V-Brake adjustment problem

John Latter said:

When I apply my rear v-brake both 'halves' of the
mechanism grip the wheel but when I let go of the brake
lever only the side where the brake cable enters
'springs away'.

First, make sure the pivots are clean and lightly
oiled. Then, adjust the tension screws (allen or
philips screws sticking sideways out of the pivot body)
to even up the calipers.

Some more info from the Guru: sheldonbrown.comcantileverOpen ↗
adjustment.html (V-brakes are cantilevers, y'know).

--
Guy
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Quoted message said:

Any ideas/help/advice please?

Each arm should have an adjustment screw (sometimes a socket
head screw) towards its bottom end for altering the tension.
Tighten it on the side which is not springing away until it
pulls away from the rim and/or loosen the opposite one until
both arms are positioned an equal distance away from the rim
when you release the lever.

Just zis Guy said:

First, make sure the pivots are clean and lightly oiled.
Then, adjust the tension screws (allen or philips screws
sticking sideways out of the pivot body) to even up the
calipers.

Plus it's possible the spring has sprung (guess what
happened to mine once upon a time...). Make sure the springs
are both engaged pushing the brake arms out, which they'll
have to be to even up the tension.

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 hidden]
dundee.ac.uk~pjclinchOpen ↗

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

Quoted message said:

Each arm should have an adjustment screw (sometimes a
socket head screw) towards its bottom end for altering the
tension.....

I was adjusting my vbrakes last weekend as i noticed the
block to rim gaps were uneven, and I noticed that as well as
the little screw for "fine" tension adjustment there were 3
holes for seating the spring in the frame mounting point so
you could also get a "course" tension adjustment, and I
selected the "tightest" of the 3 holes.

On Fri, 30 Apr 2004 09:54:36 +0100, John Latter <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Hi,

When I apply my rear v-brake both 'halves' of the mechanism
grip the wheel but when I let go of the brake lever only
the side where the brake cable enters 'springs away'.

The other side (chain side on my bike) hardly moves so that
the brake block is still close to the wheel and the wheel
doesn't spin properly.

Any ideas/help/advice please?

Regards,

Thanks to everyone who answered! 🙂

With regard to the small adjustment screws: I turned it one
way which made it spring closer to the wheel rim - the
opposite of what I wanted but I was just having a 'look see'
- so of course I then turned it the other but there was
hardly any springing away from the wheel (hence this post).

Adrian said:

I was adjusting my vbrakes last weekend as i noticed the
block to rim gaps were uneven, and I noticed that as well
as the little screw for "fine" tension adjustment there
were 3 holes for seating the spring in the frame mounting
point so you could also get a "course" tension adjustment,
and I selected the "tightest" of the 3 holes.

Er, does this mean that if I took the mounting to bits I
might find something similar? And is it easy to do - I've
got visions of something like a clock spring irretrievably
going 'Boinggg!'...

--

John Latter

Model of an Internal Evolutionary Mechanism (based on an
extension to homeostasis) linking Stationary-Phase Mutations
to the Baldwin Effect.
members.aol.comTEM.htmlOpen ↗

'Where Darwin meets Lamarck?' Discussion Egroup
groups.yahoo.comevomechOpen ↗

Reply to John Latter

Quoted message said:

I've got visions of something like a clock spring
irretrievably going 'Boinggg!'...

And a second later, a faint sound twenty feet away at the
other end of the garage...

--
Mark, UK. We hope to hear him swear, we love to hear him
squeak, We like to see him biting fingers in his horny beak.

John Latter said:

Er, does this mean that if I took the mounting to bits I
might find something similar? And is it easy to do - I've
got visions of something like a clock spring irretrievably
going 'Boinggg!'...

It's easy enough and it's never gone "boing!" for me yet.

Easiest with the wheel off.

Note which hole the spring is in Undo the bolt holding the
brake to the boss Withdraw the brake arm gently

Clean and lightly grease the boss when putting the
brake back on

Usually it is best to have both springs in the corresponding
holes. Cheap brakes usually need more spring tension than
better quality ones. Sometimes one brake is in hole A and
the other in hole B; that's unusual IM(L)E but I have had to
do it before.

Apply a drop of Loctite to the bolt when reassembling.

What else? Must have forgotten at least a Several of
things there.

--
Guy
===
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"Mark McN" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Reply to John Latter

Quoted message said:

I've got visions of something like a clock spring
irretrievably going 'Boinggg!'...

And a second later, a faint sound twenty feet away at the
other end of the garage...

I just undid the main allen key mounting bolt and the brake
arm easily came away as one part. The spring appeared to be
"captive" in that there seemed no way to remove it from the
arm, and yes I was worried something would go "twang" and
fly through the air but it was easy to remove and replace
the brake arm assembly.

"Just zis Guy, you know?" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Apply a drop of Loctite to the bolt when reassembling.

Probably worth mentioning what sort of loctite - most
people will assume superglue, which probably isn't what
you meant...

cheers, clive

Mark McN said:

Reply to John Latter

Quoted message said:

I've got visions of something like a clock spring
irretrievably going 'Boinggg!'...

