How do I repair broken bike brake cable?

I have an old 70's derailleur bike that I love and use to get around the city, but recently the brake cables started to go. The back brake cable is completely snapped and the front is hanging on by a thread. Does anyone know how to get it back up and running? Thanks

It's pretty easy. Since you say your bike is quite old. You should replace both the cable and the cable housing. You can pick up a full set for both brakes at any bike shop they are inexpensive. Ask for a little help on this the shop will tell you some details I may miss here.

Note how the cables are routed and attached to your bike now, before you pull everything apart. The front and back are done the same. Do one at a time in case you need to reference how it looks.

Loosen the nut on the break that holds the cable on, pull the cable off the brake. Now, with the cable loose, you will be able to open the break lever to see where it's attached. Pull the cable out of the housing completely to do this if need be. Once you have the cable attached inside the brake lever, put the hosing back on. If your cables looked like the right length before you will need to cut the new cable and housing to the same lengths. Complete the install in the reverse of the removal.

Alternately, a shop will gladly do this for a small fee. If you're not familiar with brake adjustment etc. at all, I advise the shop do it. After all no brakes = danger!

Go to a bike store and get a new cable. Not that expensive and not hard to replace.

I used to ride an old bike that I put together out of parts I pulled from dumpsters around campus. At first all I spent money on was new tire tubes and brake pads. But I nearly killed myself when a brake cable snapped so I just replaced all the cables, even the gear ones. I had safe brakes and my gears shifted a lot smoother..
Go to your local bike shop and tell them you need BRAKE cables AND housing. They should be able to do it for you. Cost....no more than $30

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