Cyclocross - Salsa Las Cruces - need help from disc brake owners

Picked up a second-hand las cruces a couple weeks back. Just started commuting on it this week.

I'm having issues that I can't resolve with the front brake. I'm running Avid road discs and Mavic Speedcity wheels.

First problem, and perhaps the only, is that on the front brake I have to back the outside adjuster almost completely off (out) to keep the brake from dragging. Sitting and spinning, it's fine, but if I stand, or even just mash hard, the brake starts dragging again. I love the bike, but the dragging brakes are driving me insane. If the disc was sitting 1mm to the right I think I might be ok - although I don't like knowing that something is flexing as much as it is.

I know this is vague, but I'm at a loss. The wheel is true and seems tensioned correctly, although i haven't had it checked yet. The disc spins true. Should I respace the wheel to shift it right?

I guess I'm looking to see if this is a common problem, and if there's any hope of resolving it. As a bike, I enjoy my Kona better, so if I had to toss the brakes of the Salsa it might as well be sold.

double check to see if the caliper itself is centered over the disc rotor - Avid has really good instructions on how to do this on their website. After you make sure the disc is centered in the caliper then use the adjusters. Those would be my first ideas to solving your problem.

Also make sure the caliper is not tilted. The engagment of the brake can be set with the levers closer to the bar than is needed with caliper brakes because of less flex in the system. Once I had the brakes set up on my Las Cruces I had no problems with rubbing up until Dec. when a burgler rode out my front door on my bike with the rest of the stuff he stole.

I'm having issues that I can't resolve with the front brake. I'm running Avid road discs and Mavic Speedcity wheels.

I have the EXACT same set-up, and understand your issue. I like my brake levers set-up loose, so it's not much of an issue for me. If I set the brakes up tight, I will hear a very slight drag of the brakes when standing and going hard. I think the only solution is to set your brakes up differently, but there may be a better way.

Thanks guys. I looked at the Avid site and I think I understand. Seems like the way the caliper is mounted to the "mounting tab" allows some adjustment. I'll take a look at it tonight, assuming I have the right torx size - didn't get the little avid tool with the bike.

well the only thing you need a torx for is the rotor itself - all the mounting for the caliper should just be a 4 or 5 mm allen (i cant remember right now)

+1 on the advice above. I had bad performance with my Avid Road brakes until I replaced the pads... If your pads are contaminated or have been worn unevenly because the rotor was not set up well, you may need to get new pads, too.

I now have strong braking performance, but I find that there is too much flex in the system. I think this is because road brake levers have higher force and shorter travel than MTB levers, so the system becomes more flex-sensitive.