Brake cables on my bike sticking?

Question

ok yesterday i rode my bike in the rain for like 3 hours. So now the back break is sticking and wont return properly. So i tried lubing the cable and stuff but it hardly helps at all. it did this once before while it was wet but it returned to normal after it dried out. And also when i pull the lever it sounds like there is grit or something in the cable. Its not that bad but it annoys me. Any answers besides taking to a shop since im young and cant afford it

Answer 1

Did you clean the cables before lubricating?

Is it possible that the cable housings are getting worn internally or that the cables themselves are frayed inside the housings?

Is it possible that you should have flushed out the interior of each housing?

Answer 2

Disconnect the brake pull cable from the brake assembly.

then manually engage the brake assembly  with one hand and check for smoothness.

then pull on the loose cable end while pulling on the brake handle.

By doing this and checking which half of the system has the rough ness, you will know which half to work on.

If it is the brake assembly itself, inspect the pivots, loosen a bit, put just a drop of oil on the pivots, re tighten a bit.  Maybe clean the area.

If it is the cable/housing/ brake lever, put light oil down the middle of the housing while moving the cable back and forth.  Inspect the pivot in the brake lever.  look for kinks and breaks in the housings.

If you have to replace either the  housing or cable, replace both and  buy good stuff -stainless if possible and take your pieces into the shop for "cut to length" service.  this stuff requires special $30 cutters to do it right.

Re assemble.

check this site;

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/brakes/

AND dont forget to lube your chain after riding in the rain.

Answer 3

It probably has some rust inside the cable.   If you can get some oil in there and keep working the brake lever on and off, it will probably free itself, and get smoother.  If this doesn't fix it, you have to buy a new cable.   You can install it yourself.