Brake question.

rick_chasey
rick_chasey Posts: 75,660
edited April 2012 in Workshop
My front brake has started behaving a little spongey.

After squeezing the brake, it no longer fully opens again, leaving a little play in the brake lever, and the brake pads closer to the wheel than they should be.

Any reason for this? The bike's hardly old. Only done about 1000miles on it or so.
_

Comments

  • wishitwasallflat
    wishitwasallflat Posts: 2,927
    Dirt or debris trapped in the spring or pivots maybe?
  • Cleat Eastwood
    Cleat Eastwood Posts: 7,508
    i had this in my rear brake - it was a clogged up spring. But I've also had where the brake cable wasnt running freely in the cable housing, a good squirt of wd40/gt85 sorted both.
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  • desweller
    desweller Posts: 5,175
    Cleat Eastwood wrote:
    i had this in my rear brake - it was a clogged up spring. But I've also had where the brake cable wasnt running freely in the cable housing, a good squirt of wd40/gt85 sorted both.

    You might want to take the wheel off and the pads out before you go dosing the area with WD40; saves a lot of tedious soiling of the underwear when you next come to use them and the bike doesn't stop.
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  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    disconnect the cable at the caliper end. That way you can determine whether it is a sticky cable or a sticky caliper, then treat accordingly. Sticky cables are more common in my experience, but I do run full mudguards. Sticky calipers are easily induced by a few days of road spray.

    + to keeping WD40 or similar off rims and brake blocks.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,660
    Could it be that I've stretched the cable?
    _
  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    A stretched cable might give the impression of the brakes being less effective, but it wouldn't stop the caliper releasing. Any cable stretch or brake block wear can be taken up using the adjuster on the caliper.
  • desweller
    desweller Posts: 5,175
    The caliper return spring is in the caliper, not the brake lever, so the cable doesn't play a part.
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