WOW! What a wealth of advice! Thank you, I will get to it!

However I do think that perhaps I should clarify somewhat - most of the brakes I am dealing with are like the one pictured int he park tool pic in post #7. So quite ancient and there are no adjustment points. My more modern ones (80s Shimanos) don't seem to have a problem...as much.

I've also tried bending the spring out further on the offending side. I have also tried tightening it while over-compensating.

When I whack the spring, how exactly do I do that? I'm not quite following. Do I position a screwdriver on the top of the spring where it meets the caliper and then just hit it?

Also, I can't quite see how a star washer would help because the Superbe has a cuved piece that matches the curve on the front of the tube - it's not flat, so I don't think I could add a flat element.

You could take a look at this link as well:

https://davesbikeblog.blogspot.com/20...ll-brakes.html

great link! Thanks! I'm off to hit my bike now.

Should I whack on the top of the spring on the side where it's not touching? This is driving me crazy and I can't ride 2 of my bikes at the moment!

Hi...Have a look at the following, this is the way I adjust my side pulls..it works for me.


https://davesbikeblog.squarespace.com...ll-brakes.html

First, make sure the 2 nuts on the front are correctly adjusted to allow the arms to move freely. The second nut holds the arms, the outer nut locks the position. Sometimes hard to adjust.

Put a punch or a screwdriver on the top of the spring of the arm that's too far away. Give it a firm but gentle wack to spin the main mounting bolt slightly. Sometimes you have to go back and forth a few times to perfect. Squeeze the brake lever a few times each time to see where the caliper recenters itself.

This was the traditional oldschool way of centering calipers, before Campagnolo put the cone wrench slots on the center bolt.

Mine doesn't have any nuts. It looks like this:

Hit the side that's isn't rubbing.

OK. I've been whacking using the extender part on my socket set. It's not making any difference whatsoever. It's just not budging.

A cone wrench also works:

Those look like 3-speed brakes. Make sure the center screw in the front is adjusted in a way that lets the arms move smoothly and independently. Lock down the center mounting bolt at the rear before hitting the spring. A firm, meaningful tap.

Only if your brakes have the slots, like Campagnolo and after.

Point taken. But if they lack the wrench flats, the Park tool won't be much help, either.

The Park tool looks like it grabs the spring loops...

Yes, right now I'm working on a 3 speed. The nut at the rear is really, really, really tight, but I don't think I'm hitting the spring correctly. I'm hitting pretty hard, though mayeb not hard enough?

What exactly does the screw do? Maybe that's where I am going wrong?

The nut shouldn't need to be "really" tight. I can't comment on the hitting the spring approach, I've never had to do that.

The screw and the cylindrical part behind the rear arm clamp the brake levers together. Tighten the screw too much, and the brake arms won't move freely, too loose, and you'll introduce slop.

First, set the correct clamping force on that screw - set it up so that the arms move smoothly without binding. Next, set the centering, while taking care to move both brake arms, the main screw, and the rear "nut" as one unit. Finally, tighten the nut, and check if the brakes stay centered.

You might have to back off the nut and re-center a few times, but you'll get it.

The cone or Park wrench is the best way to do it. Put a drop of oil on the spring take a punch or something flat and give it a little tap toward the canter of the brake and it should straight out.

Thank you rookgirl for asking this question. I was just pulling out my hair trying to get a pair of ancient sidepulls to cooperate. I will give the springs a tap to start with and see if it works.

For clarification, when you say Superbe, it sounds like you mean Raleigh Superbe. Some commenters seem to think you mean the brakes from the Suntour Superbe group.

Ditto on the thanks for asking... this has plagued me for a long time.

Yes, sorry. I do mean Raleigh Superbe. And hello fellow Londoner. It seems like there are a few of us on here. We should have a meetup!

Dunno if this will help or not, but on my old raleigh sport (my first encounter with sidepull brakes), I found that they wouldn't stayed center because I had left them too loose, over tightening resulted in frozen brake arms, once I understood the concept, getting them simply snug then testing them/tightening as needed very lightly, got me perfect brakes centered etc. hope this helps.

I've always tapped the spring with a hammer and a flat-bladed screwdriver. If it doesn't move, hit it a little harder. It's always worked.

I always just used the front pivot alen head to fine tune the centering on the Weinmann, Mafac and Spidel brakes I had on my bikes. Spidels LS sidepulls adjust and stay adjusted very well doing so, the Weinmanns do OK but will sometimes need some slight readjusting again after many miles. You don't even have to loosen the brake anchor nut as you only have to turn the brake caliper only very slightly anyway.
P.S. I don't use star washers on my calipers, just the aluminum bushings and washers that normally came with the brakesets.

chombi

If you ever wondered why Campagnolo has such a faithful following, you've just stumbled across one reason.

Take a look at the Campagnolo brakes. You will find wrench flats on the mounting bolt. This allows you to hold the mounting bolt and counteract any tirque introduced during installation and adjustment of the brake onto the bike. If you don't get it right the first time (brakes skew after use), you just loosen them and adjust using these same flats. It really is a required feature/function. Otherwise, you are stuck doing adjustment after adjustment until you get it right; which may be never.

Campagnolo really got it right in so many ways. This is just one of them.

OK! I've fixed it and thought I'd post for others wanting answers.

In the end I had the nut on the back too tight!!!!!!!!!! This is totally counter-intuitive (to me at least), but I backed off the nut, and the problem disappeared. I gave it a whack for good measure and...success!!

Thanks so much everyone for your help!