Originally Posted by
fishymamba
Hello everybody!
Recently I have noticed that my braking has gotten bad. It takes very long to come to a full stop or even slow down a little. I have cleaned my rims which helped a little but not too much. I wanted to know if sanding the braking surface is a good way to improve braking. It sound like it will help, but will I ruin my rim? Is there a special way I should sand them?(wet or dry). Thanks!
By the way I have kool stop dual compound pads on both front and rear.
There are several factors that can contribute to poor braking. Cable can stretch on a newer bike. The brake pads can become glazed and/or contaminated. Pads wear down. Cables can slip if not tighten properly. Wheels can be dirty which contaminates the pads.
If the cables are stretched, you'll notice it in the lever. The lever may move further when you are applying the brakes than it used to. There are barrel adjusters on most brakes to take up the cable stretch.
If the pads are black and oily looking on the braking surface, they may be glazed or contaminated. You can clean them with a solvent...rubbing alcohol works well. Clean the rims at the same time.
If the pads are worn, you have to pull more cable to get the brake pads to engage the wheel. You can use the barrel adjuster to take up the slack or, if the pads are very worn, install new pads.
Cables can slip in the anchor bolt but this usually only happens upon new cable installation. Once set, the bolts usually stay tight.
My guess is that this is something that has happened gradually. I'd suspect cable stretch or pad wear over the other causes. Try tightening the cable and see if that brings back the braking.