V brake Problems

[Lee]

Hello!

Got a ****ling reoccuring problem with my new bike (Raleigh X1).

Its got V Brakes and the front set seem to be misaligned. As I am sat on the saddle, the right pad
quite often touches the rim of the wheel and the left isnt anywhere near it.

Ive tried adjusting the brakes so that both pads are equidistant from the rim but the blimmin
contraption keeps pulling the whole mechanism to the left thus meaning the right pad is VERY near or
IS in contact with the rim!

Getting quite frustrated with the whole thing - i managed to get it balanced ok before i set off
this morning but it was only by pulling the whole braking mechanism to the right and letting it
settle off the rim.

Can anyone point me in the right direction of sorting this?

Cheers

Lee

 

[James Godley]

The secret is in the tiny little almost invisible screw at the bottom of each brake arm. These push against the spring that pull the arms away from the rim. Sounds to me like the one on the left is done up too tight..... Loosen that one, and tighten the one on the right up slightly. As you do this you should be able to watch the whole brake assembly move over to the right, if it doesn't give the brake lever a quick squeeze. Keep fiddling with these screws until you have perfect brakes..... but don't loosen them both off too much otherwise niether of the arms will spring back from the rim.

Hope this helps!

 

[Michael Macclan]

"Lee" <gnippernospampleasemuchly@nospampleasemuchlyverymuch.btinternet.com> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hello!
>
> Got a ****ling reoccuring problem with my new bike (Raleigh X1).
>
> Its got V Brakes and the front set seem to be misaligned. As I am sat on the saddle, the right pad
> quite often touches the rim of the wheel and the left isnt anywhere near it.
>
> Ive tried adjusting the brakes so that both pads are equidistant from the rim but the blimmin
> contraption keeps pulling the whole mechanism to the left thus meaning the right pad is VERY near
> or IS in contact with the
rim!
>
> Getting quite frustrated with the whole thing - i managed to get it
balanced
> ok before i set off this morning but it was only by pulling the whole braking mechanism to the
> right and letting it settle off the rim.
>
> Can anyone point me in the right direction of sorting this?
>
> Cheers
>
> Lee
>
>

New bike? Take it back to the shop and ask them to adjust it properly.
___
Michael MacClancy

 

[Richard Bates]

On Thu, 13 Nov 2003 08:27:45 -0000, "Lee"
<gnippernospampleasemuchly@nospampleasemuchlyverymuch.btinternet.com> wrote:

>Its got V Brakes and the front set seem to be misaligned. As I am sat on the saddle, the right pad
>quite often touches the rim of the wheel and the left isnt anywhere near it.

I agree with Michael in that if it is a new bike then the shop should sort it out for you.

Failing that, check that each of the pads is inserted into it's holder the same distance. Then make
use of the small adjustment screws which are probably to be found near to, and at right angles to,
the bolt which holds the brake arms to the frame.

Good brakes have one on each arm. Bad brakes have only one. This/these screws will alter the spring
tension and have the effect of altering the distance between the pad and the rim.

As always (and at risk of waking up the knowledgeable man through his mail filter) have a look at
what Sheldon Brown has to say...

Hope this helps.

Love and hugs from Rich x

--
Sig got lost during a reinstall

 

[Lee]

"Michael MacClancy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

>
> New bike? Take it back to the shop and ask them to adjust it properly.
> ___
> Michael MacClancy
>
>

Aye i suppose thats an option - seemed to have the problems when i released my front wheel for
transport home - dont suppose that matters really does it!

 

[Richard Bates]

On Thu, 13 Nov 2003 08:47:59 -0000, "Lee"
<gnippernospampleasemuchly@nospampleasemuchlyverymuch.btinternet.com> wrote:

>Aye i suppose thats an option - seemed to have the problems when i released my front wheel for
>transport home - dont suppose that matters really does

Yes it may matter. Make sure your front wheel has been reinserted straight. (Although it is entirely
possible that your brakes whee first adjusted with a mis-fitted wheel - and now that it is in
correct allignment, it makes the brakes look wrong!)

Rich x

--
Sig got lost during a reinstall

 

[Michael Macclan]

"Lee" <gnippernospampleasemuchly@nospampleasemuchlyverymuch.btinternet.com> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "Michael MacClancy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
> >
> > New bike? Take it back to the shop and ask them to adjust it properly.
> > ___
> > Michael MacClancy
> >
> >
>
> Aye i suppose thats an option - seemed to have the problems when i
released
> my front wheel for transport home - dont suppose that matters really does it!
>

Why should that be a problem? The wheel's supposed to come off, isn't it?
___
Michael MacClancy

 

[Lee]

"Michael MacClancy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

>
> Why should that be a problem? The wheel's supposed to come off, isn't it?
> ___
> Michael MacClancy
>
>

Yeah its a quick release wheel - just seemed to happen when i put it back on
!

