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        REPLACING A CABLE
     Examine the  brake cables for
fraying.  Look  carefully  at  the
part of the  inner wires connected
into the hand levers. A cable with
even  one  broken  strand  is  not
reliable.
    Replacing a cable  is easy. At
the  bike  shop   you  can  buy  a
universal  cable. It  will be long
enough for any  bike, and may have
two ends on it,  one of which will
fit any bike.
    Using  sharp diagonal  or wire
cutters, cut off the end that does
not fit your  bike. Pull the inner
wire  entirely out  of the housing
(sometimes  called  "casing"). Lay
the housing against  your bike and
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cut it to  the proper length. Make
sure  to allow  enough length that
the handlebars can be turned fully
to either  side.
    Cover  the   inner  wire  with
grease,  then  slide  it  into the
housing. Hook the  inner wire into
the  hand  lever,   then  have  an
assistant  or a  clamp squeeze the
brake  caliper while  you pull the
slack  out of  the cable  wire and
tighten   the   anchor   bolt.
    Squeeze  the hand  lever hard,
then loosen the binding bolt, pull
more slack  out of the  inner wire
and retighten.  Fine adjustment is
made  by   turning  the  adjusting
barrel.   Test    your   work   by
squeezing the hand lever hard. The
cable should not slip.
~

