REPAIRING VINTAGE BRAKE HOODS

Not all hoods can be repaired!  If a hood is badly cracked, it means that it has dried out and lost its resiliency.  Hoods, in such a state, will likely offer little comfort, to the rider's hands.  A badly cracked, and/or dried out, hood should be replaced, with whatever works, until a proper hood set can be found.  If, on the other hand, the hood is just ripped, and ripped might occur when you are installing your brand new hoods, simple repairs can be effective and fast to implement.

The easiest repair for a badly torn hood is simply to tape it back together with electrician's tape.  This is an incredibly common and easy to implement repair.  Unfortunately, the repair does little to enhance the bicycle's aesthetic qualities.  Fortunately, function will not be impacted and the bicycle can be used with a reasonable degree of comfort until an acceptable hood set is found and installed.

If the hoods are still supple and only show little rips, chances are pretty good that a near invisible repair can be implemented for a very small cost.  Small rips can be mended with an application of silicone seal.  I use the clear Silicone Seal, covering each edge of the crack and allowing some seal to get under the hood.  The seal under the hood should help hold the repair together.  This is not, necessarily, a strong repair, but it does work and will last for some time, if done correctly.

Other than that, most hood repairs are a waste of time, however; there is one other common hood problem that can be dealt with and done so with great ease...

Brake lever hoods get dirty.  Filthy, might be a better word and cleaning them can be a bit of a challenge.  And cleaning them from time to time is a good idea if disease prevention is an issue.  A riding buddy once sheepishly admitted that he had used a horrible method to clean his hoods.  I was appalled at his procedure,  but it worked so well that I copied what he had done.  I also improved on his method, a bit and the results can be quite stunning.

NEXT - CLEANING BRAKE LEVER HOODS