New bike: brakes locking up?

[txhunter58]

New Rad ebike owner.  Received my bike a while back and once I got everything together, rode it and it worked great.  That was a few months ago.
Went to try it out again today.  Both front and rear brakes are locked up. Wheels won't turn.  This is with the battery off the bike.  Installed the battery and powered up.  Still locked up.  I suspect it is something simple but don't know what to do to get the brakes to release.  They were turning freely when I last rode it.

[txhunter58]

Got them fixed.  Just loosened up the screw at the brake and let the brake line lengthen, then retightened.  Fixed the issue.  But still don't know why both brakes locked up on me just from sitting for a couple of months. 

[JimL]

It these are cable brakes, you could have a corrosion problem inside the outer sheath.  We saw this 50 years ago when I was a motorcycle mechanic. 

The outer housing is flat metal wound in a spiral.  If water gets into it, and sits, the metal will start growing as it rusts (a pound of steel weighs one-and-a-half pounds when fully rusted and gains that much volume). 

We saw cable housings grow in length on some of the early foreign product motorcycles, after the bikes were ridden in deep water.  The spiral windings were forced apart by corrosion, and rust is a very powerful force.  I use a little LPS 1 lubricant in the cables of my RAD bikes (this is the product used by the Air Force at Davis-Montham for long term storage of aircraft). 

It is very thin, buy not greasy (it is also used on food processing equipment).  I have seen it make rust "come apart" when nothing else worked.  My RAD cable brakes all work easier with a little LPS 1 in them.  An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, as Grandma used to say.

[handlebar]

I use a little LPS 1 lubricant in the cables of my RAD bikes (this is the product used by the Air Force at Davis-Montham for long term storage of aircraft). 

It is very thin, buy not greasy (it is also used on food processing equipment).  I have seen it make rust "come apart" when nothing else worked.  My RAD cable brakes all work easier with a little LPS 1 in them.  An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, as Grandma used to say.

Thanks for the tip. Now I know I can't do without it!

[Ddaybc]

LPS1? I will have to keep it in mind. I still have a cable lubrication kit from my motorcycle. I want to lube my cables this fall in preparation for winter.

[JimL]

LPS 1 has some unique uses.  It works wonders in the 12 volt switches in your RV, especially the ones in the bathroom.  I also use it in exterior light sockets on my RV, when they quit working even though the bulb is good.

My first introduction to LPS 1 was in the mid-70s.  I was in south-eastern Colorado for a motorcycle race that used to run in the Purgatorie River (yes...in the water for many miles).  My friend had his Honda idling in the driveway with the ignition points cover removed.  He said, "Watch this!" and sprayed the LPS 1 on the points.  The engine didn't miss a beat.

Then he turned on the garden hose and started spraying water on the points.  The engine kept idling smoothly!  I guess you just had to see it to believe it.

This stuff is not at all like WD40 (which has many good uses....especially as a hand cleaner.)

I hope this is helpful to someone.  I get my LPS 1 in the manual spray bottle, off of Amazon.  The spray-can type seems to lose it's "gas" too quick.  Because of the lube quality, the spray bottle pump keeps working for years, and it is easier to make very small squirts into the brake cables.  It only takes a very small amount and it finds it's way all through the housing.

[handlebar]

LPS 1 has some unique uses. 

I hope this is helpful to someone.  I get my LPS 1 in the manual spray bottle, off of Amazon.  The spray-can type seems to lose it's "gas" too quick.  Because of the lube quality, the spray bottle pump keeps working for years, and it is easier to make very small squirts into the brake cables.  It only takes a very small amount and it finds it's way all through the housing.

Uh-oh, I ordered the can. The bottles I saw came in cases.

Fluorescent tubes used to come with a hydrophobic coating to keep water molecules from clinging to the glass in humid air. I bought a dozen Philips F-40 T12s that didn't have it. The silicone I had on hand didn't work in the long run. Rainx did. Maybe someday I'll try LPS 1 on an unprotected tube.

[handlebar]

I hope this is helpful to someone.  I get my LPS 1 in the manual spray bottle, off of Amazon.  The spray-can type seems to lose it's "gas" too quick.  Because of the lube quality, the spray bottle pump keeps working for years, and it is easier to make very small squirts into the brake cables.  It only takes a very small amount and it finds it's way all through the housing.

Before ordering, I went to the LPS site. In the spray can it has a 5 year shelf life. In other forms, like cans and squirt bottle, it has a 10 year shelf life.

It arrived today. Back at Amazon, I see they have single spray bottles.

I think I managed to get a tiny amount of 5W motor oil into my freewheel, to help it work freely. I wonder if LPS 1 would work better.

[JimL]

I only use LPS 1 in "low pressure" load conditions.  It doesn't have the viscosity to be as effective in something like a freewheel.  I don't use it on chains, either.

That's my experience, anyway.

[handlebar]

I only use LPS 1 in "low pressure" load conditions.  It doesn't have the viscosity to be as effective in something like a freewheel.  I don't use it on chains, either.

That's my experience, anyway.

Chains! You answered my question before I asked!