Installing front brake

[Levi]

no extra pieces
end of cable on one side and a knarp on the other.
my suelo's are like that also.
will get a pic.

[Levi]

is it this?

[Claude]

Yeah, thank for the pic.  I guess you just adjust it at the top barrel only or use a flexie at the bottom.  Seems a little crude but if it works for you guys I'm down for trying it, just wanted to check that out.

Thanks again.

[Levi]

Yeah, thank for the pic.  I guess you just adjust it at the top barrel only or use a flexie at the bottom.  Seems a little crude but if it works for you guys I'm down for trying it, just wanted to check that out.

Thanks again.

no problem.
I had my thoughts at first. but with a bit of tunning they ended up working just fine. I use the barrel adjuster at the lever for some added tension. but only after the cable stretches a bit.

[The Brown Sound]

Alright guys I'm a bit lost. I'm running Revenge brakes. I got the housing cut, and the cable lubed going through the first post and the 2nd post. However when I try to add tension, AND hold the wire, no matter how loose the wire is it just goes right against the rim. There is no tension on the springs and these brakes work fine. The spring part seems easy. However just setting up the tension doesn't seem to be working. Any ideas what I'm doing wrong? My brakes don't have a bullet, rather 2 posts that are fixed. No allen bolt, just 10mm bolt. Thx! Hope anyone even looks at this...

[David (Toucan)]

Alright guys I'm a bit lost. I'm running Revenge brakes. I got the housing cut, and the cable lubed going through the first post and the 2nd post. However when I try to add tension, AND hold the wire, no matter how loose the wire is it just goes right against the rim. There is no tension on the springs and these brakes work fine. The spring part seems easy. However just setting up the tension doesn't seem to be working. Any ideas what I'm doing wrong? My brakes don't have a bullet, rather 2 posts that are fixed. No allen bolt, just 10mm bolt. Thx! Hope anyone even looks at this...

check the other thread where you asked...

gave you an answer.




Note to all in tri state area- I will set up your brakes and teach you how to do it right at a session...

Free of charge...


Allthough i do like pizza 

[katobmx]

question does the silver spring go on the right and the gold one on the left(st.Mrtin brake)

[Levi]

question does the silver spring go on the right and the gold one on the left(st.Mrtin brake)

don't know about the colors.

this one goes left.

[The Brown Sound]

Ok an update and a couple of questions -

I've got the cable installed and all that. It seems my housing is just a little bit too long. I've got it so I don't need a zip tie (bad bad bad I've been told) however there is a lil slack at the top of the bars. It loops a lil instead of being right up against the bar. That said, when I use my brake or do some sort of riding the slack ends up going down to the bottom, thus rubbing the tire. Other than that works great. So I'm guessing I should retrim the housing length again, but I'm worried if I'll be able to reuse the cable again. Hopefully.

The other question in regards to taking out the cable again and all that is, do I have to release tension on the springs to do this? and then reset the spring tension? This How-to and Matt W. video give the lesson from the POV of installing a cable, not reinstalling say for a snapped cable or something. The answer is prob pretty common sense (i.e. no resetting tension) but I just want to make sure.

And finally in regards to how tight to pull the cable  - to get the brake arms close to the rim - I did set the cable tension initially, However one side was closer than the other (due to spring tension I'm sure) I simply increased the spring tension on the arm that was further away and brought it closer to the rim. Does this sound ok?

And to KatoBmx, I believe if you drop the spring in your hand, and simulate the brake arms motion, you'll see the correct spring compress down when doing the arms motion the correct way. That should tell you the correct spring as the other one will open up. Hope that helps. I asked the same question before. gl

[Levi]

for brown in brown

Ok an update and a couple of questions -

I've got the cable installed and all that. It seems my housing is just a little bit too long. I've got it so I don't need a zip tie (bad bad bad I've been told) however there is a lil slack at the top of the bars. It loops a lil instead of being right up against the bar. That said, when I use my brake or do some sort of riding the slack ends up going down to the bottom, thus rubbing the tire. Other than that works great. So I'm guessing I should retrim the housing length again, but I'm worried if I'll be able to reuse the cable again. Hopefully.
trim the housing. using the same cable might be tricky.
The other question in regards to taking out the cable again and all that is, do I have to release tension on the springs to do this? and then reset the spring tension? This How-to and Matt W. video give the lesson from the POV of installing a cable, not reinstalling say for a snapped cable or something. The answer is prob pretty common sense (i.e. no resetting tension) but I just want to make sure.
no need to re-adjust. just check at the end and add/release if needed
And finally in regards to how tight to pull the cable  - to get the brake arms close to the rim - I did set the cable tension initially, However one side was closer than the other (due to spring tension I'm sure) I simply increased the spring tension on the arm that was further away and brought it closer to the rim. Does this sound ok?
yes, adding a bit sounds ok. but don't just keep adding tension. to much tension =broken springs
And to KatoBmx, I believe if you drop the spring in your hand, and simulate the brake arms motion, you'll see the correct spring compress down when doing the arms motion the correct way. That should tell you the correct spring as the other one will open up. Hope that helps. I asked the same question before. gl

