brake questions

[pinkbikes]

Thanks DebW.

[lph]

and if they sound scratchy they probably are - you probaly have a little road gunk embedded in the rubber. File them a little until they look fresh and black and rubbery!

[radicalrye]

I def. second the filing. Even if you just get some fine grain sand paper it works. I suggest filling the pads themselves and the rims for sure.

I'm pretty sure if you have canti mounts you could also switch to V brakes. Those seem to be pretty reliable and they don't need as much adjusting. I just got my first bike with canti's and I've had to adjust them a couple times. Depending on how old the bike is you may want to replace the brake cables. They can stretch over time.

[DebW]

I def. second the filing. Even if you just get some fine grain sand paper it works. I suggest filling the pads themselves and the rims for sure.

I'm pretty sure if you have canti mounts you could also switch to V brakes. Those seem to be pretty reliable and they don't need as much adjusting. I just got my first bike with canti's and I've had to adjust them a couple times. Depending on how old the bike is you may want to replace the brake cables. They can stretch over time.

If you switch from cantis to V-brakes, you need different levers. V-brakes pull less cable. Cantis and caliper road brakes can use the same levers, but not V-brakes.

[lunacycles]

Mini V's work with standard brake levers, quite well. Tektro makes some good ones.

They are actually a very decent alternative to canti's (some would say superior to canti's) on bikes with brifters.

[tulip]

BUMP...

I installed new brake pads on my Luna today. I replaced the old ones because they were five years old and I could hardly see them anymore. I replaced them with Shimano Dura-Ace/Ultegra pads (same pads as the old ones).

My question is this: Now that I have them on the bike, I managed to get the front wheel back on, but the brakes are tight against the rim. I opened the brake release all the way before removing the wheel the first time, so that's not the issue.

I cannot get my rear wheel back on because the brake pads are too tight. The release is fully open. I even deflated the rear tire. I played around with the cable adjusters but the brakes are still too tight. It's like the new brake pads just add too much material, not allowing enough space for the rim. As I said, my old brakes were down to just about nothing.

I've looked up Sheldon Brown and I've referred to my bicycle repair book. My brakes are Ultegra. There is no bolt on the front of the brake arms to adjust. That seems to be my problem.

Can anyone provide some direction to me on how to widen the brake arms? Thanks so much.

[lph]

Loosen the point where the cable attaches to the brake and give the cable a little more slack. I usually squeeze the brake pads to the rim with one hand and pull the cable tight, then back the cable off a little (5 mm?) before I tighten the cable bolt again. Then centre the brake pads. If they rub or are too close, open the bolt and let out a little more cable.