rear brake "stuck"
 

Hi all,
Recently, my rear brake has become "stuck" when I squeeze the lever. Basically, it remains in the "brake" position, and I have to manually pull the brake shoes apart so that they don't rub against the rim while riding. Any suggestions? Would sweat cause this?
Thanks

Many suggetions:

1. Lube the pivots on the brake arms themselves. They could be dirty or corroded
2. Check your cable and housing to see if they are worn, dirty or frayed. Replace as needed
3. Check the pivot on your brake lever. It could also be dirty or corroded.

First disconnect the cable at the brake caliper and operate the brakes by squeezing the shoes together by hand. If the are sluggish and don't move freely, clean and lube. If they move freely check the cables, housing and lever.

My money is on bad cables and housing.

fatslowbiker: Beside the above, make sure the brake pads have not worn and developed a lip which catches under the edge of the rim, preventing them from returning. It can be removed with a razor knife and the pads adjusted properly so it does not occur again.

Agree, housing and cables are often the culprit. Just to add another item to check, especially if you have cantilever brakes - look at the brake pads. The pads may be vertically set low and not fully contacting the the rim leaving an area of the pad unused. Over time the part of the pad that is contacting the rim wears away creating a lip of unused pad on the bottom of the pad. Once that happens when you squeeze the brake, the lip wedges between the brake contact area and the interior part of the rim. The result is the brake will not retract without a hand assist.

Image of sweat dripping on rear brake, not pretty. It is salt water and would corrode. What kind of brake are you running?

Thanks for the advice, all. I don't that I've replaced the cables or housing yet (the bike has about 12k miles). I'm at the beach for the summer, so I feel that the sand/air could also be a culprit. I'm running 105.

+1

If the cables and housing don't work, you may need to disassemble the brake, clean everything, then put it all back together with good grease. I had to do that with some cantis just this week with some 14k miles on them. In your case, it could be just a few grains of sand or salt in the wrong place.