I can't get the following brake setup to stop the bike: I put a 26" wheel with a 1" tire on the rear of a road bike, and installed a BMX side-pull caliper brake that fits the rim. Everything works fine, even the low bottom bracket height. (This is a project bike to test a different geometry for steering and stability.) However, the brake does not stop the bike very well. I've tested the wheel (yes, its an aluminum rim) in a mountain bike, and it stops fine. I've tried two sets of brake pads with the same results. The current pads were used on another bike and worked fine. The cable is tight, and the cable housing installed correctly. The brake levers (real old Dura Ace) do not bottom out. The brake pivots are oiled. Although installed on the rear, the side-pull brake is (I think) actually for the front. Is this the problem? The only thing that I can see is that perhaps the road levers have a different degree of leverage than BMX levers would. Any suggestions as to why I can't get enough braking force?
I can't get the following brake setup to stop the bike: I put a 26" wheel with a 1" tire on the rear of a road bike, and installed a BMX side-pull caliper brake that fits the rim. Everything works fine, even the low bottom bracket height. (This is a project bike to test a different geometry for steering and stability.) However, the brake does not stop the bike very well. I've tested the wheel (yes, its an aluminum rim) in a mountain bike, and it stops fine. I've tried two sets of brake pads with the same results. The current pads were used on another bike and worked fine. The cable is tight, and the cable housing installed correctly. The brake levers (real old Dura Ace) do not bottom out. The brake pivots are oiled. Although installed on the rear, the side-pull brake is (I think) actually for the front. Is this the problem? The only thing that I can see is that perhaps the road levers have a different degree of leverage than BMX levers would.
It should be the same. Have you used this brake caliper before? Many BMX calipers are very flexible and just don't provide very good stopping power, especially the ones with long reach and slender arms. The big fat beefy ones work better.
[email hidden] (Paul Southworth) wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...
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In article <[email hidden]>,
Quoted message said:
Hello,
I can't get the following brake setup to stop the bike: I put a 26" wheel with a 1" tire on the rear of a road bike, and installed a BMX side-pull caliper brake that fits the rim. Everything works fine, even the low bottom bracket height. (This is a project bike to test a different geometry for steering and stability.) However, the brake does not stop the bike very well. I've tested the wheel (yes, its an aluminum rim) in a mountain bike, and it stops fine. I've tried two sets of brake pads with the same results. The current pads were used on another bike and worked fine. The cable is tight, and the cable housing installed correctly. The brake levers (real old Dura Ace) do not bottom out. The brake pivots are oiled. Although installed on the rear, the side-pull brake is (I think) actually for the front. Is this the problem? The only thing that I can see is that perhaps the road levers have a different degree of leverage than BMX levers would.
It should be the same. Have you used this brake caliper before? Many BMX calipers are very flexible and just don't provide very good stopping power, especially the ones with long reach and slender arms. The big fat beefy ones work better.
No, I haven't used this caliper before. It's a low cost one, though, an not husky at all. Very good point. I have to wonder, though, that if the brake won't lock up a 1" road tire, or stop the bike, would it function at all on a BMX or mountain bike with wider tires? Thanks for the reply!
[email hidden] wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...
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[email hidden] (Paul Southworth) wrote in message news:<1UChc.2969$WC3.26885@ord- read.news.verio.net>...
Quoted message said:
In article <[email hidden]>,
Quoted message said:
Hello,
I can't get the following brake setup to stop the bike: I put a 26" wheel with a 1" tire on the rear of a road bike, and installed a BMX side-pull caliper brake that fits the rim. Everything works fine, even the low bottom bracket height. (This is a project bike to test a different geometry for steering and stability.) However, the brake does not stop the bike very well. I've tested the wheel (yes, its an aluminum rim) in a mountain bike, and it stops fine. I've tried two sets of brake pads with the same results. The current pads were used on another bike and worked fine. The cable is tight, and the cable housing installed correctly. The brake levers (real old Dura Ace) do not bottom out. The brake pivots are oiled. Although installed on the rear, the side-pull brake is (I think) actually for the front. Is this the problem? The only thing that I can see is that perhaps the road levers have a different degree of leverage than BMX levers would.
It should be the same. Have you used this brake caliper before? Many BMX calipers are very flexible and just don't provide very good stopping power, especially the ones with long reach and slender arms. The big fat beefy ones work better.
No, I haven't used this caliper before. It's a low cost one, though, an not husky at all. Very good point. I have to wonder, though, that if the brake won't lock up a 1" road tire, or stop the bike, would it function at all on a BMX or mountain bike with wider tires? Thanks for the reply!
I'll ditto that. The cheaper BMX calipers are almost useless as brakes. The good calipers have some serious material in the arms- and are seriously heavy.
What kind of "different" geometry is this bike going to have? Once, (when I was young and foolish) I installed a fork from a 24" wheel bike on a 27" wheel frame, bolted on light 26 x 1.75" wheels and tires, and ended up with a ridable ultra-mongrel. The BB was about 9 1/2" off the ground, the head angle was somewhere around 85 degrees, and the top tube sloped some wacky degree. It was actually a pretty nice bike, except for a tendency to go into speed wobbles at 30+ mph.
What kind of "different" geometry is this bike going to have? Once, (when I was young and foolish) I installed a fork from a 24" wheel bike on a 27" wheel frame, bolted on light 26 x 1.75" wheels and tires, and ended up with a ridable ultra-mongrel. The BB was about 9 1/2" off the ground, the head angle was somewhere around 85 degrees, and the top tube sloped some wacky degree. It was actually a pretty nice bike, except for a tendency to go into speed wobbles at 30+ mph.
Jeff
The bike that I put a smaller rear wheel on has a top tube that is a little too long and a head tube angle that is a little too steep for my tastes. I wondered if I could slacken the head tube angle and effectively shorten the top tube by lowering the rear of the bike by using a smaller diameter wheel. I put on some cheap parts, and it worked! The bike fits me better and is more stable. I've been pedaling carefully through corners, delicately searching for the clipping point, but haven't found it yet (because of Speedplay pedals, I think). However, the rear brake just doesn't work well enough.
