brake pad adjustment on Cantilevers

wilshawk
wilshawk Posts: 119
edited December 2010 in Road beginners
It seems dang tricky to get thiese things neatly aligned with the wheel rim? I loosen the one bolt with the spanner to make the pad adjustable, then try to wiggle it around and up/down to a suitable position. But when I hit the brake levers the pad hits the rim unevenly so some parts are wearing away more than others and Id guess it lessens the breakign power a bit too.

Seems like to get an even you have to try and judge the height and up/down angle at the same time, not easy as it closes in on the rim in a curved line, and also sometimes seems like I somehow get one side of the pad wonkier than the other side so left is touchign the rim more than right although not sure how I managed that. So any tips on this matter, what sort of height and distance from rim do you set your pads at? am I doing anything particularly wrong or is it just a tricky thing to do?

Comments

  • rolf_f
    rolf_f Posts: 16,015
    My approach: do the best you can by eye, do the bolts up finger tight and then operate the brake lever - you can then, slightly trickily, free and tighten the bolts so the blocks sit nicely.
    Faster than a tent.......