Bent foot-brake lever - bend back, or anybody has a used one to spare?

[Vippen]

On a stressfull day, I managed to drop the bike to the right when shuffling it around in my too small garage. Touched my workbench with the front wheel sothe balance shifed evr so slightly, but my 75 kg couldn't stop the fall so it went down slooowly... What a dumb-a** I am!

Luckily, the only real damage, beside some minute scratches to the bar end, was that the foot-brake lever got bent. Not too bad, still useable without being a hazard, but it looks ugly, and of course I'd like to have it fixed. I know so much that aluminium goes brittle when it's deformed, probably even more so for cast aluminium, so I'm hesitant to trying to bend it back into shape, being left with a snapped lever and no foot-brake... Has anybody got any experience from bending an alu lever?

I was quoted around $180 for a new lever (I'm in Sweden), which I find rediculous. Maybe someone that's switched to after market pegs/levers has one they could think of selling to me (for less...)?

If nothing else, maybe this is the cue to get a pair of Gilles rear-sets...

 

[Breto]

Bend it back man. Just take it slow

 

[Vippen]

@Breto, You're so un-sentimental! I've had aluminium stuff snap on me before, so I'm a bit hesitant (when not having a replacement lever easily at hand). Maybe i give it a go this weekend. Suppose it'll help to heat it up a bit.

 

[Breto]

@Breto, You're so un-sentimental! I've had aluminium stuff snap on me before, so I'm a bit hesitant (when not having a replacement lever easily at hand). Maybe i give it a go this weekend. Suppose it'll help to heat it up a bit.

Possibly mate. Alloy is a bit of a heat sink so you probably won’t need much but worth a go man. Un sentimental 🤔 haven’t heard that before. Been called a lot of things in my life but never that. Just being practical really. 👍😎

 

[Vippen]

Hope You didn't take it as an insult, it wasn't! Just jealous of Your matter-of-factness and practicallity, I might over-think stuff sometimes. And sometimes not...

 

[Breto]

Hope You didn't take it as an insult, it wasn't! Just jealous of Your matter-of-factness and practicallity, I might over-think stuff sometimes. And sometimes not...

Not at all bloke. Just hope it works out for you. I’ve always just had the have a go attitude. Worst case it breaks. Best case back to almost perfect. Just take your time man. I normally use a shifter to hold the lever and then a ring spanner over the end and kinda support and counter bend if you catch my drift. I think a shifter is called different things around the globe. I think the yanks call them crescent wrenches maybe. Anyway they are an adjustable spanner really. So you can support and twist the arm and then use a ring end over the shift knob at the same time. Hope that makes sense man.

 

[Vippen]

Cool!

Thanks for the encouragement! I was aiming at using a vice and an adjustable spanner (Swedish invention I believe), if I can get a good grip at the lever at the "knob side". Otherwise I'll dig out some other type of wrench/pliars, my father in law was sheet metal worker, and I've nicked some of his tools when he put them down for good. And then some patience and I will probably be good.

 

[Breto]

All the best mate. Keen to see your fix. 👍😎