Bicycle Mechanics - Brake reach a little too short

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sfclearwater
09-03-08, 12:27 AM
I just put a pair of nashbar (tektro re-badged) brakes on an older road bike but it looks like I should have bought the long-reach version.

All I really need is another few millimeters. Has anybody used a file to take a couple millimeters out of the bottom of the brake arm, how did this work out? Does anybody know of any brake pads that tend to run low that might get me the few extra millimeters?

I guess I could just buy longer reach brakes, but it would be nice to make these work.

operator
09-03-08, 12:33 AM
Yep, just file the minimum necessary to make them fit. Alternatively you can get the right reach brakes.
Sixty Fiver
09-03-08, 12:47 AM
Yep... a little filing works.

LarDasse74
09-03-08, 03:31 AM
I find my bike stops AWESUMLY when the rubber of the brake pad hits the rubber of the tire. I vote for leave it like it is.:thumb:
DannoXYZ
09-03-08, 11:36 AM
No big deal. A couple strokes of this and you're all set:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/photos/96600-96699/96628.gif (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=96628)
Little Darwin
09-03-08, 12:00 PM
And you save the extra few grams of the long reach brakes... :)

For extra peace of mind, I recall reading on Sheldon Brown's site that filing is a perfectly suitable solution for extending the reach by a few millimeters.
sfclearwater
09-03-08, 09:34 PM
Thanks to everyone for the comments.

I have hear of people using the file but I just wanted to check out others experiences, guess I will give it a go.