[Flaekingr]

Hey folks, me again

Having a lot of trouble getting my front brake working again after taking the wheel off the bike to replace the tube. The video explains it visually, it's only 2 minutes long. As always, all help and advice is appreciated.

https://youtu.be/b4TABqdXJfs

Cheers.

[Mr_84]

G'day

Hard to tell what's going on , but I can tell you there is no adjuster up the top at the perch,it's all done down at the bottom . hopefully someone will have the answer for you soon,  good luck

[Raymond]

For what it's worth, my front brake was inclined to stick on- perhaps not quite as much as yours, but I would have to manually push the arm to free it. The solution has been to take it all apart, clean up the pivots, re-assemble with molybdenum grease and fit a new Hitchcocks heavy-duty cable.

As noted in my new member introduction thread, I also corrected the et-up - replaced the drilled trunnion with a threaded one.

[Flaekingr]

Raymond, pushing the lever forward does not free it, I have to do that at the wheel. My trunnion hasn't been messed with, nor do I intend to mess with it. Just stumped as to what's different now from when it worked before I took the wheel off. Yeah, taking it all apart and cleaning everything up isn't the worst idea anyway, you can see it's not exactly shiny, I just don't want to have to wait yet another 3 weeks for shipping a new cable from the UK if there's another solution.

[Raymond]

Raymond, pushing the lever forward does not free it, I have to do that at the wheel.

Yes, that's exactly what I meant by manually pushing the arm to free it. As you say, dismantling, cleaning, lubricating and adjusting not a bad idea. If you don't want to wait for a new cable, then while it's all apart you could lubricate the one that's there?

[Paul W]

Looking at the bike it looks like it’s spent time in a damp environment.

I’d suggest your main problem is a lack of lubrication, or corrosion, in the brake cam pivot shafts. The brake plate needs to be completely dismantled, cleaned out and the moving parts lubricated with a suitable brake grease.

The cable also looks completely dry and needs some oil but I don’t think that’s the main problem so unless it’s frayed I don’t see that a heavy duty one will fix anything.

Finally, the angle of the brake operating arms isn’t as good as it could be. You will have noticed that almost all of the cable adjustment has been taken up (you are NOT missing an adjuster at the handlebar end btw,  that is as per design). The brake arms are held onto the brake cam pivot shafts by a nut and a spring washer and located on splines. If you remove the arms they can be rotated clockwise by a spline or two. This will allow the adjuster to be backed off and it will give the arms the best mechanical advantage as you apply the brake. Your arms have gone “past” a 90 degree angle with the end of the inner cable, so as you pull harder you are actually getting less mechanical advantage.

However, you do need to confirm that the brake shoes aren’t badly worn away before doing this. Obviously, if they are they need replacing because this could be the cause of the loss of adjustment. If they still have enough thickness, rotating the arms on their shafts will help give you a more powerful brake.

I often post the photo below, of my own bike, showing how the brake arms SHOULD be positioned when the brake is hard on, because this is a common issue, even on bikes coming straight from a dealer.

[ddavidv]

Had the exact same problem. Follow what Paul W above suggests and it should fix you up.

[Flaekingr]

Paul W, thanks for the great advice, I'll dive in and see what I can do with it. A clean and lube definitely isn't a bad thing to do in any case! Do you have a photo of how the brake arms are positioned without the brake applied?

[Paul W]

Yes! It shouldn’t look much different to when fully on.

One other point…I noticed that the lower axle cap on your photo isn’t on squarely. One nut has been screwed noticeably further on than the other (the gaps between the cap and the lower face of the fork leg are uneven). Be aware that this can cause it to split because of the offset load.

[ddavidv]

It's important to 'mind the gap'. Too many folks think those caps should be screwed down tight enough to make the gap disappear...that's a big NO. Even gap, but only 'Gutentight' and not complete elimination.

[tooseevee]

Yes! It shouldn’t look much different to when fully on.

           Yes. Both angles should be very close to 90 degrees; where the upper operating rod meets the lower arm & where the cable meets the lower arm.