Jump to content

My Brakes


alextheferret

Recommended Posts

Hello, i have a onza t-vee brought about 3 weeks ago. To begin with it was fine and the brakes where working really well. Unfortunatly my back brake isnt working as well. Whenever i pull down my brake ready to pull up the front wheel it always slides along and by the time it stops dead i have already went of balance and fallen of. I tried pulling the meatal thing through and tensioning it. But it still happens and i cant seem to do some of the tricks i know. Can you tell me how to make it work better but i just don't want to pay loads of money changeing it when i have only just got the bike. P.s it could be because im a bit weak and can't pull it down hard enough (i am only 12!)

Alex

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It may need new cables, inner and outer. And the pull back could need setting up, basically you need to service the brake, make sure everything is working as it should and as powerfully as it should.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Get some good Vee brake pads, like heatsink or alike, and then get someone to grind your rim for you.

This will solve it all (Y)

Its only slipping because the standard pads are a hard compound, and they dont cause enough friction between the smooth dirty rim and the pads, for the brake to stop you suddenly.

So if you had better pads, with a much softer grippier compound, then a grind, it will cause ALOT of friction, and be an amazing brake (Y)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

before you spend any money ...

clean your rims - use window cleaner (not furniture polish)

clean your pads - (sandpaper)

lube the cables (spray loads of gt85 / wd40 / 3in1 down the cable till it comes out of the other end - i know there are better lubes but you can just just use whatever you have lying around)

balance the calipers and tension the cable so the pads are pretty close to the rim when you're not pulling the lever. I'm sure you'll find plenty of guides for setting up Vbrakes if you google - it's not hard but it can be tricky when you aren't used to doing it.

You shouldn't need to spend any money to get a front V working well enough - even the shabby no-name one I had on my da bomb was beasty when correctly set up. The rear one is where you want to be spending your money on pads and fancy bits (or you could just buy a maggie)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They are V brakes right?

When you pull the brake on, does it feel solid but let the wheel slip, or does it feel a bit spongy(sp)?

If it feels solid then it's probably lack of friction between pads and rim, if it's spongy then it's more likley the brake set up.

Hope you sort it out.

(Y)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cheapest way to improve a crap V brake is to nick some of your Dad's best degreaser (assuming he drives...) and use it on yer rims (rinse 'em with the hosepipe afterwards). Then get out the allen keys and be really anal about how well the pads are lined up with the rim - they need to be hitting perfectly square-on, not at an angle. I.e. all of the brake pad surface needs to be hitting the rim at the same time.

Then when you have some cash spare, buy a coupla sets o' Heatsink red pads and a bottle of muc-off for it and you're laughing.

One other thing you might want to check is how much flex there is in the frame/canti bosses. If you can *easily* see the frame/bosses flexing when you pull the brake, it's time to think about getting a brake booster.

And like someone else said, if the brake feels spongey at the lever - i.e. a sort of 'tapered' feel, rather than going so far and just stopping (which is how most people like their brakes), then it's more likely to be either pad set up (bad alignment) or flex in the frame/bosses. If the brake lever stops solidly when the pad hits the rim, then it's more likely that your rim & pads need either a ) a degrease or b ) a new (better) set of pads.

The other options are for your rim: grinding and tar; but you can only grind a rim so many times before it's useless, and tar is frowned upon around these parts - you get no modulation, it's just on/off with nowt in between.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...