Front Brakes Grabbing

[Agent]

I'm having an issue with my front brake lever grabbing when I put on the brakes. I can pull the lever smoothly and get minimal braking up to about half way. Then, the lever sticks. With a little extra force, the lever frees up and all of a sudden we have maximum braking. It causes a lot of nose dive at higher speeds and is downright unsettling at low speeds. I'm concerned that I'll wind up with some front wheel lock up and turn a hard braking situation into a wreck.

Has anyone else had any issues with this? Any suggestions about what to do?

Can I spray the lever with something? White Lithium, WD-40, chain lube?

I'm open to suggestions. Thanks.

 

[bamamate]

I use lithium. On the bottom remove the retaining nut and then from the top unscrew the pivot bolt. Clean everything and lightly grease the pivot bolt and top/bottom of the lever with the lithium. See if that helps. Might want to do the clutch lever too.
I had mine get sticky while on a trip. Shot it with chain lube since that is what I had and that worked until I got home and could clean and lube it properly.

 

[Brillot2000]

Remove the lever and inspect the pivot pin and sleeve inside of the lever where the pin goes for unusual wear. If there's no signs of the wear on either, the issue might be with the brake master cylinder itself. If your bike is still under warranty, you should make arrangements to take the bike in to have it looked at.

If your bike is not covered, you make have to fit the bill to get the master cylinder rebuilt yourself. I do not think that you will spend more than $80 to have that done.

If you or the previous owner dropped the bike on that side and it tweaked the brake lever. Then I would recommend replacing both the lever and the pivot pin to be on the safe side.