ricecrispies

I tightened my front V-brakes a little and all of a sudden they are now leaning heavily to one side, whereas they were fairly well centred before. I have adjusted the adjusting screws as far as they will go (screw out to push lever in and vice-versa), and I have verified that the spring is engaged on each side. I tried swapping the screws and washers that hold the levers on each side, just in case a worn washer was causing the brakes to stick, but that made no difference. I have also cleaned and lubricated the lever (although I haven't dismantled the lever itself because I don't know how to do that).

My local bike repair shop won't be able to do anything until the middle of next week, and I need my bike before then. Is there anything I can do to get my brakes working properly again?

ClydeClydeson

Double check that the wheel is fully in the dropouts and centred in the fork. Also make sure the springs on the QR skewer are on correctly - a spring installed backwards will throw the wheel off centre by a significant amount. If you imagine that the springs are the heads of arrows, the arrows should be pointing towards the centre of the bike.

andrewclaus

What did you tighten? Did you turn a barrel adjuster?

After you check the above, squeeze the calipers together and free the cable "noodle" from the calipers, so the calipers are free to move. Test the spring tension on each by operating them by hand, see if they feel about the same. This might identify the problem, maybe friction from corrosion or dirt, or something broken or misadjusted. You may need to remove the calipers to clean or repair. If the fork or stay has three mounting holes, be sure the spring is mounted in the same hole on each side--start with the middle hole if you're not sure.

If each caliper moves freely but one has stronger spring tension, free the springs from the calipers and compare them. If one is bent differently than the other, it's easy enough to bend it back by hand. The adjusting screws should be the same position for this check.

Leisesturm

Other posts have good information generally, but I would like to know what you meant exactly by "I 'tightened' my front v-brakes a little'. Tightened what? And what negative effects have resulted from the fact that "they are now leaning heavily to one side"? Also "I have adjusted the adjusting screws ..." What adjusting screws? The extremely tiny screws that control how much the caliper arms retract? If you have messed with those, all is lost. Put the bike on the corner with a 'Free stuff' sign. Start over with a new bike.

Ok. I might be kidding. I am also starting to suspect that what you are calling a 'lever'. I would call a caliper. The real lever is up on the handlebars and has only one arm. The caliper is down on the fork itself and has two arms, each with a brake pad that moves into direct contact with the wheel when the (real) lever is squeezed. I can tell you what to do to get these brakes working but it is fiddly and there is some amount of trial and error. I didn't check to see if your location is known but I can say that if you can find a bike co-op, you should want to take your bike to one. They rarely ever keep a bike overnight to service it. Most repairs are done on the spot. The best part is that a repair like this one might not even cost anything!

Still want to do this? Ok. I might not do it how Sheldon Brown says to do it, but it works for me. I've already started writing up some steps but before I do all that writing I'd like to know exactly how you got here. Peace.

Rolla

Here's an old and hopefully useful trick:

Kapusta

Until you explain what you mean by “tightening” your brakes, this is going to be hard to troubleshoot.

freeranger

You may want to take a look at the Park Tool website: Linear Pull Brake Service | Park Tool and watch the video, can also scroll down to 6. Sheldon Brown.com may also be helpful.

sweeks

How does this work? The springs are tapered, so each is compressed into a flat disk under the QR. I don't understand how this would cause the wheel to be off center.

EDIT: I might have answered my own questions by finding THIS. Still, I am having trouble understanding how a spring *outside* the dropouts can affect the position of the wheel if the locknuts are resting against the *inside* of the dropouts.

andrewclaus

It's pretty clear in the reference you cite:

"One or two springs, wide end(s) inward – This is bad. The wide part of the spring will ride over the axle. Several undesirable results can occur when you force the axle into the dropout with a spring over it. The axle (plus spring) won’t seat fully into the dropout, causing the wheel to be misaligned. If you’re following someone and you notice their wheel is way off-center, but not wobbly, it is probably because one spring is on backwards....Just remember, pointy ends to the middle."

I hate to admit how many times I've realigned V-brakes perfectly, then removed the wheel for another task and found a backwards QR spring, cussed, and put the brakes back to where they were.

ricecrispies

I'm sorry for disappearing after starting this thread a month ago. An unexpected event in my family took my attention.

Yes, I mean callipers, not levers.

No, the axle is traditional, not QR.

I adjusted the cable by shortening it. Since the barrel adjuster of the brake concerned is stripped and therefore broken, I had to do this at the other end of the cable by pulling it a couple of mm through the bolt with the eye that holds it in place. I didn't do anything to the wheel when I was doing this. However, whatever I did upset the brake to such an extent that even if I were to loosen the cable back to where it was before, the brake would still be pulling to one side.

If the problem is not the spring, then I imagine there must be some friction somewhere, I have tried taking off the callipers, cleaning the area, and then lubricating it, but that hasn't helped either.