Hi. Very much a beginner with this stuff. I'm having trouble with my rear brakes. I've had to adjust the tension on the cable so it's way high because otherwise the braking is very weak. When I do brake, it is sufficient, but then the right side gets stuck as shown. Not sure how to get each side properly balanced (the set screws cannot compensate for the amount the brakes are being pulled toward the left). Any idea what's up?
Rear Brakes Won't Return To Position
byu/Party_Insurance_5651 inbikewrench
by Party_Insurance_5651
6 Comments
First clean the bike off for starters, then you won’t need gloves to touch that nasty road grime.Â
Second you need a screwdriver to adjust that caliper more tension and see what happens.Â
You got a pile of salt build up. I would start by giving the brakes and frame a good cleaning and cleaning in the springs on the back side, you may need to remove the post bolts to take the arms off and clean and lubricate the posts as well as the bushings on the arms ( basically all the areas how the brakes attaches to the frame)
Usually if it’s not returning to one side properly it’s a corrosion / rust / dirt issue that is making the arms stick
It can also be the pads sticking if they have an unevenly worn ledge but this doesn’t look the case from the video
Also back you’re set screws off on each side. If they’re maxed out it will cause you further issues in the future
I would back them out all the way and after the clean screw them in just to where you have the brake centred and returning properly
Additionally to the recommendations above put some WD40 on the mechanic at the bottom…and move the lever for a little while – this usually helps pretty good to make the V-brake easy movable again….
The real way to do that is threefold
#1 Pull the arm off and wipe the post clean and sand any rust or corrosion off
#2 Lube the brake post with a dab of grease both sides
#3 Then look to see if there are three holes for the spring to go in and move the spring to the top post or up one.
After that you can also unhook the spring from the brake arm and manually bend it to increase tension .
Clean then tri flow
On top of what everyone else has said, check that the brake pad that is sticking hasn’t been set too low on the rim: this can cause a sort of “lip” to build at the base of the brake pad due to uneven wear, which can catch on the underside of the rim and hold the brake arm in the closed position. If you find that the brake pad has uneven wear, notably a small shelf of pad material sticking out at its base:
– check the minimum pad wear, and replace the brake pads if they are too worn.
– if the pad still has life, shave off the extra material with a stanley knife, sand the pad a little with sandpaper, then reposition the brake pad so that it’s making good contact with the rim.
I’ve encountered this particular issue in the workshop many times, and no amount of oiling, lubing or retensioning of the springs will help the brake arm retract if the brake pad is catching on the underside of the rim.