Brakes

[Joefish]

My wife got a new bike two weeks ago, a Trek 2100. She put my old Rolf Vector Comp wheels (about 6 years old) on it. the brakes are not working very well, they make a lot of nosie and are not very responcive. We put the original wheels on and the brakes work fine. What can I do to make them work? Can I "clean" the brake surface, or sand them with light sandpaper? What can I do/use?
Thanks
Joe

 

[Joefish]

Originally posted by Joefish
My wife got a new bike two weeks ago, a Trek 2100. She put my old Rolf Vector Comp wheels (about 6 years old) on it. the brakes are not working very well, they make a lot of nosie and are not very responcive. We put the original wheels on and the brakes work fine. What can I do to make them work? Can I "clean" the brake surface, or sand them with light sandpaper? What can I do/use?
Thanks
Joe

Any ideas????

 

[dorian]

Any buildup on the rim sidewalls will impair braking. You can take it off with a green scotch-brite pad. I like to take any glaze off brake pads with medium sandpaper. A different brake pad compound may help. Also, if the wheels are not true, braking will not be as solid.

 

[Joefish]

Originally posted by dorian
Any buildup on the rim sidewalls will impair braking. You can take it off with a green scotch-brite pad. I like to take any glaze off brake pads with medium sandpaper. A different brake pad compound may help. Also, if the wheels are not true, braking will not be as solid.

The wheels are very true, the brake pads are very new and work great on differant wheels. I will try the green scotch-brite pad, do I use any cleaner or use it dry?
Thanks
Joe

 

[dorian]

dry, but a little degreaser may get off some of the crud before you have to use elbow grease. don't get it in the hubs.

 

[lokstah]

Agreed; this is good advice. Wheels aren't cheap, so your apprehension is understandable, but a wheelset like your Rolfs, like most sub-$1000 rollers, is pretty much just an aluminum hoop. You can scrub it with all sorts of things and not cause a problem.

When you're scrubbing, your chief concerns are aesthetic. You might not want to dig into any decals or adonization. Really, the only super no-no is to keep oil AWAY from the rim. The rim won't mind, but your brake pads will never forgive you.

Dorian's right in that you don't want degreaser or water to get inside your hubs, so caution is in order, but it takes a pretty collosal flub to really make a mistake. The typical caveats are 1) no pressurized water, like from a hose, near the hubs, and 2) when cleaning the hubs and surrounding area, use a degreaser-laden rag, rather than dousing or immersing the unit.

No problem.

Good luck!

 

[bikerchas55]

I recently bought a NOS set of Scott Matthauser pads for my Campy brakes and there was a little paper slip in the bag with some tips for setting toe-in etc. Scotty also recommended periodic cleaning of the rims with acetone. And of course he incuded the obligatory warning about getting any glue on the outer surface of the rim if you are using sewups.
Nail polish remover (the non environmentally sensative variety) is acetone if you don't want to but a quart. I'm not sure what effect it would have on eloxed or anodized surfaces, probably won't harm anything. It provides an alternative to abrasives.