Akak

I've got avid BB7 mech disks with Avid Speeddial levers. The brakes are very new and probably not broken in yet.

One thing I want to do is decrease the amount of lever pull needed to lock out the brakes. Right now, I have to pull the lever to the bar to lock them up. It takes very little finger pressure to do this, just a lot of distance. The problem is that I need to move my second finger off the bar to make enough room for the lever to fully extend.

I'd like the pads to hit the disks after much less motion. I know I can adjust this but I'm not sure where. With canti's, I'd just adjust the barrel adjuster on the cable but the Avid manual clear states NOT to do this. So I assume I just need to turn the pad adjustment knobs a bit.

But...the Speeddials also have this little adjuster on the lever. It's not the barrel on the cable, but another smaller knob that's intended to change modulation. Should I adjust this instead of the brake pads?

Any advice would be appreciated. This is my first set of disks so I'm clueless.

Raiyn

Do you still have the instructions? https://www.sram.com/_media/pdf/avid/...65-install.pdf
They'll explain it a lot better than I can. Basically you need to adjust the knobs on the calipers.

phantomcow2

well yea basically its as the instructions say. First take at look at the clearance of pad and rotor. It should be less clearance from the pad on the right. You turn the dials like tightening a screw, to the right = less clearance. Just turn the dials until you the clearance you like, a playing card's width is nice i find.

cryogenic

Yeah.. turn both of the pad adjustment knobs on the calipers to the right while looking over the rotor at pad clearance. Then spin the wheel to make sure the rotors don't rub in any spots. That should reduce your lever travel greatly.

Akak

Thanks, all. Yes, this is what the instructions say but I was wondering about the adjustment on the lever itself. Since the brakes don't assume you're using the SD levers (and vice versa), there's nothing that really explains how to use them both in conjunction.

So if I'm adjusting the pull distance by adjusting the pads, what's the speedial screw on the levers do for me?

Thanks again!

cryogenic

allows you to fine tune it even more, I suppose.. The adjustment on the lever seems to have a finer adjustment than the pad adjustment. Also, if you rotor is somewhat warped and you need to set your pads farther away from the rotor, the speed dial can give you the adjustment you need without having to worry about your pads rubbing.

Raiyn

Leverage. If you pull back on the lever so you vcan see the cable attachment point you'll see that the screw causes it to move up and down allowing for different leverage ratios. It's not for adjusting pad separation as much as it is dialing in the "feel" of the brakes. All pad adjustments need to be performed at the caliper.

Dirtbike

about the leverage: With the cable pushed closer to the hinge of the lever, there is more leverage. Longer lever pull, but less effort squeezing the levers. When the cable is moved farther from the hinge, there is less leverage, and you pull less lever, but must pull harder on the lever to get the same braking.