Brakes Stick When Applied.
 

Hi there everyone, i brought a Merida Road Lite 903 about a year and a half ago now and im loving it. My first road bike ever so ive not got much of an idea when it comes to fixing things.

The brakes say Shimano Tiagra on the top if that helps? They didnt stick when i first got the bike, when they were applied they would go back to there normal position a few mm away from the rims. But now they stick and the brake lever goes slack too.

The bikes cleaned regular if thats an issue and thank in advance for any help!

Most likely cables. Just had the same issue on my commuter. Rear brake wasn't releasing. I pulled the cable and found it was badly corroded. Installed a new cable and all is well.

Replace cable and housing.

Should be do'able, thanks for the info!

Any ideas what size the cables need to be? By housing you mean the black plastic that covers the cable right? Does this all come as one or do you buy it seperate.

Thanks again.

just take it to the bike shop. I know everyone like to DIY these days but... this is a nice bike and you are talking about your brakes. a good mechanic might notice something you could miss.

yes thehousing is the black covering and they comne in either a set (cable housing0 or seperate.

its likely that the black plastic housing is under the handlebar tape. so you might have to carefully remove the tape and then retape them.
some times theres special undertape cable housing. so the black plastic housing just goes to the end of the tape.

1) Disconnect the cable from the brake - if the brake returns fine when closed by hand then it's the housing
2) If it's not the housing, check the brake block for a lip somewhere - either due to hitting off the rim at the top/bottom edge or somewhere in the middle from the rim wear indicator. Filing this off fixes the problem.
3) If it's the brake itself that is not returning regardless of having it stuck on the brake pads then come back

This has been a frequent and frustrating issue for me. I sweat a lot and much of that sweat seems to drip down into the entrance of the housing for the rear brake cable under the top tube just in front of the seat tube. I have to watch that the cable and housing don't get corroded. An occasional squirt of WD-40 into the housing there helps, but if it gets too bad, you'll just have to replace the cable and housing.

You can use campy brake ferrules - they have a small rubber seal that protects better than regular ferrules against water intrusion.

+1, usually corroded or kinked cables. Also check the cable guides and boots.

Good tip. Thanks.