need a little help
#2
Bianchi Goddess


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Here is the OPs posting from the Folding Bikes forum.
[h=2]need a little help with brakes[/h]
[h=2]need a little help with brakes[/h]
I acquired an OBVIOUSLY older dahon, but not only do I not know what model it is(or build year), but I need help with the brakes. Attached to this post(or in reply to it), you will find pics of both the bike and the brakes(sorry about the quality, I can't find my Real Camera).
Anyway, the brakes are a belt putting resistance on a drum, but they keep loosening up on me. Last week I was going down a hill and had to use my shoe for brakes half way down. Anyone here know what vintage this bike might be or know much about this brake system? Local LBS owner and I will(at some point) take the wheel off and attempt to determine the issue, but I thought I'd put out a request here too.
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!


Have you opened the brake housing and cleaned/inspected everything? I would check with Dahon and see if they still make that brake and parts and get a new belt.
Otherwise check with them about new wheels.
Anyway, the brakes are a belt putting resistance on a drum, but they keep loosening up on me. Last week I was going down a hill and had to use my shoe for brakes half way down. Anyone here know what vintage this bike might be or know much about this brake system? Local LBS owner and I will(at some point) take the wheel off and attempt to determine the issue, but I thought I'd put out a request here too.
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
Have you opened the brake housing and cleaned/inspected everything? I would check with Dahon and see if they still make that brake and parts and get a new belt.
Otherwise check with them about new wheels.
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“One morning you wake up, the girl is gone, the bikes are gone, all that's left behind is a pair of old tires and a tube of tubular glue, all squeezed out"
Sugar "Kane" Kowalczyk
“One morning you wake up, the girl is gone, the bikes are gone, all that's left behind is a pair of old tires and a tube of tubular glue, all squeezed out"
Sugar "Kane" Kowalczyk
#3
Senior Member

Joined: Jul 2005
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This kind of brake is notoriously poor, but I haven't heard of one "loosening up," and I'm not sure what you mean by that. You mean you adjust it and it works for a while, but then it gets worse? One thing to check might be whether, for some reason, a barrel adjuster is not getting set and is working its way loose. Good luck.
#4
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Bikes: Forest Green Dahon Boardwalk
Opening/cleaning was inevitable(simple once wheel is removed), and the barrel adjuster(one near brake itself, brake lever, original to bike doesn't have one) seems to be staying in place.
#5
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So, in fact, you can adjust it so that it works OK, but then the stopping power declines?
#7
Bianchi Goddess


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From: Shady Pines Retirement Fort Wayne, In
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OK what gets loose? does the cable seem like it is slipping.. so when you apply the brake the lever moves closer to the handle bar..... or does the pull of the lever remain the same... but the stopping power of the brake itself fades?
can you post a pic of how the cable attaches to the... to.... whatever the cable goes to make it work
can you post a pic of how the cable attaches to the... to.... whatever the cable goes to make it work
__________________
“One morning you wake up, the girl is gone, the bikes are gone, all that's left behind is a pair of old tires and a tube of tubular glue, all squeezed out"
Sugar "Kane" Kowalczyk
“One morning you wake up, the girl is gone, the bikes are gone, all that's left behind is a pair of old tires and a tube of tubular glue, all squeezed out"
Sugar "Kane" Kowalczyk
#9
Bianchi Goddess


Joined: Apr 2009
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From: Shady Pines Retirement Fort Wayne, In
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that is sort of what I am thinking, like a cars fanbelt.
__________________
“One morning you wake up, the girl is gone, the bikes are gone, all that's left behind is a pair of old tires and a tube of tubular glue, all squeezed out"
Sugar "Kane" Kowalczyk
“One morning you wake up, the girl is gone, the bikes are gone, all that's left behind is a pair of old tires and a tube of tubular glue, all squeezed out"
Sugar "Kane" Kowalczyk





