Viewing 21 posts - 1 through 21 (of 21 total)
  • Tips for straightening out a bent brake lever :(
  • bigyinn
    Free Member

    Following a bit of an off this afternoon, I am now the proud owner of an XT Servowave disc lever with a bent blade 🙁

    Pending replacement (depending on cost) I’d like to try and straighten it out a bit. I realise its been weakened a bit already, but its rather awkward to use.

    I guess its maybe out by 10mm at the end.

    What suggestions please?

    PeteG55
    Free Member

    Leave as is, its alu and is highly unlikely to straighten out without breaking.

    redthunder
    Free Member

    Cut the bent bit off, Sculpt a new knob with a file.

    Knob.. snigger

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    rOcKeTdOg
    Full Member

    ring spanner will do it, but it may snap it

    bigyinn
    Free Member

    Hmm, as I suspected then. Will see what is available from UK Bikestore then….

    bigyinn
    Free Member

    £39.99 for just the lever blade? 😯 Bargain when i can get the whole lever for £36.99 from CRC. 😕
    Anyway, some fiddling in the shed followed by gentle manipulation in the trusty B&D workmate and I now have a straight lever blade again. 😀

    seanodav
    Free Member

    I straightened mine about 4 month ago been fine ever since

    johnfb
    Free Member

    Same here, got mine back good-enough-straight 12 months ago with a breaker bar, a block of wood and a bit of gentle pressure.

    coatesy
    Free Member

    To prevent it cracking(which it rarely does anyway), remove the lever blade, coat it in household soap, heat it with a blowlamp until the soap turns black, and straighten it straight away. This is called annealing, and helps prevent work-hardening in aluminium, one of the few things they taught me in metalwork that’s useful afterwards.

    jedi
    Full Member

    stick a seat post over it and bend it back. worst case you buy a new blade

    69er
    Free Member

    Don’t bend it cold! It will snap eventually, probably when you’re sqeezing really hard…

    +1 coatsey ^^^^^^

    _tom_
    Free Member

    I re-bent my avid lever back with a seatpost, and very gently.

    DT78
    Free Member

    As jedi says – bending over a seatpost worked great when I did the same to my LX lever 2 years ago, still going strong.

    cynic-al
    Free Member

    Bent and straightened mine years ago, still OK.

    Andy-R
    Full Member

    coatesy
    To prevent it cracking(which it rarely does anyway), remove the lever blade, coat it in household soap, heat it with a blowlamp until the soap turns black, and straighten it straight away.

    Or, instead of using soap as a temperature indicator, you can heat the aluminium until you can “write” on it with a matchstick (the plain end) – ie the matchstick leaves a charcoal mark (obviously no use on black anodised aluminium).
    You should quench in cold water immediately after heating, BTW.

    bigyinn
    Free Member

    Bit late now I’ve already done it! 😉

    There’s always next time.

    WorldClassAccident
    Free Member

    Ride the same route backwards and see if you crash at the same place but in reverse and it will bend itself back

    Worth thinking about for next time

    Andy
    Full Member

    Only possible on a fixie MTB though WCA? 😕

    WorldClassAccident
    Free Member

    People ride other types?

    bigyinn
    Free Member

    Oi! Take your niches elsewere, this is a clean thread. Perverts.

Viewing 21 posts - 1 through 21 (of 21 total)

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