BB7 Road: how to stop the rubbing?

[BalkanExpress]

My shiny new bike has shiny new disc brakes: BB7 roads.

Mechanical klutz that I am I read all the tips, watched the video on you tube and still they rub!.

I dialled the adjusters in so that the pads were close enough to the rim so that the brakes were "on", then three clicks on the outboard agjustment knoband three on the inboard (although the inboard do not seem to "click" to the same extent as the outboard) and they still rub, if I keep dialing out then by the time the rub is eliminated the pads are a long way out and the levers have a LOT of travel.

So should I just dive down the nearest hill brakes on and wear the rub away or persevere with the fine tuning

 

[RedBike]

Check and double check the wheels are sat in the dropout correctly. Then check to see if the rotors have a buckle in them.

If the brakes are just catching the rotor here and there then the rotor needs to be trued.
The best way to do this with it being a new bike is to hand it back to the shop you brought it from and get them to do it. Failing that, get an adjustable spanner and start bending the rotor at the points where it catches.

If the brakes are catching all the way around then you need to center the caliper so the rotor is in the middle of the gap / when you apply the brakes both pads touch at exactly the same time.

 

[RedBike]

You do need to find a big hill to bed the brakes in properly but this approach is unlikely to stop them rubbing.

 

[BalkanExpress]

Thanks Redbike.

The rubbing is all the way round so at least it is not a bent rotor. I'll check the wheels again, they have been in and out a couple of times now due to travel: more fiddling around with it tommorrow then.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Your salvation is at hand. follow TO THE LETTER the instructions here. This is, imo, the best setup guide there is. Setup wise there is no difference between BB7 Road and BB7 MTB btw. Ignore EVERYTHING that Avid say about how to do it. Ignore the lame this is a two minute youtube job. Do not assume the shop set them up correctly - safe bet they will not have done. If you haven't got a torque wrench borrow one, if you haven't got a 4th hand tool buy one. Put aside an hour to do them the first time. Pay attnetion to how the housings/outers are finished. This may mean cutting them so make sure you have a proper cable cutting tool too. This may mean new inners as reusing old inners can be tricky.

Do you have drop bars, and drop bar levers of flats? If drops do your brake lines have inline cable adjusters (probably not but it is nice to be surprised) as Avid say, in the instructions that come with the discs, that these must be fitted to drop bar bikes with any of their cable operated discs. I've never seen a bike come out of the shop with them fitted.

I recommend you start over and treat yourself to some Avid Full Metal jackets ASAP and then your BB7's will be so much better than any rim brake that you will eye rim braked bikes with the sort of suspicion reserved for rabid dogs. When setup correctly, and with FMJ's, BB7's are up there with hydraulic discs in terms of power.