[David (Toucan)]

run the cable over the bars to keep it from going down.


Truth is, sometimes you have no choice but to use a zip tie (or cable strap).

I use one on my fork where it comes out of the steerer tube just because the clearence is so damn close and running the cable behind the swiss miss not being held up just leaves it to rub.

Hell- id rather have a zip tie and have dialed brakes then have a cable that rubs.

Also my cable housing is already rubbed all the way though from the times when my zip ties snap...

this is why i love my velcro cable straps =D

[The Brown Sound]

Thx Dave aka Toucan (lol) Not sure if you use this kind but it's a godsend. They have this velcro that has a slot in it, and you basically run the velcro through the slot, then wrap it around your cable. It basically lets you control how loose or tight it is better than a single velcro strap. I can float you some if need be. We used it all the time in telecommunications/wiring up rack systems so the wires had some flex in tight spots.

run the cable over the bars to keep it from going down.


Truth is, sometimes you have no choice but to use a zip tie (or cable strap).

I use one on my fork where it comes out of the steerer tube just because the clearence is so damn close and running the cable behind the swiss miss not being held up just leaves it to rub.

Hell- id rather have a zip tie and have dialed brakes then have a cable that rubs.

Also my cable housing is already rubbed all the way though from the times when my zip ties snap...

this is why i love my velcro cable straps =D

[mooseybwoy]

Yo I just wanted to say thanks for writing this how-to! I've just put together my first flatland bike this afternoon and had no idea how to set the spring tension so this thread helped a lot.

Moose.

[MIKE EVANS]

This isnt quite the same question, as I honestly have my brakes dialed in perfectly. Actually too perfectly. For the first time ever, Im running black rims instead of chrome. The orange pads that came on my Militant LT when I first bought it were crap on the black rims, so I bought a set of clear ones. The action is beautiful and I actually dont have a problem feathering them, but they squeal like a stuck pig ANY time I use them. I pull them to slow down or to feather a trick, this happens. Ive tried toeing the inward slightly, still to no avail. Im guessing that a different set of pads would be the answer. I DONT need them to grab as well as they do, but I do want them to grab when I need them to Im afraid that if I toe them in anymore, the brakes will feel way to spongey.
Like I said, Im not new to working on brakes, and the action is perfect. The only thing I can chalk it up to is possibly the black rims. I will be switching back to chrome soon, but its not a priority as my bike is pretty dialed except for the squealing. Any suggestions on maybe a good pad that will still grab, but not squeal, or am I just gonna be dealing with this till I go back to chrome rims?
Thanks for any answers,
-MIKE

[Levi]

This isnt quite the same question, as I honestly have my brakes dialed in perfectly. Actually too perfectly. For the first time ever, Im running black rims instead of chrome. The orange pads that came on my Militant LT when I first bought it were crap on the black rims, so I bought a set of clear ones. The action is beautiful and I actually dont have a problem feathering them, but they squeal like a stuck pig ANY time I use them. I pull them to slow down or to feather a trick, this happens. Ive tried toeing the inward slightly, still to no avail. Im guessing that a different set of pads would be the answer. I DONT need them to grab as well as they do, but I do want them to grab when I need them to Im afraid that if I toe them in anymore, the brakes will feel way to spongey.
Like I said, Im not new to working on brakes, and the action is perfect. The only thing I can chalk it up to is possibly the black rims. I will be switching back to chrome soon, but its not a priority as my bike is pretty dialed except for the squealing. Any suggestions on maybe a good pad that will still grab, but not squeal, or am I just gonna be dealing with this till I go back to chrome rims?
Thanks for any answers,
-MIKE

a friend of mine has clear pads and they allways made a lot of noise. I would play with them and it would stop for 30 min before coming back. htey are the best for black rims imo.
the same pads on chrome rims will not change it.