electricwookie

Just got this (jamis aurora) home yesterday, but can't yet take it out because of this



pad on the left (of the pic) is hard against the rim, right is way out there by its lonesome.

being a mechanical-know-nothing, where do i adjust this?

bikeman715

you may wants to take this to your LBS .

BCRider

It looks like your straddle cable needs to be adjusted and then it'll all work out. The left side is noticably shorter than the right side of the picture. There are also small screws to adjust the spring return tensions on the arms. These adjustment screws are down near the pivots. Equalling out the straddle cable and then fine tuning with the tension screws should fix this up nicely.

U.V.

allso, make sure each brake moves as freely as each other. and check to see if both springs are in the same holes on the fork mounts

electricwookie

Thanks. Someone just pointed out to me that there's a mark on the right side of the cable where it would have been seated. Appears to have slipped out somehow.

electricwookie

Update




These are mounted differently, but i don't know which is correct. the left side/2nd pic is hitting the rim a little low so I assume this one is incorrect? And how is this fixed... I really don't want to take this to a shop, because they seem to be only slightly more competent than me, which is shocking.

RonH

Both brake pads should contact the rim and not the tire.

Now read this --> https://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=19

Camilo

That's a good how-to, you might find the cantilever brake adjustment instructions on Sheldon Brown's website is also helpful. A lot of times with brake adjustment you just have to start at step one and go through the whole routine.

BCRider

Your Oryx brakes are not quite the same as the post style cantis that will be found on the Park site. Note that the Oryx brakes use the V brake style pads with threaded posts and cup washers for setting the angles.

How I like to set them is to clamp the lever and then loosen the outer nut quite a bit. Then I reach in and adjust the pads so they are sitting against the rim nicely and then I sort of flutter the brake lever a few times while holding the pads to settle the inner cup washers. Then while still holding pressure on the lever I screw on the nuts but I seat them then back of and reseat a few times to set the outer cup washers before finally screwing the nuts down firmly. Hold a lot of lever pressure while doing the last bit of tightening.

Tinkeric

You should be able to get those brakes dialed in, but I would consider replacing the old school straddle-yoke setup with a link wire -- the v-shaped part that predetermines the cable length on one side.

If you stick with your setup, you should attach a reflector or something with a bracket under the straddle cable, in case it malfunctions, which would cause it to act as a brake itself and lock up the wheel.

dabac

Going by what you have circled on the pics I assume you're talking about the washers in the brake pad posts?
There are a couple of washers that acts as a ball-and-socket joint around the brake pad post on each side of the brake arm, they're needed in order to align the brake pads with the rim.
Of course it looks neater if the're assembled in the same order on both sides, but as long as each ball-and-socket combo is correct it doesn't matter much if they're stacked a little differently. Feel free to disassemble and restack if you wish, you might want to count & compare the bits to make sure there aren't any part that's gone missing.
I think others have already suggested a couple of links with good walk-thru's of brake adjustment, but basically you need an Allen key to loosen the nut at the end of the brake pad post, then you wiggle the brake pad around until you've gotten it pointing right and then you tighten the nut again. Some put some sort of retaining strap on the lever or across the brake arms to help with the set-up. Some prefer to use a tie-wrap or small coin to get the toe-in right while others simply eyeball it.

Being able to do the basics yourself is really a useful skill by itself, and I don't think there's anyone here who wouldn't be able to share a horror story about clueless mechanics.