Useless front brake

Mark said:

Hi there

My fixer has front brake which is basically useless. In the dry it
works a little bit and in the wet it barely works at all. The lever is
an old-skool 105 job (not STI)

How old-skool? Pre-aero? Can you post a link to a picture of it or one
like it?

Quoted message said:

and the caliper is Sora with stock
pads. The rim is a well-used Mavic CXP21. I presume the poor
performance is down to bendy levers, bendy calipers and [censored] pads. In
the spirit of a bobbins fixer I don't really want to fork out to
replace every braking component so which one should I upgrade to give
the most improvement for the least cash outlay?

I would first change the pads (preferably to Kool Stop Salmon) and check the
cables are in good condition and without any tight bends.

Quoted message said:

Can I.. sand the rim or something?

Not a good idea. Clean the rims (water then meths), sand the pads.

I suppose the Sora caliper is dual-pivot type? A more expensive brake won't
make a big difference if so, but get a DP if you have SP.

~PB

Hi there

Pete Biggs said:

Mark said:

My fixer has front brake which is basically useless. In the dry it
works a little bit and in the wet it barely works at all. The lever is
an old-skool 105 job (not STI)

How old-skool? Pre-aero? Can you post a link to a picture of it or one
like it?

No, it's aero. This one appears to be the same shape but without seeing
the outboard side (mine have grey 105 stickers) I can't tell for sure.
This one is much shinier than mine, that's for certain.

http://www.bikepartsusa.com/product_images/mfg_01/1/full_13505.jpg

Quoted message said:

I would first change the pads (preferably to Kool Stop Salmon) and check the
cables are in good condition and without any tight bends.

Mm. I was planning to change the cable and outer but I thought I'd just
check to see if anyone suggested binning the levers at the same time. I
don't want to re-tape the bars twice.

Quoted message said:

I suppose the Sora caliper is dual-pivot type? A more expensive brake won't
make a big difference if so, but get a DP if you have SP.

Yes, it's a DP.

Thanks for the pointers, I'll give them a shot.

Mark

Mark wrote on 29/12/2006 11:46 +0100:

Quoted message said:

Yes, it's a DP.

In which case brake blocks and cables as Pete suggests are the answer.
Its unlikely that changing the levers or calipers will make much
improvement.

--
Tony

"...has many omissions and contains much that is apocryphal, or at least
wildly inaccurate..."
Douglas Adams; The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

In article <[email hidden]>,

Mark said:

o, it's aero. This one appears to be the same shape but without
seeing the outboard side (mine have grey 105 stickers) I can't tell
for sure. This one is much shinier than mine, that's for certain.

Quoted message said:

http://www.bikepartsusa.com/product_images/mfg_01/1/full_13505.jpg

Make sure that the part of the lever which contacts the bars is a
really good fit - tighten it as much as possible.

"Mark" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi there

Pete Biggs said:

Mark said:

My fixer has front brake which is basically useless. In the dry it
works a little bit and in the wet it barely works at all. The lever is
an old-skool 105 job (not STI)

How old-skool? Pre-aero? Can you post a link to a picture of it or one
like it?

No, it's aero. This one appears to be the same shape but without seeing
the outboard side (mine have grey 105 stickers) I can't tell for sure.
This one is much shinier than mine, that's for certain.

http://www.bikepartsusa.com/product_images/mfg_01/1/full_13505.jpg

Quoted message said:

I would first change the pads (preferably to Kool Stop Salmon) and check
the
cables are in good condition and without any tight bends.

Mm. I was planning to change the cable and outer but I thought I'd just
check to see if anyone suggested binning the levers at the same time. I
don't want to re-tape the bars twice.

Quoted message said:

I suppose the Sora caliper is dual-pivot type? A more expensive brake
won't
make a big difference if so, but get a DP if you have SP.

Yes, it's a DP.

Thanks for the pointers, I'll give them a shot.

Cable adjustment is pretty critcal on dual pivots. Shimano pads tend to be
bad bad bad in the wet IME - deore V brakes.

After serious thinking Mark wrote :

Quoted message said:

Hi there

Pete Biggs said:

Mark said:

My fixer has front brake which is basically useless. In the dry it
works a little bit and in the wet it barely works at all. The lever is
an old-skool 105 job (not STI)

How old-skool? Pre-aero? Can you post a link to a picture of it or one
like it?

No, it's aero.

I think what Pete was getting at was that the earliest 105 levers were
not compatible with DP brakes. However, neither were the earliest arero
levers, such as the BL-1051 (see
http://preview.tinyurl.com/y6yxq2)

The code will be on the lever itself; ISTR they put them on the lever
close to the handgrip part, on the side facing the stem.

It's a long shot that you'll have a pair of these - they haven't been
made for about seventeen years, and would have had to have found their
way to being paired with a pair of later 105 callipers - but it's worth
checking. If you have, they need to be replaced.

Otherwise, the advice you've been given is correct.

--
Simon

"Simon D" <[email hidden]> wrote in

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Pete Biggs said:

Mark wrote:
> My fixer has front brake which is basically useless. In the dry it
> works a little bit and in the wet it barely works at all. The lever is
> an old-skool 105 job (not STI)

How old-skool? Pre-aero? Can you post a link to a picture of it or
one
like it?

No, it's aero.

I think what Pete was getting at was that the earliest 105 levers were
not compatible with DP brakes. However, neither were the earliest arero
levers, such as the BL-1051 (see
http://preview.tinyurl.com/y6yxq2)

Any incompatibility would to be due to the amount of cable pulled. Swapping
from an SP to DP increases lever travel and unless the lever is touching
the bar it won't explain Mark's problem.

Simon D said:

[rubbish front brakes -- old 105 levers and dual pivot calipers]

I think what Pete was getting at was that the earliest 105 levers were
not compatible with DP brakes. However, neither were the earliest arero
levers, such as the BL-1051 (see
http://preview.tinyurl.com/y6yxq2)

The code will be on the lever itself; ISTR they put them on the lever
close to the handgrip part, on the side facing the stem.

It's a long shot that you'll have a pair of these - they haven't been
made for about seventeen years, and would have had to have found their
way to being paired with a pair of later 105 callipers - but it's worth
checking. If you have, they need to be replaced.

Aha! After remembering this thread I had a look at the levers. They are
indeed BL-1051s (the frame is a 30-odd year-old Viscount; god knows how
old the levers are). Do they not pull enough/pull too much cable for DP
calipers? The feeling is.. spongy, though I thought that might be due
to cruddy cables.

Thanks for the tip-off,

Mark