I recently purchased a Specialized Rockhopper Comp with disc brakes and noticed that the discs for both the front and rear wheels are slightly touching the brake pads. I took it back to the bike shop and was told that it is a really small space (less than 4 mm) and it is normal for the disc to touch the pads. He said after I ride it for a bit and break it in it should wear down and be ok. Im no genius but if the disc is hitting the pads its going to be harder to pedal. I just want to know if this is normal or should I take it back to the bike shop. Thank you Hi And thanks for asking this question. There are many ways of looking at this issue. I wonder if anyone ever measured the drag of a slightly rubbing rotor. I would say that on a brand new bike that it shouldnt be a problem to adjust them properly. Although, depending on the make and model they can be tricky to set up. Generally speaking if all parts in the system are in "new" condition You "should" be able to run rub free. Try to find a mechanic at the shop who is willing to work with You. Good Luck, Mike Hey Guys, Im thinking of getting into a bit of downhill mountain biking and I would like my bike to have Disk Brakes. Can I take off my V-Brakes and buy new disk brakes and apply them on my bike (Diamonback Outlook)? Hello.... thanx for your inquiry... in order to put on disc brakes your bike must have the disc brake frame mounts already built into the frame. Also, in addition to the actual disc brake set, you will need new wheels and hubs as well. So, the conversion to disc brakes will require quite a few new parts and can get rather expensive to perform - probably best to seek the advice from your local bike shop on the cost and feasibility. Perhaps you can do better by just purchasing a new bike that already has disc brakes installed, and keeping your old bike as a spare!! thanx stan Great Website: I have tekpro v brakes. My back brake arm the cable guide is on does not pull very far off the wheel when I let go of the brake lever. It doesn’t return to the full “off” position The side with the brake cable anchor moves back and forth the most and that pad has worn out first. I’m replacing the brake pads, oiling the brake cable but the one side still is “sticky”. Sorry but it is kinda hard to explain. I have found a small kink in the cable just before it goes into the cable housing attached below the top tube bar. I’m wondering if I need to replace everything? This shouldn’t be rocket science but I’m stuck. Thanks in advance. Herb Herb, Hello.... thanx for your inquiry concerning your brake pads not retracting fully on one side - this can be a common problem w/ V Brakes and can be solved fairly easily. It involves using the small adjustment screw located on the brake arm, and a small phillips screwdriver. If you tighten the screw a bit on the side that is not retracting, it will increase the tension in the spring mechanism and cause the brake pad on that side to pull away easier from the rim. In addition, you may also want to loosen the opposite side that does pull away easily a bit to balance them out. Another trick that I sometimes do is to disengage the straight wire located on the brake arm from the grommet that holds it in place on the side that is not retracting, and then to bend it a bit outward and then replace it in the grommet so that it will pull the pad away with a little more tension. Also, it may be helpful to squirt a little chain lube on the arm mechanism where the bushings are so that they can move more freely, although tightenng the screw adjustment alone should solve the problem. Please let me know if you need any other assistance... ride on stan hi there, first of all your site is fantastic, i only recently came across is. i know the basics on mountain bike maintenance and do work on my friends bikes from time to time. anyway, at the moment im working on a giant terrago which is about 2/3 years old with hydraulic disc brakes and the problem is the brakes are completely jammed on. the wheels wont move at all. i am completely unfamiliar with hydraulic brakes so any advice on how to repair this will be greatly appreciated. also, is it a common problem? i read and hear alot about hydraulic brakes being spongy or soft but this is the complete opposite. thank you John Hi John, Thanks for visiting Web Mtn Bike. We always try to help out fellow Mountain Bikers. This is the first time that I have heard of this particular problem. Wow the brakes are locked up! I would say remove the wheels and brake pads. Then, Clean the area around the pistons. The pistons may be "stuck" from corrosion. Make sure that the pistons are retracting. It is also possible that someone added fluid to the system, and there is too much to allow the pistons to retract. Good