Colnago C60 rear brake feeling gritty

[TomColnago]

only been out on a few rides with my new bikes but the rear brake doesn't feel that effective and gritty. my last bike wasn't internally routed and felt perfect but on the new bike with fresh cables it feels like there's grit in the system from day one.
hope some one can help as this seems to be the only downside to this bike.

[apeescape56]

sometimes extra paint or debris can be on the stop in the frame. I always build the bike with liner-nosed ferrels to prevent additional friction. Also what brakes do you have? I have found that if neglected, the new shimano calipers can build up grit on the roller bearing for the arms and cause a rough feel at the lever.

[Calnago]

The C60 has full length cable housing running through the frame and to the rear brake, right, just like the C59? Actually, I'm not 100% sure come to think of it, but if it does, then there's no cable stops so they could not be the issue. Are you certain the brake cable housing is seated all the way into the ergolever? No ferrules. And if you're using Campy brake calipers, no ferrules at that end either. When you cut the brake housing... do you ensure that the ends were ground down square and stick an awl into the opening to make sure the hole is nice and round. Typically, I will take the ends of new cable housing that has been cut and quickly grind the ends on a grinder to make them square, but just very quickly and immediately after stick and awl in the opening to make sure the now melting Teflon liner doesn't close shut in any way. Or, if is on the bike and more of a hassle to take off to get to the grinder I'll just hand file the ends till there's not burrs anywhere from the cut. Should be very smooth. Something seems to be binding somewhere, just take yourtime to figure out where it is.

[TomColnago]

think the issue might come from the liner being removed as I was told this by the shop that it was used just to thread the cable through, its a full campagnolo set up and i used no ferrules and i made sure that the cables where all filled down and reopened like you said cal but i might try putting the liner back through and trimming it because it was a really long tube with tape either end. will take the rear brake cable out and maybe put a new one in and remove the outers and double check the frame. thanks for all your quick replies guys

[Calnago]

So the C60 does not use a single continuous brake housing from the brake lever to the brake caliper then? There are cable stops in the front lug and the rear? If so, then the inner edges of the stops may be an issue. I haven't had the pleasure to build up a C60 yet, but now I'm curious as I thought the brake housing just went through the top tube same as the C59.

[DrJeffers]

No - brake outers on the C60 (at least mine!) don't travel through the frame. Mine is fine - can't advise, but suspect poorly finished housing ends. I had some trouble at the lever end, when i was finding my way (I'll redo them at some point, but doesn't seem to be impacting performance now).

[TomColnago]

No - brake outers on the C60 (at least mine!) don't travel through the frame. Mine is fine - can't advise, but suspect poorly finished housing ends. I had some trouble at the lever end, when i was finding my way (I'll redo them at some point, but doesn't seem to be impacting performance now).

I'm going to take the cables out tomorrow and double check everything thanks for all your advice guys and hope i can get a smooth brake

[Calnago]

Ok... this really piqued my curiosity so I actually checked out a couple C60's today. Both brand new, one built up, the other a bare frame. And yes, the top tube uses cable stops, unlike the C59. Hmmm... ok, so upon activation of the rear brake, I could absolutely feel/hear something that seemed well, not perfect (silent). So while activating the brake lever, I fiddled and pulled on the brake housing coming out at the saddle end of the top tube. I was able to make the noise and feeling go away. That tells me there is something not quite lining up in that rear cable stop where the brake ferrule goes into. And yes, given that the C60 uses split housing, ferrules should be used at the cable stops on the top tube. Only thing I can think of to do would be to remove the brake cable completely and maybe make sure there aren't any internal rough edges at the openings. Tiny round file maybe. The other thing is the internal Teflon shield, I would use it in this case. What I couldn't really figure out is how the heck, if there wasn't a guide through the top tube, do you fish it through there. I thought maybe the rear of the top tube had a big enough hole at the seattube lug that you could remove the saddle and get your fingers in there enough to guide it out. But it doesn't allow access there. So I'm not sure. Now I want one so I can build it and figure this out. Someone else (I'm presuming it wasn't you) posted about the exact same issue and when I read it I couldn't figure out how that could be but now that I know how it's designed I can see the possibility. But before you take it all apart, do what I did and see if you can first get it to be smooth by kind of pulling and moving the rear cable housing at the saddle area around a bit so that the cable is coming out a different angles. It might be simply needing a different length of housing from the rear brake caliper to the rear cable stop, as this would change the angle of entry a bit. Keep us posted on what you figure out.

[TomColnago]

took the rear brake cable off and fiddled with it and the noise is still there but the braking is a lot lighter and smoother but not perfect yet. I got some jagwire lined ferrules from the lbs and they didn't fit into my frame.... could be the solution but i still need to find a ferrule that fits over the cable and into by frame but thanks for all your help guys

[RedRacer]

... And yes, the top tube uses cable stops, unlike the C59. Hmmm... ok, so upon activation of the rear brake, I could absolutely feel/hear something that seemed well, not perfect (silent).

My C60 does the same thing

[joeyb1000]

Same problem.

Adding ferrules helped a lot. I think it better aligns the cable in the frame fitting.

Then I got a piece of Jagwire brake cable liner and cut it to the exact length between the stops (this took about three attempts). This eliminated almost all the gritty-ness.

The full Jagwire sealed system would probably be the best solution.