Adjusting brakes

On Saturday, July 18, 2020 at 5:59:12 AM UTC-7, AMuzi wrote:
On 7/18/2020 2:39 AM, AK wrote:
I am having a very hard time adjusting my rear brakes.

I have a mountain bike. Low end. :-)

If I adjust it to where it grabs the rim tightly, it slows my bike down due to the resistance from the brake touching the rim.

It's very frustrating.

Thanks,
Andy


First off, does your rim run straight without dents ? Any
bearing slop?
Secondly are there kinks or other impedimanta to your cable?

Do your brake pads meet the rim squarely and fully or are
they askew?

Is everything original? Mismatch of standard lever with
long pull linear brake would give that symptom.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

Last Saturday I did a climbing ride and the brakes started howling. It sounded like the front so I kept adjusting it until I was sure that it was adjusted correctly. Then down the next descent it was howling again. I stopped and the rear wheel wouldn't move by hand. Since I had just got the bike out of the shop where he had straightened the rear derailleur hanger to stop the noise it was making I was pretty irritated that the brakes were set up that tight. I had called and made an appointment to give him the bike and he said "right away" so I had thrown the chain on and put it on incorrectly on the arm so he blamed the noise on that but I know that it was correct before I took the chain off looking for the noise. And you can tell that the hanger is a lot different. But the aluminum wheels actually have enough play in them that you have to keep the brakes pretty loose (half way down to engage them) But otherwise they are great wheels. Japanese sealed bearings and tight spokes.

On Saturday, July 18, 2020 at 5:59:12 AM UTC-7, AMuzi wrote:
On 7/18/2020 2:39 AM, AK wrote:
I am having a very hard time adjusting my rear brakes.

I have a mountain bike. Low end. :-)

If I adjust it to where it grabs the rim tightly, it slows my bike down due to the resistance from the brake touching the rim.

It's very frustrating.

Thanks,
Andy


First off, does your rim run straight without dents ? Any
bearing slop?
Secondly are there kinks or other impedimanta to your cable?

Do your brake pads meet the rim squarely and fully or are
they askew?

Is everything original? Mismatch of standard lever with
long pull linear brake would give that symptom.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

Well, the normal play in the axles of a road bike make brake adjustment a little tricky. DuraAce brakes have to have enough clearance so that you can see it while riding.

Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 7/21/2020 2:31 AM, Ralph Barone wrote:
AK wrote:
On Monday, July 20, 2020 at 10:49:43 AM UTC-5, Stephen Bauman wrote:
On Monday, July 20, 2020 at 9:59:59 AM UTC-4, AK wrote:

I just found a broken spoke on my rear wheel.

I think my bike is plain wore out.

I need a better bike, but everyone is out except those bikes costing $800+.

Does anyone have any mountain bikes in stock?

Andy

The broken spoke probably means the wheel is wobbling from side to side,
when it is spun. This means you had to increase the brake clearance to
make sure the brakes did not rub. The increased clearance meant that the
brakes did not lock onto the rim, when you applied the brakes.

The first order of business is to replace the broken spoke and true the
wheel. You may find there are more than one broken spoke. This is best
done by a bike shop.

Once the wheel is fixed, the brakes should be easy to adjust.

Bike is at the shop for spoke replacement and truing.

I saw some material on truing, but it was confusing at best.

Andy


If you know the right hand rule and have patience and common sense, you can
true a wheel.

Agreed. Or at least, some people can true a wheel. Bike books from the
1970s had illustrations on how to do it with the wheel in the bike,
watching for the wobble at the brake shoes. No tools but a spoke wrench
are really necessary. (And I remember making minor adjustments with a
little adjustable wrench.)

But it does get tricky for many people. There are those who get confused
about which way to spin the nipple to tighten a spoke. There are those
who don't grasp the idea that to move the rim to (say) the right, you
could tighten a right spoke or loosen a left one - or perhaps both.

I recall riding along one day and seeing a beginning cyclists I'd
recently met; he was walking toward a bike shop, carrying a wheel shaped
like a potato chip. I thought he must have had a bad crash, but no.

He said his wheel was a little out of true, so he bought a spoke wrench.
He inflicted the rest of the damage himself.



If things are getting worse, consider not doing what you’re currently
doing.

