Road Bike Brake question from newbie

I eyeballed the gap without measuring and several people have suggested
4mm-5mm is too much. Taking a measure to the gaps, they are in actually
pretty much 2mm all the way around. Also the cables and sheaths look very
clean and new and the operation with the Sora STI thing is very smooth and
doesn't require much effort. The brakes just don't work all that well.

But it seems other pads may do the trick, I appreciate the recommendations on
that, either Kool-stop or Shimano. thanks.

In article . com,
says...

rs wrote:

The brakes are no-name "dual pivot long reach"

They don't work very well

The rims are very clean and like new, as are the brake pads, the brakes are
pr
operly adjusted, centered and each pad about 4mm-5mm away from the rims.

Dual pivot brakes should give plenty of stopping power. Are you
actually having trouble stopping the bike?

If these are no-name brakes, the first thing I would do is swap the
pads for Kool Stop salmons. I prefer the Kool Stop Continental model.

http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/brake...ml#continental

The "4 or 5 mm" gap you mention seems a bit excessive. Are the brake
levers bottoming out on the handlebars? You may need to adjust the
barrel adjuster on the brake cable. Also make sure the quick release
lever is closed.

Art Harris

Stay far far away from Shimano pads. Absolute crap, at least the stuff
I've used. Glass magnets.

"maxo" wrote in news:1128013892.749155.122120
@g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:

They're probably Tektro calipers, which are just dandy--probably better
quality than Sora.


You are correct. Giant uses Tektro models 521A and 521AG (the AG has a
metal QR and a rubber o-ring on the adjuster locknut).


Like everybody else said--it's the pads.

Koolstops all the way. I buy mine on Ebay for 20% of the LBS's indecent
pricing.


Agreeance. I put a set of these Tektros on my '75 Peugeot and they worked
great out of the box, but significantly better once I put in Kool-Stop
Salmon inserts.

"Leo Lichtman" wrote in message
...

"Jim Flom " wrote: You may want to replace the cables and housing first,
too. (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
If the brakes fail to release properly, that could be due to cable
friction. When you squeeze the levers to apply the brakes, the cable
tension is VERY high--it is extremely unlikely that friction in the cables
could be holding the brake pads off of the rims to any appreciable degree.

My first suggestion would be to sand the brake pads. They may be glazed
from lack of use (oxidized).

The OP said his brake pads are new.

JF

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