front brake position problem
 

I've noticed that the front brakes on my Trek BAD BOY (perhaps the best title ever..) perform in lopsided manner. When I remove the front wheel and squeeze the brake, one side begins to brake first with the opposite side moving belatedly inwards as I squeeze harder. This also causes the "slow side of the brake" to gently rest on my wheel while I'm riding. What's the deal? This seems like a minor issue to me, but since I am ignorant of bikes I figured it was good to look into it.... Thanks!!

picture maybe. i think i know what u mean. brakes need to be centred or something

The brakes need to be centered. I'm not familiar with that model Trek so what type of brake are they?

They are linear-pull brakes. And I'm an idiot! The bike is a cannondale not a trek....

You need more return spring pressure for the slow side of the brake. The brake arm will have a little screw close to where it attaches to the fork. Give that screw about 1/2 turn clockwise. Then try the brake lever and see what happens.

To really fix the problem, take the pivot bolt off and remove each of the caliper arms. Sand the brake bosses (those are the posts that you just removed the arms from). Put a small amount of grease onto the bosses before you reinstall the arms. Also, make sure the boss sticks out farther than the brake arm. Sometimes there is a brass bushing that needs to be pressed into the arm more, or filed down. Tighten the bolts back down and finish up putting a drop of lube onto the spring that slides along the side of the arms. Now you can use the tension adjustment screws on the side of the arms to center the brake. Remember that the pads need to hit the rim at the same time. This may mean that the arms move a different amount, but should never be riding on the rim when at rest. If this doesn't seem easy enough for you, you might want to have a pro look at it.

The adjustable return spring tension on one arm should be even with the other arm.

I been fixin brakes for long time, I see good advice here.

See this thread. Go to post # 6. It shows an easy adjustment trick with pictures.