V-brake noodle broken: replace immediately? With what? I realized today that the front brake noodle on my folding bike is most likely broken. It looks normal as long as the wheel faces left or forward. As soon as the wheel faces right, however, the noodle gets a weird bend (see pictures).




The brakes are still working, but I suppose I should replace this noodle in the near future. Should I look for something special or are they standard parts? Do I need to replace other parts like the cable?

In addition, I am wondering how I can make the replacement noodle last longer. The big cable tree of the folding bike seems to put quite some pressure on the noodle.

Thanks for your help.
Matthias
A noodle is totally cheap, and you should replace this immediately even if the brake appears to be working.   Dragging the inner around a sharp bend will fray the strands, leading to a sudden failure and a lack of front brake when it snaps.

Noodles come in two different bend radius.


90 degrees, often used on the rear brake
135 degrees, which is most common on the front brake.


Your folding bike might use either, it looks like a 90 degree one to me.

Note, you should change the inner brake cable at the same time.  Depending on condition, its also a good time to replace the outer if anything is wrong with it, like cracks or bends or rust.