totallyfixed
Veteran
- Location
- The only county without a McDonalds
If the wind stays this strong I will pop up on the bike and do it for you. You will have to fly me back though.......
Bike Servicing
- Thread starter sazzaa
- Start date
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potsy
Rambler
- Location
- My Armchair
No, the BB5's only have an adjuster on one side so are not as easy unfortunately, it involves loosening the whole calliper and adjusting that way, easier to do than explain.
HorTs
Über Member
- Location
- Portsmouth
After six weeks I'd imagine the pads are bedded in but did you follow the Avid bedding in procedure?
Nope, wasn't aware there was one!
Just taken the bike into work this morning and it's definitely not my paranoia, down a big steep hill the brakes were shocking.
Unimaginative
Über Member
Here's a good article on how to adjust the BB5's: http://www.ecovelo.info/2011/04/15/a-foolproof-method-for-adjusting-avid-bb5-disc-brakes/
I found that my BB5's ended up at their best by following the directions in that article, then adjusting the cable tension - pre-loading the cable by moving the caliper arm a few mm before tightening the nut to hold the cable in place, and then use the barrel adjuster to increase the tension to just before the pads start to rub on the rotor.
If your disc rotor is not true, then use an adjustable spanner to (lightly) bend the rotor back to true - if it's new then likely to be pretty okay without any truing but best to check. The less true your rotor, the farther your pads will have to be from the rotor to avoid rubbing and the worse your brakes will be. After truing you may need to run through the caliper/pad and cable tension adjustments again.
Also, clean your rotor - you can get disc brake cleaner from Halfords for £5, just spray and wipe with a clean cloth.
I found that my BB5's ended up at their best by following the directions in that article, then adjusting the cable tension - pre-loading the cable by moving the caliper arm a few mm before tightening the nut to hold the cable in place, and then use the barrel adjuster to increase the tension to just before the pads start to rub on the rotor.
If your disc rotor is not true, then use an adjustable spanner to (lightly) bend the rotor back to true - if it's new then likely to be pretty okay without any truing but best to check. The less true your rotor, the farther your pads will have to be from the rotor to avoid rubbing and the worse your brakes will be. After truing you may need to run through the caliper/pad and cable tension adjustments again.
Also, clean your rotor - you can get disc brake cleaner from Halfords for £5, just spray and wipe with a clean cloth.
totallyfixed
Veteran
- Location
- The only county without a McDonalds
Sigh, bikes used to be so simple, steel rims, feet down in the wet to stop, no gears, cotter pins and valves you serviced yourself. Nowt much to go wrong 
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Rob3rt
Man or Moose!
- Location
- Manchester
Kick the tyre and tap the top tube!
It's still all a bit foreign to me (barrel adjuster? caliper arm?) but I'm starting to understand bits thanks to the videos. I'll probably have a go at it when I'm on lunch today. Hoping my engineer boss is in and offers to do it for me.
Globalti
Legendary Member
Bike servicing must be the biggest con since.... since.... I dunno but it's a con. A good bike fettler can assess the condition of a bike with a few simple checks and if nothing needs adjusting they won't do anything. Bikes need regular tweaking and maintenance to keep running at their best so I can't understand how a rider can allow their bike to get so far out of adjustment that it actually needs professional attention. Rim brakes wear and need the slack taking out of the cable, chains need regular cleaning and light lubrication, and gears need adjusting especially early in the bike's life as cables settle. All bike riders ought to be able to perform these simple adjustments every week. Beyond that a bike needs very little attention and there certainly aren't any oils or filters that need changing regularly as with a car, which does need regular servicing.
Cable discs are tricky to set up but should work fine for months unless ridden in very muddy conditions. Take out the pads and put them in the dishwasher - there's nothing hotter or more caustic or better for degreasing contaminated pads. With BB5s and BB7s, when replacing the pads be sure to push them into the caliper firmly until there's a positive click, otherwise they will be hanging half out and touching the disc at an angle.
Cable discs are tricky to set up but should work fine for months unless ridden in very muddy conditions. Take out the pads and put them in the dishwasher - there's nothing hotter or more caustic or better for degreasing contaminated pads. With BB5s and BB7s, when replacing the pads be sure to push them into the caliper firmly until there's a positive click, otherwise they will be hanging half out and touching the disc at an angle.
It's not like you just grow up knowing these things though! I wanted to cycle to work so I bought a bike... That didn't instantly make me an expert on fixing bikes!
Globalti
Legendary Member
Granted. A lot of cyclists have been bodging and fettling bikes since childhood. Are there any evening classes you can attend?
I have seriously thought about organising a cycle club for my street, which would be an excellent way of getting to know the neighbours. The idea would be to hold a midweek fettling and setup session in the church hall then all go out for a nice gentle ride at the weekend. I bet all my tools would disappear though.
I have seriously thought about organising a cycle club for my street, which would be an excellent way of getting to know the neighbours. The idea would be to hold a midweek fettling and setup session in the church hall then all go out for a nice gentle ride at the weekend. I bet all my tools would disappear though.
Half the folk I know on bikes have no clue about maintenance and have been riding a couple of years!
Have just found this though, and there's one running this Saturday. I'm thinking it might be worth the £50 just to stop raking through youtube. http://www.edinburghbicycle.com/pro...aintenance-class-call-0845-257-0808-for-dates
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Somebuddy
Über Member
- Location
- Lanarkshire
Brandane, which koolstop pads do I need for my tricross? Your link shows a lot of choice, none mentioned cantilevers. Do you still have the extra brake levers on the top of the handlebars. Ta