And a second later, a faint sound twenty feet away at the
other end of the garage...

STI road levers are the best for this, hours of pure
unadulterated entertainment. If you don't believe me, just
loosen the bolt at the front, go on you know you want to!

Clive George said:

Probably worth mentioning what sort of loctite - most
people will assume superglue, which probably isn't what
you meant...

It would work fine right up to the point where you try to
get it apart again ;-)

Loctite 243 medium strength oil-tolerant thread locking
compound, aka "Nutlock"

--
Guy
===
May contain traces of irony. Contents liable to settle after
posting. chapmancentral.co.ukchapmancentral.co.ukOpen ↗

Victory is ours! Down with Eric the Half A Brain!

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden]
says...

Quoted message said:

STI road levers are the best for this, hours of pure
unadulterated entertainment. If you don't believe me, just
loosen the bolt at the front, go on you know you want to!

When I was younger and more naive, I asked my LBS to fit the
pair of STIs I had just bought. They were still relatively
uncommon then and the "engineer" in the shop didn't bother
to read the instructions. After failing to work out how to
fit the cables, he took the front off. After 2 days of
waiting for my bike, I asked what was going on, and was told
that they had exploded while fitting the cables and they
were just trying to fix them. I suggested that a new pair
might be a better idea.

Jon

you know? said:

John Latter said:

Er, does this mean that if I took the mounting to bits I
might find something similar? And is it easy to do - I've
got visions of something like a clock spring
irretrievably going 'Boinggg!'...

It's easy enough and it's never gone "boing!" for me yet.

Easiest with the wheel off.

Note which hole the spring is in Undo the bolt holding the
brake to the boss Withdraw the brake arm gently

Clean and lightly grease the boss when putting the
brake back on

Usually it is best to have both springs in the
corresponding holes. Cheap brakes usually need more spring
tension than better quality ones. Sometimes one brake is in
hole A and the other in hole B; that's unusual IM(L)E but I
have had to do it before.

Apply a drop of Loctite to the bolt when reassembling.

What else? Must have forgotten at least a Several of
things there.

Thankyou Guy - that SOUNDS so straighforward that I might
even give it a go - especially now that I've located the 3
holes (btw both 'pins' are currently in the center position)
and despite an aptitude for wrecking things in order to see
how they used to work...

'Course, I'm not gonna do anything til tomorrow by which
time my nerve will probably fail & I'll go whining to the
chap at my local LBS for reassurance - he's only 200 yards
away (a fact which he is becoming increasingly aware of *g*)

Thanks again!

--

John Latter

Model of an Internal Evolutionary Mechanism (based on an
extension to homeostasis) linking Stationary-Phase Mutations
to the Baldwin Effect.
members.aol.comTEM.htmlOpen ↗

'Where Darwin meets Lamarck?' Discussion Egroup
groups.yahoo.comevomechOpen ↗

Adrian Boliston said:

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

Quoted message said:

Reply to John Latter

Quoted message said:

I've got visions of something like a clock spring
irretrievably going 'Boinggg!'...

And a second later, a faint sound twenty feet away at the
other end of the garage...

I just undid the main allen key mounting bolt and the brake
arm easily came away as one part. The spring appeared to be
"captive" in that there seemed no way to remove it from the
arm, and yes I was worried something would go "twang" and
fly through the air but it was easy to remove and replace
the brake arm assembly.

Thanks Adrian - in a flash of inspiration I finally looked
UNDER the mounting & found the three holes you were
referring to! (not very good am I?)

--

John Latter

Model of an Internal Evolutionary Mechanism (based on an
extension to homeostasis) linking Stationary-Phase Mutations
to the Baldwin Effect.
members.aol.comTEM.htmlOpen ↗

'Where Darwin meets Lamarck?' Discussion Egroup
groups.yahoo.comevomechOpen ↗

On Fri, 30 Apr 2004 14:13:18 +0100, "Clive George"

Quoted message said:

"Just zis Guy, you know?" <[email hidden]>
wrote in message -"]news:[email hidden]-
berlin.de...

Quoted message said:

Apply a drop of Loctite to the bolt when reassembling.

Probably worth mentioning what sort of loctite - most
people will assume superglue, which probably isn't what
you meant...

cheers, clive

Wouldn't it be funny if someone had posted "Arrgggh - too
late to tell me now!"

No, you're right - of course it wouldn't...

🙂

--

John Latter

Model of an Internal Evolutionary Mechanism (based on an
extension to homeostasis) linking Stationary-Phase Mutations
to the Baldwin Effect.
members.aol.comTEM.htmlOpen ↗

'Where Darwin meets Lamarck?' Discussion Egroup
groups.yahoo.comevomechOpen ↗

I've been having trouble with my V-brake, too on my front wheel. I even tried adjusting the tension screws. The side that didn't move at all (the one at the end of the cable), I adjusted all the way in, and the tension didn't imporive any...same with the other side (I unscrewed it in an attept to ease cable tension). The tension was still the same. It seems like they brakes are permanently misaligned: whenever I try to adjust them and move them off to one side, it shifts to the other side and continues doing the one-sided braking.