On 7/21/2020 1:57 PM, Sir Ridesalot wrote:
On Tuesday, 21 July 2020 12:54:06 UTC-4, sms wrote:
On 7/20/2020 10:40 PM, AK wrote:

snip

That is mostly true.

But as a retired scientist, I love to learn new things.

I will at some point learn how to true a wheel.

It takes a truing stand, patience, and the realization that you will
probably never achieve a perfectly true wheel. Tightening and loosening
spokes on alternate sides by only a small amount in each iteration of
truing. Remember that not only does the wheel need to be true side to
side, it also has to remain round. And you can really screw things up if
you over-tighten spokes.

Many people have trued many wheels without having to use a truing stand. They do it with the wheel still on the bike. It's a good skill to have if touring. Then you can true a wheel on tour or on a long ride if needed.

+1


--
- Frank Krygowski

On 7/21/2020 3:30 PM, Ralph Barone wrote:
Frank Krygowski wrote:

I recall riding along one day and seeing a beginning cyclists I'd
recently met; he was walking toward a bike shop, carrying a wheel shaped
like a potato chip. I thought he must have had a bad crash, but no.

He said his wheel was a little out of true, so he bought a spoke wrench.
He inflicted the rest of the damage himself.

If things are getting worse, consider not doing what you’re currently
doing.

If that statement is applied to the detailed specifics, as in "If the
rim's off to the right, turn this spoke that way," I can see many people
failing to correct their mistake. I think they can easily get confused
about which way they turned it, which way is tighter vs. looser, which
spoke did they work on, etc. That's especially true since it's easy to
change one's orientation regarding the wheel.

If that statement is applied to "Just stop trying to do it yourself,"
then yes, for many people that's best.

As I've said from time to time, I think most people here are much more
mechanically competent than average. We can do things that can baffle
other intelligent folks.

--
- Frank Krygowski

On Monday, July 20, 2020 at 8:59:59 AM UTC-5, AK wrote:
On Sunday, July 19, 2020 at 6:37:22 PM UTC-5, AMuzi wrote:
On 7/19/2020 1:44 PM, AK wrote:
On Saturday, July 18, 2020 at 7:59:12 AM UTC-5, AMuzi wrote:
On 7/18/2020 2:39 AM, AK wrote:
I am having a very hard time adjusting my rear brakes.

I have a mountain bike. Low end. :-)

If I adjust it to where it grabs the rim tightly, it slows my bike down due to the resistance from the brake touching the rim.

It's very frustrating.

Thanks,
Andy


First off, does your rim run straight without dents ? Any
bearing slop?
Secondly are there kinks or other impedimanta to your cable?

Do your brake pads meet the rim squarely and fully or are
they askew?

Is everything original? Mismatch of standard lever with
long pull linear brake would give that symptom.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

Yes to all your questions.

https://imgur.com/a/e61C1L5

https://imgur.com/a/nXBEr1Q


I don't see anything unusual.

Are the cables and brake pivots free moving and lubricated,
tat is, does the brake snap open when you release the lever?

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

I just found a broken spoke on my rear wheel.

I think my bike is plain wore out.

I need a better bike, but everyone is out except those bikes costing $800+.

Does anyone have any mountain bikes in stock?

Andy

I pick up my rim tomorrow which had one spoke replaced and it was trued.

$11

On Tue, 21 Jul 2020 10:57:44 -0700 (PDT), Sir Ridesalot
wrote:

On Tuesday, 21 July 2020 12:54:06 UTC-4, sms wrote:
On 7/20/2020 10:40 PM, AK wrote:

snip

That is mostly true.

But as a retired scientist, I love to learn new things.

I will at some point learn how to true a wheel.

It takes a truing stand, patience, and the realization that you will
probably never achieve a perfectly true wheel. Tightening and loosening
spokes on alternate sides by only a small amount in each iteration of
truing. Remember that not only does the wheel need to be true side to
side, it also has to remain round. And you can really screw things up if
you over-tighten spokes.

Many people have trued many wheels without having to use a truing stand. They do it with the wheel still on the bike. It's a good skill to have if touring. Then you can true a wheel on tour or on a long ride if needed.

Cheers

Which probably says something about the guy that built the wheel.
Doesn't that guy in New Hampshire that builds wheels guarantee his
wheels for life?
--
Cheers,

John B.

