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Old 02-22-07, 05:02 PM
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Phantoj
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Originally Posted by jtfind
Sounds to me like the rotor is not running true to the pads and the pads are set too far from the rotor so they don't scrape. Therefore you have to pull in more cable to get complete contact. Or your cable is tired out ?

I have Avid BB 7's and you leave the caliper loose to the frame mounts, then adjust each pad hard to the rotor before tightening the caliper to the frame. When the rotor has almost no runout relitive to the pads, they can be kept very close to the rotor surface. Read your manual and go through the adjustment procedure.

Hope thats not too long.

:-)
I think the problem I had was that my brakes (Avid road disc) were set up badly and the bike was run that way before I got it. So, the pads were worn unevenly. I replaced pads and re-setup the front brake, and it works pretty good. The rear I didn't bother with, and it's not too good, but it's adequate.

I have seen similar comments about Avid road discs in the commuting forum - users not pleased with the amount of lever travel. With my current front setup, I can get sufficient braking force for my rather extreme needs (I bomb down a big hill every day, in all weather), but the amount of travel at the lever is still more than I think is good. These brakes would be better if the mechanical advantage was lower - a harder pull required to stop, but less likely to bottom out the lever.

I think the extra lever travel is related to them being designed for the shorter pull of road brake levers. With a shorter pull, the tension in the cable for a given amount of squeeze on the lever is higher, resulting in more "flex" in the system. Also, the shorter pull means that the effect of any slight flex in the system is amplified in the amount of extra lever travel it creates - a double whammy.

Shimano recently released a road disc brake. I wish they had released a "V-lever" STI instead. Maybe they're waiting to release an STI with integrated hydraulic brake...
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