Disc Brake Problem - Help!

HamishD

Right - I think I've made a complete horlicks of this and I need some advice . . .


My missus said that her front wheel was squeaking (she has Avid Juicy 3 brakes on her Boardman) so I said, like a fool, that I'd have a look at it.

Main problem is I have absolutely no idea how disc brakes work. Not a scooby . . .
I took the front wheel off, and now the disc pads are too close together and I can't get the fecker back in!

Does anybody have any bright ideas on how to re-insert wheel that don't involve advanced mechanics/breaking anything? Am I being completely dense?

Much obliged :oops: :oops:

H

nicklouse

place something CLEAN between the pads and push them home. (try a kitchen knife)

re fit the wheel and apply the brakes a few times to get then re set.

but it does depend on what the brakes are.

HamishD

Giving it a go now - tried a screwdriver but was in fear of b#ggering it up . . .

HamishD

result - thanks very much!

It's still rubbing once a revolution which is not so good but at least the wheels on! [homer] stupid disc brakes [/homer]

sc999cs

Take a look at section 6 of the installation guide here (5MB pdf). This page also has some interesting things just about setting up brakes in general (positioning etc).

whitestar1

Also check that the rotor (the disc thingy) is straight, that can cause problems too.

jeremyrundle

THIS is just about the BEST site I have ever found, in fact I ordered the DVD and it is great to play on a portable player when doing work, well worth the money.

http://bicycletutor.com/

Up to a few months ago it was free to watch, my advice is buy the DVD, VERY good value for money.

whitestar1

jeremyrundle wrote:

THIS is just about the BEST site I have ever found, in fact I ordered the DVD and it is great to play on a portable player when doing work, well worth the money.

http://bicycletutor.com/

Up to a few months ago it was free to watch, my advice is buy the DVD, VERY good value for money.

I was very surprised when I came across this post. I visit the site often for advise been a noob on such matters concerning bikes. Best it certainly is, sad the videos are nolonger accessable free.

gilesjuk

Avid's positioning system is a right pain in the butt. Under hard braking the alignment can change.

The calliper can move left to right and rotate using dished washers to allow for perfect alignment. In practice the calliper moves around very slightly and rubs on the disc.

Obviously a perfectly true rotor would stop this, but no rotor is perfect.

I'm getting so sick of this I'm either changing brands or going to replace the washers with flat ones.

apreading

I feel very similar to gilesjuk

Fed up with mine - I notice that Shimano do one where it says the distance pad-rotor is bigger - that simple thing would make such a difference...

Hate Juicys with a vengeance now - when they work they are great but every couple of weeks they need to be fiddled with and sometimes it seems like an impossible task!