Ultegra Brifter: Play in Break Lever

I have a fairly new bike with the Ultegra triple group. I have ridden
around 1500 miles. I noticed today that the rear brake lever has some play.
Around 1/8" measured at the top lever opening and probably a 1/4" plus if
measured at the end of the lever. The brake cable is tight and no movement
of the cable occurs during this initial lever travel. The front lever does
not have any play in the brake lever.

Is there something to be tightened in the lever to remove the play? The
levers are Ultegra Flight Deck from 2002.

Thanks,
Dave Patnaude

David- I have a fairly new bike with the Ultegra triple group. I have ridden
around 1500 miles. I noticed today that the rear brake lever has some play.
Around 1/8" measured at the top lever opening and probably a 1/4" plus if
measured at the end of the lever. The brake cable is tight and no movement
of the cable occurs during this initial lever travel. The front lever does
not have any play in the brake lever. BRBR

May need to unwrap the tape from that side, cut off the tape holding the brake
housing to the bar, then 'seat' the housing end into the lever by squeezing a
few times, then re-taping the housing, adjust the brake.

Peter Chisholm
Vecchio's Bicicletteria
1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535
http://www.vecchios.com
"Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

(Qui si parla Campagnolo) wrote in
:

May need to unwrap the tape from that side, cut off the tape holding
the brake housing to the bar, then 'seat' the housing end into the
lever by squeezing a few times, then re-taping the housing, adjust the
brake.



If the housing is firmly in place with tape to the bar and then the
handlebar tape over that, I wouldn't think that this would be an issue
making the lever have play. The housing should only be providing alignment
for the cable and not affecting lever or cable tension?

Is my understanding of what the housing is doing incorrect?

Thanks,
Dave

David- If the housing is firmly in place with tape to the bar and then the
handlebar tape over that, I wouldn't think that this would be an issue
making the lever have play. The housing should only be providing alignment
for the cable and not affecting lever or cable tension? BRBR

Housing needs to be seated into the lever. If the housing is secure(but not
seated) and the first time the lever is squeezed, the lever will have a wee bit
of play before moving the cable.

Peter Chisholm
Vecchio's Bicicletteria
1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535
http://www.vecchios.com
"Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

(Qui si parla Campagnolo) wrote in
:

David- If the housing is firmly in place with tape to the bar and
then the handlebar tape over that, I wouldn't think that this would be
an issue making the lever have play. The housing should only be
providing alignment for the cable and not affecting lever or cable
tension? BRBR

Housing needs to be seated into the lever. If the housing is
secure(but not seated) and the first time the lever is squeezed, the
lever will have a wee bit of play before moving the cable.

Peter Chisholm
Vecchio's Bicicletteria
1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535
http://www.vecchios.com
"Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"


Thanks, I'll have to unwrap the bar and check it out.

Thanks,
Dave

(Qui si parla Campagnolo) wrote in
:

David- If the housing is firmly in place with tape to the bar and
then the handlebar tape over that, I wouldn't think that this would be
an issue making the lever have play. The housing should only be
providing alignment for the cable and not affecting lever or cable
tension? BRBR

Housing needs to be seated into the lever. If the housing is
secure(but not seated) and the first time the lever is squeezed, the
lever will have a wee bit of play before moving the cable.

Peter Chisholm
Vecchio's Bicicletteria
1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535
http://www.vecchios.com
"Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"


I finally got a chance to remove the bar tape and see if there was any
problem with the housing not being seated. It seems like it was ok. I
pushed it in harder and it seemed to help, but a full squeeze of the
brake lever and it was back to having some play. I found that the rear
brake seems to be not returning to its full open position which is
causing the tiny bit of slack. The caliper needs a little push to fully
open and make the lever tight. The rear brake is Shimano 105 with the
Ultegra lever.

Any further suggestions to resolve this problem?

Thanks,
Dave

David- I found that the rear
brake seems to be not returning to its full open position which is
causing the tiny bit of slack. The caliper needs a little push to fully
open and make the lever tight. The rear brake is Shimano 105 with the
Ultegra lever. BRBR

Either adjust the caliper(loosen the bolt that you see on the front of the
caliper, on the right side) or pull trhe spring out of it's little slot, bend
it up a wee bit and put it back into the slot.

Peter Chisholm
Vecchio's Bicicletteria
1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535
http://www.vecchios.com
"Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

Peter's suggestion is quite good, and there are a couple of other
things you need to look at also. Grab the QR end of the longer brake
arm and see if it wiggles fore/aft. If it does, the caliper likely
isn't the problem.
The trouble you've got is often caused by excess cable drag
somewhere in the run from the shifter to the caliper. The front
housing piece should be cut so that the bars will turn all the way
right without pulling the cable. A little longer than that is OK, but
not much. Rear piece should have a nice smooth curve from housing stop
to caliper. Lengths in general should be as short as possible while
allowing the bars to reach the "full-lock" position. Sharp bends in
housing tend to be sources of drag. If the housing has developed a
crimp at the ferrule that could also be the source of your problem.
Pull off the ferrules and look in the ends of the housing for
occlusion by untrimmed ends of the metal winding that is the body of
the housing. If you find them, they need to be trimmed, and the
housing end finished with a file.
Have you made sure that the cable is lubed inside the housing? I use
white lightning for this, as it's thin enough to run all the way down
the housing with the bike turned up.

Have fun,
Eamon


David Patnaude wrote in message ...
(Qui si parla Campagnolo) wrote in
:

David- If the housing is firmly in place with tape to the bar and
then the handlebar tape over that, I wouldn't think that this would be
an issue making the lever have play. The housing should only be
providing alignment for the cable and not affecting lever or cable
tension? BRBR

Housing needs to be seated into the lever. If the housing is
secure(but not seated) and the first time the lever is squeezed, the
lever will have a wee bit of play before moving the cable.

Peter Chisholm
Vecchio's Bicicletteria
1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535
http://www.vecchios.com
"Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"


I finally got a chance to remove the bar tape and see if there was any
problem with the housing not being seated. It seems like it was ok. I
pushed it in harder and it seemed to help, but a full squeeze of the
brake lever and it was back to having some play. I found that the rear
brake seems to be not returning to its full open position which is
causing the tiny bit of slack. The caliper needs a little push to fully
open and make the lever tight. The rear brake is Shimano 105 with the
Ultegra lever.

Any further suggestions to resolve this problem?

Thanks,
Dave