I went riding in Northern MN this weekend and found that my rear brake cable was frozen. I may have gotten some water in there when cleaning etc. After it warms up enough to thaw, it works as it should. Any idea how to remedy this? I had to back the adjuster off just to take it off of the trailer.

 

Take the rear brake cable off the machine and then dry it out inside the house, get a pressure-lube type of fitting (they come with the can for some types of pressure lube brands) and put in some silicone-based oil, working the inner cable back and forth to work it in. Before you remount the cable, slip some fairly tight O-rings over the inner cable at each end, right next to the outer cable to keep the dirt out, or buy some concertina-type rubber end boots for the cable at a bicycle shop. Do this every fall and also remember to clean out and re-lube the cable whenever you get it muddy or well-dunked, as the oil will carry abrasive grit into the outer cable and then wear out the inner cable. If all that is too much hassle, then just fit a new brake cable every fall and carry a small butane torch to heat it up if it freezes up. Would it ever be a good idea if one of the accessory makers would come up with a water-tight cover for the whole rear end of the brake-arm and cable-end, where it joins the rear axle, or maybe an electrical heater with a switch, for that end of the cable.

 

ya mean ya mighta got some BEER in der dontcha?

 

as a regular Minnesota snow rider, I always relube all my cables every "late fall"... it pushes out whats left over from the summers "fun", & the lube helps keep melting snow out...

 

I'm not saying that it isnt the brake cable, but I had a similar problem with mine. The cable moved freely, but the lever going into the rearend is what was actually freezing up. I kind of just ignore it right now since I dont ride in the winter much(I'm away at school), but I think if you put some grease over the opening it should be ok. Someone correct me if I'm wrong please cause I want to do the same thing to mine.

 

The lever moves freely, the cable does not. I backed the adjuster off all the way, and the lever returned to it's proper position. Thanks for the replies people, I will try to remove and lube the cable this weekend.

 

gtchief,
I had the lever freeze up on my kfx 700 as well.

 

Mine was froze earlier this spring. I was going to buy a new cable if necessary but removing the cable did not look like a fun job so...

I disconnected the cable at both ends, made a small funnel that sealed to the lever end of the cable, filled the funnel with a light oil and let gravity do it's thing over night. By morning I had oil coming out the other end of the cable. An old trick I learned about 20 yrs ago, still works good. Reconnected and adjusted, no problems since. HTH

 

I finally took the cable off. I hung it with the crimped end down in a heated garage for about 1 hour. You would not believe how much water finally came out. It looked to be about a 1/8 cup worth. I am going to leave it hung up over night and reinstall it. It wasn't very difficult to take out, it only took about 10 minutes. It will go in a lot quicker now that I have it out. If anyone else is having this problem, it is easier to resolve than you think.