those who live in flat parts of the country but the pads do need some maintenance.

I happens even before the pads touch the rim. There’s a “notch” to overcome before the lever will move past a certain point, but only under tension.

You can hear it through the bike, its at the front end.

When the cable is slack ,look inside the lever and check that the 2 wee washers are on the cable holder.

check the little barrel inside the brifter is seated right- i dont mean the cable end , i mean the round bit that the cable end sits inside , those can come unseated some times.

*that bit

Check the caliper bush hasn’t corroded.

New bike

assuming it is definitely before pads contact rim, and is not an issue with the calliper, ie: you can feel it in the cable when hand tested when not connected to calliper then some likely causes are:

– damaged cable under the tape (internal sleeve may have worn)
– acute bend in cable outer under tape (probably would have always felt bad unless caused internal wear like above)
– cable end not seating fully in barrel
– barrel not seating fully in lever
– damaged barrel/seat

Also make sure you check all the other cable entry/exit points for damaged ferrules or grit/foreign bodies etc. Noises and feelings can sometimes migrate and appear to be coming from one place when in fact it’s elsewhere.

I need this quick as I’m off to Flanders Friday and don’t have bar tape etc to re-cable etc..?

I know hindsight is great, but it’s for precisely these type of issues that I make sure I always have a full spare set of brake and gear cables for both MTB and road bike sitting in a box, along with a pair of new grips and bar tape (and chain/cassette as well actually!). It’s easy to have them on standby and then replace the ‘spares’ when you use them or spot a deal.

my last Defy did that after a few years – new inners and outers sorted it.

check the little barrel inside the brifter is seated right- i dont mean the cable end , i mean the round bit that the cable end sits inside , those can come unseated some times.

*that bit

Seated fine. without a cable in it the caliper moves smoothly, a new cable is on the way, and everything has had a bath in GT85…

“a new cable is on the way”

hope your going to flanders on friday night if its coming via mail 😉 issues like these are what LBS’s excel at.

No, I sent Mrs Kryton off to the LBS. Its Half term and the kids love looking at bikes so 2 birds one stone etc…

I already have some non matching black outer.

^^^^^ so you’ll be getting outers and bar tape as well then ? 🙂

edit – too slow !

Ok, front cover off and the cable moves back out (forwards) from the lever with no retriction.

I can all the components back to the hole to the bar, all is in place exactly the same as the other lever.

I guess I’ll try the new cable, but I’m fairly sure the old outer is worn right under the tape at the “curve” of the bar, then when under tension the cable is sticking on a worn groove in the outer.

All the movement & GT85 has made things slightly less sticky, I may just have to go carefully in Flanders until I can re-tape the bar next week.

If you’re careful you should be able to just unwrap back to the lever, replace the outer and the re-wrap the original tape.

Or ask your Mrs to pick up some tape for you while at the LBS 😉

Or buy some tape when you get there/on the way and re-wrap before you start your ride, it only takes a few mins.

Yep, none of the LBS have my preference (Giant SLR).

I’m going with this tonight

If you’re careful you should be able to just unwrap back to the lever, replace the outer and the re-wrap the original tape.

If it all goes pear shaped I can and get some bar tape x 2 tomorrow, I can’t possible ride around with non-matching bar tape. 🙂

you know bar tape comes in a pack of 2 right

but this is why i use non sticky backed plain black tape and rely on the tension to hold it ….

ive wrapped and unwrapped the same tape countless times.

You will be fine,just stay away from the angle grinder 😛

most modern cork/padded stuff does but you can still get fabric and leather as singles 😉

‘but you can still get fabric and leather as singles’

didnt realise it was for his velocipede sorry.

I want the more padded SLR tape, this is Flanders we are talking about, and I like my zones of familiarity.

A bar tape I’ve not used before will worry me almost to death for precisely no reason whatsoever, its how I’m wired.

Compromising a day in Flanders for the sake of redoing the tape on the bars…..

Buy new tape and cables, easy 30mins, job done.

Ahem

If it all goes pear shaped I can and get some bar tape x 2 tomorrow,