Why does my brake lever go all way to grip

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You've set the blocks level with the rims when in released position. Slacken the blocks a little, apply the brakes, settle the blocks in position, tighten up whilst holding them on. Can be fiddly! Otherwise you're just trying to force the blocks off the rim. The blocks should approach the rim in a downward curve.
 
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shawninvan

New Member
v brakes.... front works good.. rear is a disaster... can a long cable run do this?? its a beach cruiser.. one long cable run... whats going on here.. new pads,, lines up to rim.. as close to rim as possible using barrel ajustment... and lever keeps going to grip./.
will a new cable help????

watch video and tell me what to do... i am no dummy but going crazy here,,, it seems like it pushes frame apart where the v brakes hook on bike.... when pulling lever all the way in - have you ever seen that??


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sh7YQ8lazSQ
 

TheDoctor

Europe Endless
Moderator
Location
The TerrorVortex
I take it you're using a V-brake lever? If it's one long run then it could be compression of the outer, but that shouldn't make very much difference. Could be worth getting the spacers on the inside of the V-blake, so the pads move in an arc towards the rim - it looks like they're moving down the rim a bit too much.
Well done on putting a video link up, BTW - makes it a lot easier to see what's going on!
 
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shawninvan

New Member
the spacers are in there... i have rotating spacers on the inside and the outside.. i have the pads hiting the rim at a good angle - the problem is the more i pull they just slide down the rimm - it looks like its pushing the frame apart where the rear wheel goes.. is that possible..\/?? i have never had such bad brakes... would buying a new set of brakes help?? it is a v brake lever - same as on all my other bikes that work fine and rock hard brakes,,, this is the spongiest of spongiest... i need some major help here.. :smile:
 

Gravity Aided

Legendary Member
Location
Land of Lincoln
I think it would be good to have the LBS have a look at them, and show you how to properly toe the brakes in at the front so they don't squeal, and make better contact with the rim. Looks rather more like a hybrid sort of bike, as opposed to a beach cruiser which we often think of as a balloon tire single speed bike with a coaster brake.
 
Location
Loch side.
Your brake is sliding down the rim because of the cosine error. A lever sweeping around a pivot doesn't move in one direction only, it sweeps. There are two ways to avoid it:

1) Buy XT paralellogram V-brakes with a built-in compensating mechanism.
2) Set the clearance on your brakes super close to the wheel so that the sweep is minimised.

The latter is unfortunately the norm. The sweep is worse as the pads start to wear and they don't wear evenly, they wear at a slant which exacerbates the problem.

Provided those are V-brake levers on that bike, you have to take up plenty of cable slack and get the brakes nicely balanced so that the one side doesn't touch before the other. Then minimise clearance.
 

Globalti

Legendary Member
As usual YS has it nailed. I would add:

The brake has worn to the point where there's too much free play. The RH brake pad is slipping badly off the braking surface of the rim. Possibly the frame is distorting slightly but that's because you are squeezing that lever far harder than you would need to to effect a good stop if the brakes were set up correctly.

The cable looks to be moving freely so this is what you need to do:

Tighten the cable by using the adjuster on the brake lever, screwing it outwards to effectively "shorten" the outer cable. Get the right sized hex key for the long nut on the brake pad. Loosen the nut and adjust the pad so that by pulling the brake lever it can just hold itself it in the correct place against the rim. This is a tricky adjustment to get right and it might take a couple of attempts, squeezing the brake lever while moving the pad around. Make sure the pad isn't rubbing the tyre or likely to come off the braking surface as it wears; it needs to be well squared up to the rim. Nip up the long nut very gently and re-check the movement. Then, holding the brake pad with your fingers to prevent it from rotating, tighten the long nut fully.

Do the same for the other side. Adjust the effective length of the cable outer so that, as YS writes, there is minimal clearance between pad and rim. Once you've got this right, lock the cable adjuster by tightening down the larger ring on the adjuster so as to prevent the adjuster from screwing inwards.

If one brake arm seems to be reluctant to move and the other moves too much you can adjust the spring tension, increasing it by doing up that small bolt you can see under the pivot. Go carefully because it's a tricky adjustment.

If your rear brake has worn a lot (the bike looks quite new) it's because you are using it too much in preference to the front brake, which is always cleaner and drier and should be doing 80% of the braking in dry conditions. In the wet it should be 50/50 front/rear.
 
Location
London
the front brake, which is always cleaner and drier and should be doing 80% of the braking in dry conditions. In the wet it should be 50/50 front/rear.

Good post but on that point, doesn't it rather depend?

Often, loaded up and going down a hill in the dry I apply the back gently, and no front, to drag the bike back a bit and stop it running away. I would of course revert to a more "traditional" balance if I actually wanted to stop.
 

tamiya

Well-Known Member
Location
AU, MY, SG
new pads,

who installed the pads?

& are they different/thinner than original that were there before?

Brake blocks have the cone&dome washer adjustment, usually one thicker than the other. Put thicker side between block and v-brake arm to space it further away from the arm. Those arms need to be set "opened" wider apart at the cable pulling end; that lessens the up/down sweep at the rim.
 
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shawninvan

New Member
HI guys thanks for all your help.. just so you know some more info... the bike is a Giant simple 7 beach cruiser,,, about 5 years old.. its a long run of rear brake cable that is clipped to the gear cable and front brake cable. then it goes through two metal loop/holders on the frame.. then to the noodle then in the v brake holder.. the pads are NEW -i have tried 2 new sets of pads . they are in the correct direction.. the spacers are correct.. i have tried to set the pads many times.,. i have tried the barrel adjuster many times... the pads are as close to the rim as possible.. YET the lever still goes to the handle bar grip... its driving me nuts,,,, it does look like its pushing the frame apart when pulled fully and the pads slid down the rim... does it matter the pads are offset.. three blocks of rubber on one sids and two on the other,? i see some pads are even with bolt in the middle??? could the cable be shot and stgretching??? should i try a new cable???
any other ideas?
I BET A pro bike repair guy could not get these brakes to have a rock hard pull.. he would have some reason why...
 

I like Skol

A Minging Manc...
What brake cable housing are you using? If it is generic cheap stuff rather than a decent quality lined version that might be your problem. On a long cable run like that something like Shimano M-system cable housing might make a huge difference. The snugness of the cable inside the casing removes a lot of the 'stretch' (I know it's not stretch but that is what it feels like).
 
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