otakux

I have been having problems with my front break, I cant seem to make it any closer to the the rim. as they stand now the brake pads are about 2/3 mm from the rim, and it takes quite a bit of force to start the braking. I was wondering what people normally do. I was thinking about adding more washers to by the brake shoe, since using the cable stops to tighten it has only done so much.

Metzinger

.66mm is very close for a caliper brake.
Your problem is not the rim to pad clearance.
More likely a problem with the pads, oil on the rims, or cable installation.

Um. Do you mean cm? If so, you can wind the adjusters back in, undo the bolt that clamps the cable, pull some more cable through, and firmly retighten.

BCRider

I read this to mean 2 to 3 mm. If that's the case then you're just not setting the pinch on the brake cable correctly. What I do to set my own caliper brakes is unscrew the barrel adjuster about 5 turns and then pull the pads in to the rim with one hand while loosening the cable pinch bolt on the caliper and then pull the cable tight and screw down the pinch bolt. From there back in the barrel adjuster until you have a close but free running fit for the pads.

The key here is that you don't just leave the calipers spread open fully. You need to pull them in somewhat so even at "rest" the calipers are not fully open. Instead they are being held in by the cable.

By "it takes a lot of force to start the braking" I'm guessing you were reffering to the long lever travel before the pads bite. The setup procedure I described above should help shorten the travel before the pads make contact.

But if you need a lot of pressure once they contact to stop then it may be either your choice of pad material or you're not ensuring that the pads are contacting fully once they do make contact. For setting the clamping point you want to pull the arms and pads into contact with the rims and then loosen, wiggle and finally tighten the pad mount bolts so the pads are seated well. If they squeal and you want to add some toe in then use the same method of pulling the pads hard to the rim but use a shim of cardboard stock that is about 1/32 inch at the rear of the pad for a shim.

Finally I found I got by far the best rim brake performance from using Koolstop salmon coloured pads for all conditions. I've found a couple of other "no name" pads that worked as well but I don't know where to get those in the US since they are the house brand for our local Mountain Equipment Coop outlet.

Metzinger

My advice looks a bit silly now.

BCRider

Don't sweat it. I just have more time "reading between the lines" thanks to more time on various forums "translating" what folks really mean.....

otakux

thanks ^^