I need the input of some home mechanics!! I bought a used bike recently, and it quickly became apparent that the prior owner did not install the hydraulic foam “sleeve” on my internally-routed rear hydraulic brake hose. I would prefer not to trim the brake hose and re-install barb/olive, so I have an idea. I have purchased a foam sleeve, and I was thinking I might try splicing it open lengthwise (think a small version of the foam pipe covering for your home’s water pipes in cold weather). Then, I would try to slide it on the existing hose bit by bit, and shove that into the brake hose port on the downtube. My thought is that I would use small pieces of electrical tape to re-attach it into a closed loop as I slide it bit by bit into the frame, to avoid the tubing falling off the hose inside the frame.
Anyone think this will work, or is this a fool’s errand?
we used to use zip ties in sailboat masts to keep the wiring from rattling as the boat rocked at the moorings, just zipped and left the tails that acted like mini springs,…
not sure how much room you have but some small zip ties snugged up but able to slide up and down the brake line a bit with the tails on may also work.
could use two, one zipped to the other to dual spring it as well.
Depending on the size of the port it may be better pushing it up from the bb as there is more room to work with. You could perhaps have a looser fit of the foam on the hose.
Thanks! There is a bottom bracket access port. However, after looking at it a bit, it remains to be seen whether that option allows me to preliminarily slide the sleeve onto the brake hose and then tape it closed before attempting to slide it into the frame. There may not be quite enough room to maneuver or to pull the brake hose down toward the bottom bracket port. The down tube port looks like it may have just enough room. We’ll see…
I actually meant removing the bottom bracket completely to give you a lot more access to slide the foam up rather than jamming through a small access port.
Unfortunately, the new bike’s bottom bracket shell is basically a solid sleeve, so the only access port is under the shell.
I tried both at the downtube port and the bottom bracket shell, and it is simply too tight either way. Looks like I’m cutting/reinstalling the brake hose after all. Oh well.
