Fitting Campag Skeleton Brakes - Loose Calipers

juggler
juggler Posts: 262
edited April 2009 in Workshop
Have Campag skeleton brakes fitted, front calipers are rigid, however the rear brake is loose in that i can move the calipers from side to side with my hand. I am assuming that they should be rigid?

I have tightened the mounting bolt and this is sold, so the movement must be elsewhere? Is this a problem? I first noticed this when i realised that one of the rear brake blocks was rubbing against the rim...

There's the 15mm nut bewtween the calipers and the frame, this seems solid as well...

Comments

  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    Not clear whether the caliper is mounted firmly to the frame and the arms are loose, or whether the mounting bolt is tight, but the caliper still loose on the frame? If the latter, try putting a washer between the caliper and the frame i.e. the recessed nut may be bottoming-out before holding the caliper tight on the frame. Secondly, check that the brake cable is tight - 'pinch' the caliper against the wheel, slacked the cable screw and see if you can pull any cable through and retighten - either that or unscrew the threaded adjuster a couple of turns to take up the slack. If the arms are rattling front-to-back, then likely that something has worked loose in the caliper itself - don't use the bike until you get it sorted! As with all things mechanical, take a look on parktool.com
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • juggler
    juggler Posts: 262
    going to recheck tonight.

    I think that the brake is firmly fitted to the frame.... the bolt is threaded and tightly with allen key. There is no forward/backward movement.

    The movement is laterally..... side to side, but appears not to be that the brake is not tightened to the frame....
  • juggler
    juggler Posts: 262
    ok rechecked.

    Monty Dog - good call to go to Park Tools website, Park Tools say that when you want to adjust the 15mm centering nut to also put an allen key into the mounting bolt. - the Campagnolo instructions say just to use a 15 :oops: mm flat spanner, which does not work.

    Anyways, i pushed the mounting bolt with the allen key while tightening the bolt and seems more secure, then adjusted the '15mm nut'... seems ok to ride. Brake blocks no longer stick.

    I think this is a major downside to Campagnolo compared to Shimano... there appears to be no centering adjustment on the Campag calipers, while Shimano has the eaasy to use allen key adjustment.

    Also, there is the lever on the Shimano brakes for wheel change, while Campag has this obscure button on the shifters whihc appears not to work as well.

    btw all money and gear no idea, this is Dura Ace vs Campag 11 Super record :oops:
  • italiaandyf
    italiaandyf Posts: 120
    the rear caliper is supposed to be like that. I had the 09 Centaur groupset fitted back in January and noticed the movement on the rear caliper - I checked the bolts and everything was tight, rang the mechanic at the LBS where I had it built, and he assures me that's the way it's designed. 3000 Km's later and there's been no problem at all.
  • juggler
    juggler Posts: 262
    yes thanks for the reply

    there is something in the Campy specs about the rear brake being 'modulated' (not sure what that means} and weaker ... but i assume braking power is meant to be for the most part on the front brake....

    i think all is sorted with me now, although first off the brake block was rubbing... :-(
  • Wappygixer
    Wappygixer Posts: 1,396
    The centring screw is on the drive side of the bike.
    Its just above the brake block and is a small allen key fitting.

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