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When I press my left brake lever, nothing happens. I looked and the cable is loose. It comes completely out of the little silver thing on the left side of the handle. (left when looking at pic)

The actual brake lever also moves too far.

(I am a literally newbie at this. I have NO idea whats' wrong and google isn't smart enough to help a bike idiot like me.)

Make/model = It's a V brake Shimano "V-Brake". For bike it's a Raleigh 4.5

Had my bike worked on again today and now THIS is an issue.... :(

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Update: Picture of the area near the wheel. This is where I suspect I need to do something. This is where it is "really" loose.

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There are several brands of brake levers. Which one do you have? The people here will help you; but need specific information. –  user313 Feb 23 '12 at 2:24
Provide information on the make/model. You'll get it figured out in a snap. `) –  user313 Feb 23 '12 at 2:31
It's a V brake Shimano "V-Brake". For bike it's a Raleigh 4.5? –  bobber205 Feb 23 '12 at 2:44

1 Answer 1

up vote 6 down vote accepted

Yep, the V-brake is improperly assembled. The curved metal tube is supposed to "catch" the end where it touches the rubber accordion thing in the notch in the dohickey attached to the right-hand-side brake arm (which is on the left in your picture). Either it got knocked out (possibly while the bike was being put into/taken out of your car trunk) or the notch has spread (unlikely) letting the tube slip through.

Here is a picture of how it ought to look.

(Note that the brake is designed to come apart at that point. This allows the arms to be spread apart to make it easier to remove the wheel for service. In fact, it's not too unusual for a repair tech to forget to reconnect this after servicing a bike. Or it may have been loosened to remove the wheel while transporting.)

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I have a "hatchback" type of car (Ford Escape). Plenty of room for my bike. Is there a fool proof way I can load my bike into my car w/o risking damage like this? –  bobber205 Feb 23 '12 at 3:21
Is there I can do at home to fix this (something that requires no tools hehe, I just ordered some bike repair tools on amazon)? –  bobber205 Feb 23 '12 at 3:24
You need no tools to put the "noodle" back where it belongs. The web page I referenced above has instructions. –  Daniel R Hicks Feb 23 '12 at 3:26
@bobber205 -- Go to this link: sheldonbrown.com/canti-direct.html Observe the picture near the top of how the brake is supposed to look. Then page down about halfway down the page to a series of 3 pictures that illustrate the disassembly. Simply reverse that procedure to reconnect the "noodle". –  Daniel R Hicks Feb 23 '12 at 4:08
With this advice I was able to fix my bike :D –  bobber205 Feb 23 '12 at 5:54

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