luck and let us know how it works out. Mike Greetings fellas. I just bought a brand spaken new mnt. bike with disc breaks. This is my first bike with disc breaks so don't know a lot about them so here's my question. The pads on the front break rub the rotor about half-way through the wheel rotation causing a squeaking noise. How do you adjust the break so the rotor passes freely through the break pad housing? These are Shimano hydrolic disc breaks. Thanks, Mike Hi, and congratulations on Your new purchase I hope it serves You well. Well first off make sure that the rotor is straight, as any side to side(lateral) runout will make it rub. As far as adjusting it I would consult The Shimano mini manual that should come with the bike. Or you can loosen the caliper fasteners which attach it to the frame squeeze the brake lever and retighten the fasteners. Or just manually adjust the position of the caliper, and the secure the fasteners. Good luck Mike from WMB My rear brake lever when squeezed does not want to return properly, and will not spring back out and return to the proper position The most likely cause for this problem - and it can happen with the front brake as well but not as likely - is a dirty cable. When grime and debris get between the cable and housing, it may bind and not allow the cable to return to the relaxed position due to excess friction. Try cleaning the cables and housing and re-lubing or replace the cable.... Myke the Mechanic, could you please suggest possible causes for noisy/squealing hydraulic disc brakes? thanks Dave Happy Holidays Dave, as far as the squeeling breaks are concerned, try to clean the rotors with brake clean available from auto store. Remove the pads and clean w/ brake clean and lightly sand them. If that does'nt work try a different pad. Thanks for visiting the site and ride on! MM Hi, I was wonder how to you "tighten" disc brake levers. I have shimano derore disc breaks, using hydraulic fluid. With Cable brakes I know you can just tighten the cable to make your lever seem more responsive (so you dont have to pull as hard to obtain stopping power) but how is this done with hydraulic disc breaks. Right now i am pulling my rear break lever a considerable amount before I begin slowing down. Any help would be very much appreciated Thank you for your time Derek Hi Derek , Thanks for visiting the site , It may be that the brake needs proper bleeding . You can get the info on how to perform this task on Shimano's web site . Also make sure that the pads are alright and your rotors are straight . MM hello, i have the avid 3 rim brake... i was wondering how i would install it in the front... the wires are all set, i just have a problem where when it is all connected it goes to the left... and the right side touches. how would i fix this? Ryan Ryan, Hello! Try this and let me know.... remove the left metal arm from the top of the left brake assembly (this is the spring under tension), and bend it slightly toward the outside of the bike to place more pressure on the brake arm on that side, and then replace the top of it back to where it was and it should pull the brake pad away from the right side. You can also loosen the assembly, and use a different hole to place the other side of the clip in, and then try that if above does not work....Also, the little screw on the brake arm can smetimes help to adjust the tension if you tighten it... thanx for visitin' stan Hello, I have just recently acquired my first set of hydraulic disc brakes (Shimano XT). When I read the instructions before installing them, I noticed that it said never to turn the bike upside down as this will affect the hydraulic fluid in the brakes, decreasing their performance. Is this true? I often have to turn my bike upside down to perform repairs both on the trail, and at home (I don't have a workstand), and according to the instruction booklet I will not be able to do this anymore. The reason I am asking is because I see bikes with hydraulic brakes turned upside down all the time, and they don't seem to have any problems, so I'm wondering if maybe it's just with the shimano brakes?? Anyways, any advice that you can give me would be very much appreciated. Thanks for your time. Dave Dave,this past year I built up a Schwinn Homegrown 4-Banger,my first bike with hydraulic discs. As usual I had the fork custom painted to match the bike. I own a lot of bikes and store them in my basement from hooks hanging from the ceiling. Well one day I noticed that the paint on the fork had a funky bubble look to it. Upon closer inspection I realized the brake fluid had leaked from the "open reservior" that is basically the storage tank for the fluid, because the bike was not sitting on it's wheels. It dribbled onto the fork