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Brake spring just blew! ughhhh, help please!

151Racing

Chimp
Mar 19, 2012
20
0
Fightertown USA
Any help would be appreciated!

Yesterday on a 40 miler that ended up being super hilly my front brake decided it wasn't happy with any hills and gave me the finger by throwing its return spring out onto the road :( , I saw it fly off and looked for it for a good 15 minutes with no luck. Its a Trek 1.5 2008 with Promax RC466E brake calipers which I believe are made by Tektro. The Tektro RC466 i've found on ebay looks just like it atleast.

Anyway, is there anywhere I can get just the spring without having to buy a whole new caliper? They are cheap calipers but they always have done a good job for me so I don't see a reel need to replace them unless I have to. The LBS was no help and didn't have any random springs in the part bin or anything and only offered to upgrade me to 105's for $70 each, which I'd rather not spend unless necessary.

If I cant find the spring I was thinking about making one out of, say 3/32" or so spring steel rod, if thats possible. Its a super simple spring thats about an inch of straight rod then 3 coils with another inch of straight rod.

Any ideas of where to find a replacement, a close enough replacement that will work or how to fab one would be great, thanks guys!
 

151Racing

Chimp
Mar 19, 2012
20
0
Fightertown USA
Yea the second LBS I went to today said they are Lee Chi, and can order a new from caliper for only $16 so i'll probably go that route. I did make one out of stainless 3/32" rod today but it doesnt seem to open the caliper 100% only like 90% so I doubt ill keep it on there.
 

151Racing

Chimp
Mar 19, 2012
20
0
Fightertown USA
The tab and rest of the caliper surprisingly looks all intact. It probably did break but I have no clue why it did. I'm just one of those guys that hates buying something like a new caliper, even if its less than $20, just because of a little spring. The spring hunt continues.
 

loco-gringo

Crusading Clamp Monkey
Sep 27, 2006
8,887
14
Deep in the heart of TEXAS
A $30 brake caliper is NOT a part that I'm interested in taking a chance on with a road bike. You can buy a decent quality pair for $50 or $60. I'm sure there are plenty of old calipers in folks possession around here waiting to make their way to you.
 

151Racing

Chimp
Mar 19, 2012
20
0
Fightertown USA
True Loco-gringo. The only reason I was thinking of putting a factory replacement on is because its cheap and so far this is the only time they've let me down. If i stumble upon some nicer ones for a good price I'd def consider going that rout tho. Thanks for the help.