Cantilever Woes Part II

[Iwasgoodonce]

I have set them up right, they look good and they seem to work. Both sides move the same....for about two minutes. Now the left hand side moves but the right doesn't.

Out with the 2mm Allen key and adjust again. Both sides are cool for about two minutes. This time the right hand side moves but the left doesn't. Ou with the 2mm Allen key......

Can you see a pattern developing? Has anyone any idea why they should be doing this? They are set on the middle hole on the bosses and use the same internal hole setting. The rears work fine and the only difference is that the fronts have a 2mm cable fitted. HELP.

 

[gibbleking]

ya cable may be sticking..

 

[Huntso]

Can only think one spring is inherently stronger than the other and the screw cannot apply enough force to tension it.

Had this problem with cheapo V brakes as well and resorted to putting a bit more tension in the offending spring with a quick tweak using long nosed pliers

 

[messiah]

Anything funky with the pads or the rim? If the pad or rim has a lip or groove the pads can stick causing the brake to stick on that side - spinning the wheel when releasing can be enough to remove this problem so you won't see it on the trail... but in the garage it's a pain in the arse.

 

[pete_mcc]

Make sure that the bolt holding on the canti isn't so tight that it is binding the canti to the frame. This can cause the arms to stick especially if the spring isn't strong enough to counter the binding effect. This is a problem if your canti studs are a little short for the specific brakes, especially if the brakes don't have steel sleeve bushes like shimano etc.

What cantis are they?

 

[dbmtb]

Worn/corroded pivot bushings could be giving you grief too if they are older brakes.

I had this problem some years back with Dia-Compe 987s which luckily could be stripped down fully, allowing the bushings to be smoothed out with wet and dry.

 

[FluffyChicken]

Also forget about it for a while, go ride and do some good hard braking from 40 mph.

Do some feathering etc.... then see if they have bedded in. The cables are going to stretch anyway and all your grease/rust will settle down.

Then re-tweak.