Campagnolo brake caliper spring tired?

bontie

My rear Campagnolo skeleton brake does not seem to "release" properly almost as if the spring is tired and no longer strong enough to fully open the caliper. A few searches reveals that it is more than likely not the spring but some other adjustment i.e an overtightened pivot bolt or something. Anyone encountered this before and know of a fix?

Thanks

pinarellokid

mine was like this and it turned out to be jammed up with road gunk.

strip and good clean using lots of WD40 and good oil when putting back together and its now like new.

all brakes get clogged up at this time of the year.

mudguards do stop this a lot though

rolf_f

You can do worse than to get an ultrasonic cleaner for this sort of problem. It gets where other methods don't! That said, I think what happens here is that grit gets properly wedged in between the caliper arms and the only way to really get things moving freely is to tweak the pivot bolts a little (easier done with the caliper on the bike) - a tiny fraction of a turn is all you need.
It's worth cleaning them after every mucky ride as well - I think the build up of dirt over time is much of the likely problem.

Monty Dog

Make sure your cables are clean too - most common reason for draggy brakes

mercia_man

Make sure a lip hasn't formed on worn brake pad overshooting the rim edge. That can cause the brake to stick on and not spring back. You can cut away the lip with a penknife and readjust pad so it meets rim correctly.

keef66

Is it still sticking if you detach the cable? If so, then go ahead and strip / clean / lube the caliper. If not, you need to focus on the cable / lever

bontie

Thanks for all the comments, new cables and new brake pads, so that sorts that.
I use mudguards but will give it a good clean and check when I get home. Still stuck at my desk at this hour...

rowlers

I too have this issue. Its been stripped, cleaned, cables checked..... still doesn't snap back cleanly. Shimano brakes spring back beautifully.
Gave up on it for now as I'm on the winter bike, until weather sorts itself out

rolf_f

rowlers wrote:

I too have this issue. Its been stripped, cleaned, cables checked..... still doesn't snap back cleanly. Shimano brakes spring back beautifully.
Gave up on it for now as I'm on the winter bike, until weather sorts itself out

And you've tweaked the pivot bolt tightness?

bontie

Pivot bolts loosened and the problem is resolved, thanks all!

pinarellokid

loosening the pivot bolt is taking the caliper away from manufacturers spec and introducing play into the caliper.
its not removing the problem, just a way of getting around it. how many times do you keep loosening the pivot

id rather just clean it properly in the first place

rolf_f

pinarellokid wrote:

loosening the pivot bolt is taking the caliper away from manufacturers spec and introducing play into the caliper.
its not removing the problem, just a way of getting around it. how many times do you keep loosening the pivot

id rather just clean it properly in the first place

You can experiment with retightening it afterwards but think why adjusting the pivot bolt solves the problem - I guess it is giving a chance for grit jammed in there to fall loose. If it is jammed in there, you can clean and clean and clean the caliper as long as you like and it won't make a difference (and I tried that using an ultrasonic cleaner repeatedly as well as manual cleaning and it didn't solve the problem) - and you shouldn't expect it to because how can you actually get in there to clean it properly without completely dismantling the caliper?

Your point about play is a good one - but, tbh, you can see if there is any play. You don't need to be that paranoid about minsicule torque settin gs I doubt that barely 1 degree of bolt loosening is going to introduce any play though.