Solo_rider

Hi all

So I have this problem with my rear brakes (rim brakes). The right brake arm doesn't move much but just stays close to the wheel rim but not touching. So when I pull the brake lever the right arm travels a very tiny distance -compared to the left arm- before touching the rim. First thing I did was to try adjusting the tension screw on the right side and also on the left side but that hardly made a difference, if any. The damn right arm just doesn't move much and it stays close to the rim.
When I take the noodle out of its holder (to release the brake cable) and move the arm (with my fingers) towards the rim there's almost no resistance at all. So, I'm wondering if it's the spring (the wire thingy that provides the resistance).
I've spent a lot of time trying to figure out the problem buy I couldn't. The left side arm works a lot better. So, are there any options other than buying new brakes? The ones I have on now are Promax. I was looking at the Shimano or maybe Tektro brakes. Are these universal ? I have the 700C wheels. The brake system is the V brk or linear pull.

Thank you.

dsbrantjr

Try unclipping the spring and bending it to give it more tension. Also put a bit of grease where the springs engage the brake arms. As long as the brake shoe does not contact the rim when the lever is released, having one brake contact the rim slightly before the other is not a major problem. But I like them to move symmetrically, too.

Solo_rider

Thanks for the reply, dsb.
The problem is that leaving it the way it is now is causing the brakes not to work properly, prolonging the distance it takes to stop the bike - if I don't use the front brakes. I would live with it if the right arm was slightly lazier than the left but I mean it hardly moves at all and it's really bugging me.

I actually tried bending the spring but maybe the thing is too out of shape to work as it should. I might try some grease but don't have any bike-specific grease but have grease for general stuff.

I

Jon T

Ae you over-tightening the mounting nut?
Jon

Bike tinker man

If you posted a decent photo, then everyone can see exactly what type of brake its mounting, also mention the bike type make etc, might help with replies

Moe Zhoost

Assuming that your adjustment screws are functional, have you tried moving the barrel pin to a different hole to give more tension on that side (and maybe on the other side to lower tension)?

I have a set of Promax brakes on my hybrid. I found that it takes some fiddling to get the spring ends oriented correctly so that the tension screws actually worked. There seems to be a bit of slop that results in twist so the screw doesn't contact the spring correctly. If you mess with them enough, you can sort it out.

Wilfred Laurier

1. Make sure your wheel is fully seated in the dropouts. Many a shop hour has been wasted trying to centre brakes on a wheel that is not centred, then realizing the mistake and doing it all over again.

2. There are often more than one hole in the base of the brake boss to put the brake return spring into. Make sure both brakes are in the correct corresponding hole.

3. Most V brakes' springs engage the brake arm ~half way up the brake arm. If yours are like this you can actually bend the vertically extending piece on the spring slightly to increase overall tension on that side. You can do it with pliers or possibly even by hand.

4. You should be using your front brakes as your primary brake all the time. The back brake is a secondary brake for whey you are riding in loose surfaces or have to scrub speed off mid corner or going down a very steep hill. Using your rear brake as your main brake will result in all your stopping distances being ~3X longer than if you were using the front brake. In fact, the problem you are describing of imbalanced brake arms should not actually affect the function of the brakes, even if it is annoying - back brakes don't work terribly well even if they are set up properly.

Solo_rider

Thank you all for the replies. I appreciate it.
I actually got kind of mad and bent the spring too much to the point it was useless. Yeah I take my frustrations on things. But anyway, I never liked how the right rear brake (caliper) worked, me being a perfectionist and all... The good news is that I went to a local shop and they had the whole assembly (calipers, noodle, boot and even the pads included) all for $15 (CaD). WTH ! I paid $12 for just the front pads last week (at a different shop). My rear pads were shot and needed to be replaced. So, for 3 more dollars I got the whole thing. I even got 4 reflectors (2 wheel ones and 2 for the handle bar and seat for free), which I needed since I had none on the bike. A pretty easy choice and a very good deal. The other shop wanted $40 for the brakes !
Oh and they're Tektro and I already installed them but couldn't go for a ride because it was almost dark by the time I was done but they seem to work -from looking at them when I pull the brake lever- better than the Promax and even the spring mechanism seem to be better on the tektros.

Thanks again for the help.

Ricardbaby

Maybe it is over-tightened.