[photocodo]

I believe that both my front and rear brakes work properly, however I have to squeeze the front lever almost to the handlebar before it really engages the brakes, same with the rear pedal. Is there a simple adjustment that I can do to have the brakes engage earlier in the progression of the lever or pedal being depressed or squeezed? Sometimes if I have to stop fast I can have the front brake lever all the way to the handlebar and I still need a little more braking power. Also the rear brakes scream when I push the pedal down too hard, the previous owner said that he had recently put new pads on and they will scream until they get worn in, well that was about 4months ago and they are definitely broken in but they are still making the noise. Should I just go ahead and replace the pads again or could it be something else? Thanks for your help



photocodo

 

[Linny]

There is a mod on sheps global site where you chamfer the leading edge of the shoes to help with the noise of the rear brake. Mine do that too, I haven't done the fix yet.

Your front brake should be easy enough to adjust at the adjuster next to the handle. There should be a good procedure from the drop io site. It could simply need a good bleed. Brakes get spongy and can stop working at all when air gets in the system.. I'd start there.

 

[steve in reno]

photocodo

First I would bleed your brakes to make sure they are air free. A good thing to do as brake fluid is hydrostatic and absorbs water in time and will lead to corrosion in the system.

In the old days, non disc, we always adjusted our front brakes for the just the issue you have ON PURPOSE. That way you couldn't over apply and end up over the bars.

Next check that there is good pads on the disc.

The knurl nut on the right lever will allow you to take up slack in the actuation of the brake.

The front disc is your main stopping power, but be careful not to over brake.

Obvious reasons that I hope you understand.



hth

steve

 

[Blue Fox]

First the rear brake. I assume you have shoes, not pads on yours. I believe only the "E" models used disks on the rear. I would take the rear wheel off and lightly sand the shoe surface to remove any glaze. Probably sandpaper in the 120-220 range. Also make sure that they are tapered at the leading edges. Put it back together and adjust the nut behind the actuating arm on the wheel to move the arm the amount required for the pedal to only travel the amount you want. You should also be able to adjust the pedal height at rest with an adjustment bolt on the pedal itself. You may have to adjust your brake light switch when you have it where you like it.



The front brakes are of course hydraulic and the action of a piston in the handlebar lever pushes fluid thru the lines to a larger piston in the caliper. This piston then shoves the pad into contact with the rotor. Can you "pump" the handle and get good action? Maybe the fluid is low, or was low and air entered the system. Air when compressed acts like a cushion, and will not transfer the complete pressure to the caliper piston. So, bleed the system and get all (even the very tiny bubbles)of the air out of the system. Make sure there are no leaks allowing the pressure to decrease. These could be at the pistons, fittings, or even the hoses. The rubber hoses also flex and expand a bit themselves. This can cause a "softer" feel to the brakes. Some people like this, some don't. Remember, the internal pressures we are dealing with here may be above 500PSI, so everything needs to be tight.

 

[Shep]

1st I'd replace the front brake fluid and correctly bleed them,



http://globalcxglvtwins.hostingdelivered.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=315

 

[rickbert]

As far as new brakes being noisy: We put new pads on mine the first week of June and they were perfectly quiet for about the first week then started squeaking quite annoyingly...however now after 3 months they seem to have quieted down and only squeak a bit when I first take the bike out but after riding and squeezing them a couple times they are quiet.



Blue if you remember on my REAR brakes they were quite loud however when we opened them up the shoes were ALREADY sanded down on the leading edge....however after we cleaned them up real good and got all the dust out of there they were silent and actually grabbed better. I guess what I'm getting at is that the leading edge can already be sanded down but they can still be noisy if theres alot of dirt and dust in there.