Got a niggling 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?
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.
"Lee" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
Hello!
Got a niggling 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!
Quoted message said:
Getting quite frustrated with the whole thing - i managed to get it
balanced
Quoted message said:
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
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...
"Michael MacClancy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
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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!
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!)
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.
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 harriscyclery.comharriscyclery.comOpen ↗ Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide captainbike.comcaptainbike.comOpen ↗sheldonbrown.comsheldonbrown.comOpen ↗
"James Godley" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
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.
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 hidden] dundee.ac.uk~pjclinchOpen ↗
"Peter Clinch" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
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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
"Lee" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
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"Peter Clinch" <[email hidden]> wrote in message "]news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
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
Quoted message said:
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
