It's sounds like what you're saying is that the responsiveness of the brake, in part, depends upon the tightness or looseness of the nut behind the brake arch. Am I understanding you correctly?
I disconnected the brake cable from the lever by the handlebar and when I use my hand to compress the brake arch in the rear, the same stickiness persists.
Originally Posted by
Andrew R Stewart
The Raleigh Sports that I know of use stamped steel brake calipers with a center bolt whose adjustment is not the same as many common side pull calipers. It is easy to, after time, neglect or poor adjustment attempts to end up with too tight a caliper pivot/center bolt. Just like the front wheel bearing adjustment where the securing nut is also the adjustment lock nut the caliper arm friction is set with the securing (the nut behind the crown for the front brake) AFTER the center bolt is rotated to a point where after the securing nut's tightening allows the caliper arms to still more freely and without slop or play. This adjustment is simple once understood. Andy