Genesis day one owners (mini v-brake problem)

pastryboy
pastryboy Posts: 1,385
edited January 2011 in Commuting general
The supplied Tektro RX5 brakes have proved to be awful,. Following the bad weather, the springs on all four brake levers have jammed up so when the brake lever is pulled the arms don't spring back. I've removed them and applied lots of GT85 but the bit that's supposed to be spring won't budge.

I'm struggling to find a suitable alternative though - there doesn't appear to be a mount for a rear caliper brake (there's a vertical hole not a horizontal one) and there's no anchor point for a cantilever brake.

Can anyone suggest anything? Are there any other brands of mini v-brake that are likely to be better. I don't want to spend a fortune.

Comments

  • tptvmbircn
    tptvmbircn Posts: 782
    I have used similar tektro brakes in the past and had not problems. However, I have a habit of, when bying a new bike or part, stripping everything down and greasing the hell out of everything.

    What I would do is remove the springs completly from the brakes and give everything a good clean out. Sometines springs can prove to be a bit tricky to replace. I would personally throw grease into the replaced sprins and then just refit the brakes. I think the tektro brakes are quite good and used them on a flat barred cyclo cross thingy I bodged together a few years ago. I found them very reliable but I had greased the hell out of them.

    Hope I am not being patronising by suggesting this next bit but refit according to sheldon browns website.

    I would not bother buying new brakes.

    Hope that helps,


    Daveyroids.
  • redvee
    redvee Posts: 11,922
    You need to remove the v brakes and clean and lube the bosses. It is possible to dismantle the v brake and grease them up too which I'v done with Tektro and Shimano Vs in the past. When you reassemble the brakes on the bike, put the spring in the top hole so that it is on max tension.
    I've added a signature to prove it is still possible.
  • pastryboy
    pastryboy Posts: 1,385
    redvee wrote:
    put the spring in the top hole so that it is on max tension.

    The bit that goes into the hole is the bit that's stuck (the silver bit that you can adjust the position of with the little screws) - it won't budge and I can't see any way to dismantle it.

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