Too much forward and back play in V Brake arms? Mounting bolts torqued to spec with no room to easily increase. Stopping power still great, but feel the pull (squish) when modulating. New but cheaper Alivio BR-T4000. Is this expected?
Too much forward and back play in V Brake arms? Mounting bolts torqued to spec with no room to easily increase. Stopping power still great, but feel the pull (squish) when modulating. New but cheaper Alivio BR-T4000. Is this expected?
byu/trveadvlt inbikewrench
by trveadvlt
4 Comments
I’ve always assumed that this bit of freeplay is necessary to ensure it pivots without friction. The bolt head does not press on the caliper itself, otherwise there’d be too much friction.
Another example that comes to mind : on a motorcycle, you’re supposed to check that the throttle grip has some side play, otherwise it could get stuck open
That doesn’t look excessive. What do the bosses look like? Are they old and worn?
Recently fitted the same brakes and I was wondering the same thing too.
Perhaps it’s normal. It doesn’t seem to affect braking performance and there’s no shimmy or other odd effects. Thanks for raising it.
The rule of thumb I was told is if the boss looks OK, and it doesn’t squeal / shudder, and it doesn’t rattle around enough to foul the tyre, then it’s probably fine.
edit: and I’ve worked on ones that looked considerably worse than that