and began to effect the paint. If Shimano uses the same type of system this will cause 1)fluid loss, 2)air in the system 3)a mess. Stan works on his bikes upside down all the time, which drives me nuts. Having worked in bike shops I definitely prefer to work on bikes right side up. *Basically, any tips or hints to do with brakes. My problem is the pads rubbing on the rim. I have V-brakes, also they do not spring back after I've applied them. Any information will be gratefully recieved. All the best Pete. Peter, Hello! Your problem should be easily solved with your v-brakes :) This has happened to me, and there are two ways to solve it... One is to flip off the wire from the brake housing next to the pad on each side and bend it slightly to have more tension outward, and then replace it back on it's stop... The other technique is to tighten the small screw slightly on the side that isn't returning and this will cause it to spring back better. The screw is located right near the brake shoe, and is the only one in the area.... Here is some additional info... BRAKES Good luck! Ride ON ~~Stan~~ *What are the pros and cons of Disc brakes when compared to V brakes? James, Hello! In regards to your question about disc brakes vs. v-brakes, here are some pointers and things to consider. I ride on v-brakes because I want minimal maintenance, and like to keep things simple. I have noticed some v-brakes work very well, and others not as good. Factors such as brake geometry, type of pads, brake lever size and angles, and cable setup can affect the stopping power of the v-brakes. The only real maintenace is replacement of the brake shoes from time to time, and the cable if it breaks, or the lever if you bend a lever. They do wear the rim eventually, and in wet conditions may not work as well as discs... I imagine a good disc brake may have a little better stopping power under similar conditions, but the feel is different. Disc brakes are a nice feature if the rest of your bike is already as good as you want it, and you are looking for something to upgrade. On a new bike, the cost is quite high, look for other upgrades first. Remember that the disc's may bend, or fluid may leak, or other problems may crop up with them. Whether or not they are worth the trade-off is a personal decision (better braking but more maintenance). If you have been riding a long time and have the bucks, then they are worth checking out. But first, I would make sure that the rest of the bike has everything you want... Hope this helps :) Ride On ~~Stan~~ *Hello, I'm having trouble adjusting my front brake. I figured out that the spring/stopper wasn't working properly, since no matter what I did, I couldn't get the right front brake to move away from the rim. I wouldn't spring away. I purchased a new set of front brakes and now, my problem lies on the left side, where the cable attaches to the brake. Is the distance that the brake pad moves away from the rim related to the spring/stopper? If so, which of the 3 holes should I try to use? Thanks, Pat Pat, Hello! I'll try to help you with your problem. Do you have v brakes or cantilever types? First, if your pad will not move away from the rim, and you have v-brakes, you may only need to bend the wire on the brake arm a little and then replace it again on the stop. Also, another idea is to loosen the nut on the brake bolt and rotate the mechanism to the next hole and this sort of "winds it up". The distance the brake pad moves away from the rim is based on the tension spring and what hole you use, as well as the wire hooking around the stop on the brake arm, which sometimes can come loose, or need to get bent a little to spring the arm out a little more... Try using the furthest most hole, as it has the most spring tension. Hope this helps... let me know what happens. Ride On ~~Stan~~ *What if my bike has inadequate braking? The rim or brake pad may be wet, greasy, or dirty. The brakes may be incorrectly adjusted. The brake cable may not move freely due to wear or corrosion. You may have worn brake pads or the wrong ones. Your brake lever might need adjustment at the handlebar, or the cable may need tightening. The pads may not have the proper "toe-in". *Why do the brakes squeak and squeal whenever I brake? This annoying condition can be caused by loose, worn, or dirty brake shoes. The rim may also be dirty and require cleaning (scotchbright pad O.K.) The brake housing may need tightening, or the pads may need replacement with softer material. Also, the angle or "toe-in" may need adjustment. Please try to clean your rim with softscrub and a scotch brite pad, or sanding down your shoe a little to remove surface debris. Sometimes this common problem is difficult to solve, but try the above for starters. |
