bravofixie

Hey everyone,

I recently took off my front wheel on my PureFix Bravo to travel. Tonight, as I reinstall the wheel an issue occurs. I look down and notice that one of the brake pads is much farther away from the wheel then the other one. So i decide to take off the wheel and start over and yet again the same issue occurs. How do I make sure the my wheel is equidistant from both sides of the fork and the two brake pads.

Thanks in advance, Ari

SkyDog75

That's easy enough to measure. Break out a ruler. (It's probably centered well enough.)

The position of the brake caliper arms is adjustable, typically by rotating the brake on its center pivot or turning an adjustment screw. Exactly how to do so may vary a bit depending on your exact model of brake. You can check out the Park Tool tutorial on dual pivot brake service for more info:

Park Tool Co. » ParkTool Blog » Dual Pivot Brake Service

Rowan

Have you checked to make sure the axle properly seated in the dropouts on the forks? That is the starting point.

A question: What sort of bike is it, and are you using a quick release lever to tighten the wheel in the dropouts?

cny-bikeman

If you put in the wheel by shoving it into the dropouts and then clamping then the wheel may not center properly. Not all bikes are made to tolerances close enough that a fully seated wheel will center. One then may need to hold the wheel in the centered position before clamping in place. You may have of course somehow changed the centering of the brake, but as noted above all you have to do is measure the distance from the fork blade on both sides to determine which is the problem.

zebede

A lot of inexpensive wheels are not properly dished and might be true but shade to one side.

HillRider

If the brakes were centered before you remove the wheel but not after you reinstalled it, I'd say it's highly likely you bumped the brake off center while installing the wheel.