Eric630

Hi everyone:

Ok here's the deal, I just got a brand new Bruce Gordon BLT about 2 months ago and have bought other things to put on it - fenders, handlebar bag rack, ect. When I was putting on my front fender and handlebar bag rack I took off my front wheel, which meant I had to unhook my front brakes.

Well now that everything is installed and the front wheel is back on, my front brakes aren't sitting right (cantilever style brakes) I hooked up the one side with the anchor and when I hook up the other side, the brake pad its too far away from the rim while the other side is touching the rim. My front wheel wont move because the one side is pressed up against it and the brake lever goes right to the bar and doesn't even engage the brakes. As well the yoke I believe it's called is not sitting directly in the middle so I'm thinking something is not working right

I'm not sure the exact name of the brakes, I haven't bothered to look, but I know the are Shimano, they are Cantilever, and they are brand new, If anyone could help that would be great, Thank you

Eric

Panthers007

If they were fine before you removed the wheel - centered - and now they are off to one side, it stands to reason you didn't put the front wheel back on correctly. This happens commonly, so don't sweat it. Just do it again and push the wheel up into the dropouts all the way.

Let us know if this helps. If not - next chapter is adjusting brakes.

Eric630

It did not work, the wheel is on correctly

rhenning

The brake spring came off one side. The side closest to the wheel. Roger

Eric630

what do you mean?

FlatMaster

It's worth double-checking if the wheel is correctly in the dropouts. Let the bike sit in it's normal positon, but with your bolts or quick release fully loostened. The weight of the bike will make sure the axel is fully in the dropouts.

Eric630

yes the wheel is correctly in the dropouts

Raiden

If the wheel is truely in correctly, check again what rhenning said. Do your brakes have anything on them (likely hidden behind, near the frame), that looks like a spring or a metal wire? The two sides of your brake are independently spring-tensioned away from the rim, and if one spring is a little screwy, the other will pull the unsprung side into the rim.

Panthers007

Have you checked the spring mechanism as suggested by Rhenning? Go over the entire length of the cable/housing and check for any clogs, out of a keeper, etc. Use your functionin rear brake as a template of what the front should look like.

Eric630

the springs not off, I know that. But could they tensioned wrong?

Raiden

Ive never had one just go completely wrong on me, but its any easy adjustment to try and easy to undo.

Silly question: Is the cable stop hanger (ugh, sorry if Im screwing up the terminology) sticking out below the stem perfectly straight and lined up exactly with the front wheel?

JoebikerLa

If you can, take a picture and post it. These guys will be able to see what's up and tell you what to do next.

GaryBy

If the yoke isn't centered, are you sure you've put the brake cables back into the brakes correctly? I assume these are the sort where the yoke is screwed tight to one of the cables and that you didn't loosen it, so that the problem isn't that the yoke is mispositioned on the cable. But check to see that the cables from the yoke to the brakes are routed correctly, going through any appropriate channels cut into the brake. Also make sure the fender isn't interfering.

You can figure out whether it's the wheel or brakes by checking their centering separately. With the brake cables disconnected, the wheel should spin freely, centered in the fork and without wobble. If not, it's the wheel mounting. With the wheel out, and possibly a helper to apply pressure to the brakes, you should be able to have the yoke centered while, at the same time, the brakes are positioned symmetrically (both pads equally distant from the imaginary centerline of the rim). If not, the problem is with the brakes.

norwood

A picture is diffinitely worth a thousand words. Sounds like the yoke isn't centered. Perhaps the straddle cable is hooked in only one hook and is binding and not free to self-center.

Panthers007

That ^^^ is my current guess, too.

We Want Pics! We Want Pics! We Want...

Taken from straight-on at the front of the bicycle. And from above looking down at the headset, cable-hanger, wheel.

Eric630

I tried uploading pictures but it wasnt working *sigh*
I'm just gonna take it to the bike shop and have them fix it and get a new brake cable because mine is all frayed to hell now

Panthers007

+1

Let us know what they say it is. You've piqued our collective-curiosity - okay? Thanks!

DannoXYZ 

Did you unclamp the cable to remove the front-wheel?

GeoLes

When they fix ti, have them show you what was wrong and how the brakes work, so you can do it yourself next time. I think you will be amazed how simple it is once you figure out how they work.

Eric630

Well I got it fixed today, pretty cheap too heh

Yes I did unclamp the cable when I removed the front wheel because the brakes were so tight and because I don't have a cable puller, I tried to pull it with vice grips which just tore the cable apart.

DannoXYZ 

Ah... that was the problem. Simple way to re-attach the brake-cable is to just squeeze the caliper together with one hand. Use the other hand to pull through the cable as far as i'll go, then tighten the clamp bolt. Let go of the caliper and use both hands to fully tighten the clamp-bolt.

One good trick is to install the brakes loose and use the barrel-adjuster to tighten them up. That way, to release the wheel, you just screw in the barrel-adjuster and you've got additional clearance.