rtmeyer1983

Hey all, I've been having an issue with the front brakes on my Trek 1200 road bike and I'm stumped on this one.

In recent weeks, my front brake pad on the left side has been rubbing against my tire, enough that it finally wore the side of the tire down and I flatted. However, the brake pad was mounted all the way down at the end of the caliper and my wheel is mounted properly. In fact, I've owned the bike for about two years and I've never had this issue until recently.

What seems like the issue to me (a relative amateur, admittedly) is that, since my brake pads were skinnier at the end nearest the rim and got wider towards the mount, as my brake pads wore down over time the surface of the pad that was making contact with the rim/tire got higher and higher. Eventually the brake pads got worn down enough that they rubbed through the tire and caused me to flat.

So, get new brake pads and problem solved, right? Well, I tried that and no luck... even the new pads are rubbing the tire. My question is this... is there a thinner brake pad out there that I should be using? Seems like the only solution to me, as I've adjusted the pads as low as they'll go on the calipers.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

justkeepedaling

I think you need to adjust your caliper. There's a little allen bolt on the top of the brake. Adjust (loosen) that a bit and it'll move the pad out a bit. This was the case for my Cervelo which was missing this bolt. With the bolt in place, the brake didn't rub the tire at all

Inertianinja

there are no "thin pads" that i'm aware of. if the brakes are contacting the rim when you're not braking, the cable is under too much tension. if one pad is contacting, then the brake isn't centered.

(1) make sure they're centered. when i first set up a brake, i squeeze the brake lever as if i were braking. this ensures that the brakes are centered. while holding the lever, i tighten the brake bolt.

(2) use the barrel adjuster to release some tension. if the brakes are centered but they're still contacting the rim, you can turn the barrel adjuster so there's a little less tension, so the pads are further from the rim.

(3) if the barrel adjuster is already turned all the way out (at minimum tension) then loosen and redo the cable.

rtmeyer1983

Thanks! I'll give that a try and post back here if it doesn't work out. Appreciate you taking the time.

mmmdonuts

I think you may have short reach calipers on long reach forks. If so you should get long reach calipers.

It sounds odd that you have this problem unless these parts are not what came on the bike originally.

Edit: After some thinking Inertianinja has good suggestions. Are both pads at the bottom of the slots? If not then you have to center the caliper first, adjust the centering so that both pads hit the rim at the same time, then adjust the height (reach) of the pads in the caliper arm.

DScott

Assuming everything is stock (i.e., that you haven't changed the brakes or fork), it's got to be either a brake setup issue, or some problem with the wheel not sitting in the forks correctly. It worked at one point, right?

The brake pad holder is able to pivot in different directions. It can be adjusted to toe-in the front edge of the pad, and can also angle in to meet the rim at the correctly. Also, the hold-down bolt that locks the pad in should be on the back (trailing) end of the pad. I'd check all that, especially if you've replaced the pads lately. This is all assuming there's been no damage to the brakes themselves, like damaged pivot bolts or a bent arm or something.

The other thing to check (probably first thing, actually) is that the wheel is sitting all the way in the fork end. If there's something preventing it from seating all the way, your wheel would sit low compared to the brake pads. Hung up on the lawyer lips, perhaps?

/spitballing

DScott

Remember folks, the issue is not the brakes being too tight, it's that the pad is rubbing against the sidewall of the tire. That shouldn't happen no matter how loose or tight the brakes are adjusted.

I've got that bike, and with the pads adjusted correctly, there's still a little room for the pads to go lower. They can get just below the bottom of the rim by several mm, and nowhere near the tire.