 

[Tony Raven]

Michael MacClancy wrote:
>
> Why should that be a problem? The wheel's supposed to come off, isn't it? ___
>

My experience is you should stand the bike on the ground and apply some pressure while doing up the
QR or it can lock the wheel in slightly skewed. As for fixing the problem, look for a small allen
grub screw or screw sticking out the side of one brake arm which adjusts the spring tension and
allows you to move the brakes over left or right to fix this.

Tony

 

[Sheldon Brown]

Richard Bates wrote:

> On Thu, 13 Nov 2003 08:27:45 -0000, "Lee"
> <gnippernospampleasemuchly@nospampleasemuchlyverymuch.btinternet.com> wrote:
>
>
>>Its got V Brakes and the front set seem to be misaligned. As I am sat on the saddle, the right pad
>>quite often touches the rim of the wheel and the left isnt anywhere near it.
>
>
> I agree with Michael in that if it is a new bike then the shop should sort it out for you.
>
> Failing that, check that each of the pads is inserted into it's holder the same distance. Then
> make use of the small adjustment screws which are probably to be found near to, and at right
> angles to, the bolt which holds the brake arms to the frame.
>
> Good brakes have one on each arm. Bad brakes have only one. This/these screws will alter the
> spring tension and have the effect of altering the distance between the pad and the rim.
>
> As always (and at risk of waking up the knowledgeable man through his mail filter) have a look at
> what Sheldon Brown has to say...

...zzz Huh? Whazzat?...zzz...

Sheldon "Make Sure The Wheel's In Straight" Brown +-------------------------------------------+
| I millihelen = the amount of | beauty required to launch one ship. | --Peter Shickele |
+-------------------------------------------+ Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts Phone
617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041 http://harriscyclery.com Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

 

[Lee]

"James Godley" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> The secret is in the tiny little almost invisible screw at the bottom of each brake arm. These
> push against the spring that pull the arms away from the rim. Sounds to me like the one on the
> left is done up too tight..... Loosen that one, and tighten the one on the right up slightly. As
> you do this you should be able to watch the whole brake assembly move over to the right, if it
> doesn't give the brake lever a quick squeeze. Keep fiddling with these screws until you have
> perfect brakes..... but don't loosen them both off too much otherwise niether of the arms will
> spring back from the rim.
>
> Hope this helps!
>
>
>
> --
> >--------------------------<
> Posted via cyclingforums.com http://www.cyclingforums.com

Cheers ill give that a try later!

 

[Peter Clinch]

James Godley wrote:
> The secret is in the tiny little almost invisible screw at the bottom of each brake arm.

Quite possible, though do note that not all V mechs have this, so don't necessarily assume the
"almost invisible" description is why you can't see it! (if it's there it's a small grubscew,
probably adjusted with a small allen key).

If you haven't got these (or even if you have...) then it may be the case that the screws holding
the arms onto the bosses are unequally tight, resulting in a different spring force each side
pushing them away from the rim when you release the lever, or that one end of the spring has popped
out from its stop on one side. Loosen off both sides and make sure that the spring wires are set up
identically, then tighten them up turn for turn each side and make sure both allow the arm to spring
away from the rim with more or less equal force.

But I'd guess most likely the adjuster screw, like James says.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch University of Dundee Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Medical Physics, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net [email protected]
http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

 

[Lee]

"Peter Clinch" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...

> Quite possible, though do note that not all V mechs have this, so don't necessarily assume the
> "almost invisible" description is why you can't see it! (if it's there it's a small grubscew,
> probably adjusted with a small allen key).
>

I definitely have these small grub screws - ill give em a twist before i set off home tonight

 

[Ivor Cave]

Lee wrote:
> "Michael MacClancy" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
>
>>Why should that be a problem? The wheel's supposed to come off, isn't it?
>>___
>>Michael MacClancy
>>
>>
>
>
> Yeah its a quick release wheel - just seemed to happen when i put it back on
> !
>
>
Check the springs on the arms sometimes they come off on one side if you had to dislocate the cable
to get the wheel in and out.

Ivor Cave

 

[Lee]

"Lee" <gnippernospampleasemuchly@nospampleasemuchlyverymuch.btinternet.com> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "Peter Clinch" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>
> > Quite possible, though do note that not all V mechs have this, so don't necessarily assume the
> > "almost invisible" description is why you can't see it! (if it's there it's a small grubscew,
> > probably adjusted with a small allen key).
> >
>
> I definitely have these small grub screws - ill give em a twist before i
set
> off home tonight
>
>
>

That sorted it! Something simple like that! They pinged back into place quite nice! Thanks for the
pointers guys.

What have we learned from all this? ALWAYS carry a set of allen keys in your toolkit

:-D