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Fibrax line issues?

Willy Vanilly

Monkey
Jul 27, 2003
194
0
San Jose
Hi guys,
I replaced the hydraulic lines on my Avid Juicy 7's early this past summer with Fibrax SS lines. I have since been to Mammoth and done a summer's worth of riding. I haven't been riding this winter but once in a while I give the brakes a squeeze just to keep things moving.

This past week when I squeezed the front brake, the line popped completely free of the brake lever. The barb that was fit into the line during assembly stayed in the brake lever (the only part that came free was the line itself, no fittings). Obviously, this could have been an issue had I been riding the bike but luckily that wasn't the case. I have since contacted Fibrax and they are sending me a replacement unit (THANK YOU FIBRAX) but I'm more concerned with what I may have done wrong during my installation that could have caused this.

Were there ever any known issues with the kits? Installation instructions were followed as well as I could follow them (they were only pictoral instructions).

Any ideas? I was thinking maybe I should have stripped back the SS jacket a bit to allow the compression nut to compress the line onto the barb a bit better...? Should I replace the rear line as well?
 

maximmax

Chimp
Jan 26, 2010
5
0
Do you have a multi-meter, and can you give us a few specifics on what exactly the problems are? Just not sounding great isnt something that immediately brings any ground issues to mind.
 

ultraNoob

Yoshinoya Destroyer
Jan 20, 2007
4,504
1
Hills of Paradise
I think Maximmax misread "fibrax" for "fibrex". Fibrex is data cable manufacturer for the IT world.

This is just a guess, but maybe you didn't get enough of a crimp on the actual line. The purpose of the SS braid is to limit the expansion of the fluid line it surrounds. True the SS braid should be crimped on to prevent fraying and sliding, but a majority of the clamping force should be on the barb and the bare line with just enough on the SS to keep it from coming un done.... just a guess though.
 

Willy Vanilly

Monkey
Jul 27, 2003
194
0
San Jose
Not sure if anyone cares but thought I would post an update.

I haven't been able to get a straight answer from Fibrax regarding what I might have done wrong during installation that could have caused the line to pop free of the fitting.

Six weeks later and still no replacement brake lines from Fibrax. They have been reasonably easy to deal with (with the exception of my last email which has gone unanswered) but never seem to have stock of the parts they said they would send to me or never actually send the parts out. I've tried to be pleasant and easy to deal with throughout the process and not demanding or rude but I'm getting a bit frustrated with how long this process is taking.