On Tue, 21 Jul 2020 07:24:02 -0500, AMuzi wrote:

On 7/21/2020 12:40 AM, AK wrote:
On Monday, July 20, 2020 at 9:14:23 PM UTC-5, John B. wrote:
On Mon, 20 Jul 2020 19:04:34 -0700 (PDT), AK
wrote:

On Monday, July 20, 2020 at 10:49:43 AM UTC-5, Stephen Bauman wrote:
On Monday, July 20, 2020 at 9:59:59 AM UTC-4, AK wrote:

I just found a broken spoke on my rear wheel.

I think my bike is plain wore out.

I need a better bike, but everyone is out except those bikes costing $800+.

Does anyone have any mountain bikes in stock?

Andy

The broken spoke probably means the wheel is wobbling from side to side, when it is spun. This means you had to increase the brake clearance to make sure the brakes did not rub. The increased clearance meant that the brakes did not lock onto the rim, when you applied the brakes.

The first order of business is to replace the broken spoke and true the wheel. You may find there are more than one broken spoke. This is best done by a bike shop.

Once the wheel is fixed, the brakes should be easy to adjust.

Bike is at the shop for spoke replacement and truing.

I saw some material on truing, but it was confusing at best.

Andy

There is a book - "The Bicycle Wheel", by Jobst Brandt, which can be
downloaded that explains the bicycle wheel in excruciating detail, but
it is probably more logical for the average rider to just take the
bike to a bicycle shop :-)
--
Cheers,

John B.

That is mostly true.

But as a retired scientist, I love to learn new things.

I will at some point learn how to true a wheel.

Best regards,

Andy

I tried to look at my bearings.

I have greased and repacked them many years ago.

It appears it takes special tools now to do so.



How special? Cone (thin) wrench and a 17mm or adjustable
wrench. Hardly a burden.


Well, to be picky, isn't that cone wrench a special tool :-?
--
Cheers,

John B.

On Tue, 21 Jul 2020 15:13:18 -0700 (PDT), AK
wrote:

On Monday, July 20, 2020 at 8:59:59 AM UTC-5, AK wrote:
On Sunday, July 19, 2020 at 6:37:22 PM UTC-5, AMuzi wrote:
On 7/19/2020 1:44 PM, AK wrote:
On Saturday, July 18, 2020 at 7:59:12 AM UTC-5, AMuzi wrote:
On 7/18/2020 2:39 AM, AK wrote:
I am having a very hard time adjusting my rear brakes.

I have a mountain bike. Low end. :-)

If I adjust it to where it grabs the rim tightly, it slows my bike down due to the resistance from the brake touching the rim.

It's very frustrating.

Thanks,
Andy


First off, does your rim run straight without dents ? Any
bearing slop?
Secondly are there kinks or other impedimanta to your cable?

Do your brake pads meet the rim squarely and fully or are
they askew?

Is everything original? Mismatch of standard lever with
long pull linear brake would give that symptom.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

Yes to all your questions.

https://imgur.com/a/e61C1L5

https://imgur.com/a/nXBEr1Q


I don't see anything unusual.

Are the cables and brake pivots free moving and lubricated,
tat is, does the brake snap open when you release the lever?

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

I just found a broken spoke on my rear wheel.

I think my bike is plain wore out.

I need a better bike, but everyone is out except those bikes costing $800+.

Does anyone have any mountain bikes in stock?

Andy

I pick up my rim tomorrow which had one spoke replaced and it was trued.

$11

And a Park Tool truing stand is only $299.95 :-)
--
Cheers,

John B.

On Tue, 21 Jul 2020 10:57:44 -0700, Sir Ridesalot wrote:

On Tuesday, 21 July 2020 12:54:06 UTC-4, sms wrote:

It takes a truing stand, patience, and the realization that you will
probably never achieve a perfectly true wheel. Tightening and loosening
spokes on alternate sides by only a small amount in each iteration of
truing. Remember that not only does the wheel need to be true side to
side, it also has to remain round. And you can really screw things up
if you over-tighten spokes.

Many people have trued many wheels without having to use a truing stand.
They do it with the wheel still on the bike. It's a good skill to have
if touring. Then you can true a wheel on tour or on a long ride if
needed.

Err, my 'truing stand' is an old set of (28"?) forks.