My v-brakes suck

[laura*]

They always are going out of adjustment and most of all, refuse to stay centered for very long after the spring tension is adjusted. ... Anyway, are all v-brakes kind of a pain or are mine just too cheap?

Several possible causes of the problem:

1) If the cable housing is too short, it might be putting a side load on the brake arms thus pushing them off center.

2) I once traced a sticky brake arm to a damaged retaining washer. The washer was made of a soft metal that had gotten deformed when the attaching bolt was firmly tightened. This meant that the bolt was squeezing the brake arm too much for it to move easily.

3) Cheap v-brakes aren't made to high tolerances. Such brake arms may turn sideways, wedging themselves against the mounting bolt, and then not retracting properly.

[goldfinch]

Thanks Laura and rad. I hope with the new cable it is better. I'll do a careful look through on the whole system myself and if I still have problems I'll mention Laura's ideas to the LBS.

No idea why the cable broke off. The LBS said "it happens."

[Chicken Little]

I did put Kool Stop pads on mine. Helped a bunch. But they are the Cadillac of brake pads. $$