FYI: Look Pivot/ Rossi Axial brake bending

[El Chupacabra]

Couldn't find a thread on this previously, so...

As I had 2 sets of skinny Look Pivot brakes, and needed some extra-fat Pivot brakes to fit over my new ANTs, I decided to try bending the narrow Look Pivot brakes to fit. The brake arms themselves bend easily, the metal feels very similar to Salomon brake arms (i.e. soft). They might be softer than the Solly brakes -- you can bend them by hand.

Easiest way I could find to do this project was to take the brakes apart. Each side's brake arm comes out of the brake base plate. Taking them apart is fairly easy, just grab them and pull/twist, wear thick gloves because that base plate spring is pretty hefty. After rebending them to a nice wide size, putting the arms back into the base plate is a PITA. Only way I could get enough leverage on them was to stick the brake arm into the bench vise, then grab the base plate (again w/ gloves) and wrestle with it until I could get one brake arm back in place. The hard part is holding the brake base plate in the "collapsed" position, against the spring tension, while simultaneously reinstalling the brake arm. Once you have one side brake arm in place, it provides enough tension to the base plate spring so that the other side brake arm is pretty easy to reinstall.

Caveat: I read somewhere here that the wide Look Pivot brakes are made from a different (brittle) metal, that doesn't take well to being re-bent, and tends to snap instead. No problems with snapping, cracking, or any other signs of failure on the 2 skinny Pivot brakes that I re-bent today.

After re-bending the skinny Look Pivot brakes to fit around a 107mm waist ski, there's still plenty of brake arm left to stick down below the base of the ski.

[orlowskij]

Bump. I just got a pair of Axial 140s that I need to bend the brakes on, does anyone have more details on the disassembly? A manual would be great too.

[marshalolson]

search for a thread i started years ago about "how to bend brakes". even has video.

[orlowskij]

Thanks, I'll find that. I knew I'd seen a bunch of videos about the FKS but I didn't remember one about the pivot heel.

[marshalolson]

basically just mount the ski w/ the brake arms decked, then bend them straight out w/ the boot clicked in, then click the boot out and bend them back down around the ski. then mess with it a little to get them $.

i use an old mtb handlebar. works perfect, as does an old cut off ski pole.

[stevesmith7]

I tried to bend some skinny Axial brakes from early models last year. Used a torch, went slow, and they snapped like pretzels. YMMV

[El Chupacabra]

Don't use a torch. Just bend.

I haven't tried marshal's method -- should work fine, so long as a boot is in the binding, holding the brake firmly into the binding. I'm a little concerned that torquing on the brake that way will crack the brake baseplate plastic, so YMMV.

I've bent 4-5 pair of Axial/Pivot brakes, all skinny 80mm brakes, none have broken. I had to re-bend one pair, and although they came out a little squiggly looking, they haven't broken either.

[orlowskij]

Don't use a torch. Just bend.

I haven't tried marshal's method -- should work fine, so long as a boot is in the binding, holding the brake firmly into the binding. I'm a little concerned that torquing on the brake that way will crack the brake baseplate plastic, so YMMV.

I've bent 4-5 pair of Axial/Pivot brakes, all skinny 80mm brakes, none have broken. I had to re-bend one pair, and although they came out a little squiggly looking, they haven't broken either.

I don't have them mounted up yet and I was a little concerned about torquing the binding as well. I got the brakes out and have a vice, so I'm just going to do it that way.