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Changing Wheels and Adjusting brakes?

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  • 06-08-2016 2:59pm
    #1
    Unknown Soldier
    Registered Users Posts: 2,124 ✭✭✭


    So last night I decided to swap out my Ksyrium Elites for a set of Cosmics that I had lying around. I understand that certain rims will be fatter or thinner! I think the Cosmics are 622x13 versus the Elites being (2014) 622x15 or so.

    So there was always going to have to be a small adjustment to the brakes to bring the pads in closer to the rim.

    As a side observation, it was seriously easy to put tyres onto the Cosmics! Obviously the thinner the wheel the easier it is.

    That aside when I did the rear wheel, it was fine. I regularly check my brakes to make sure a wheel in centred and that no pad is pushing it to one side or the other. All I had to do with the rear was use the cable adjuster yoke on the rear brake yoke to bring the pads in a tad.

    But when I did the front, the RH brake pad (as you stand over the bike) was actually rubbing the rim. So I have to do a fair bit of adjusting to get that wheel centred. And then use the cable yoke to bring the pads in closer.

    Is that normal? I'd have thought a front wheel was fairly "centered" and no dishing etc.

    Do any of you change wheels regularly and have to mess with the brakes (other than thinning or widening the pads) a lot?

    The wheels btw are set in correctly. I always have them in loose and then hit the saddle/bike a few smacks, to make sure they are bedded in the slots correctly before tightening.

    Any helps/advice appreciated!


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    #2
    Cee-Jay-Cee
    Registered Users Posts: 12,235 ✭✭✭✭Cee-Jay-Cee


    Is it possible the Kysirium wasn't centred properly in the drop outs when you last adjusted the brakes?

    I recently changed my 15mm wise Zondas to 17mm Quattros and only needed to use the cable adjuster to open the brakes a bit wider for the new wheels, both were centred the same front and rear.


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    #3
    iwillhtfu
    Registered Users Posts: 6,372 ✭✭✭iwillhtfu


    Surely this is just a matter of loosening the centre mounting bolt a bit pulling the brake lever so they pads clamp the brake surface then tightening the mounting bolt again.

    After that fine adjustment may be required but generally this is eas done.


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    #4
    Unknown Soldier
    Registered Users Posts: 2,124 ✭✭✭Unknown Soldier


    Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »
    Is it possible the Kysirium wasn't centred properly in the drop outs when you last adjusted the brakes?

    I recently changed my 15mm wise Zondas to 17mm Quattros and only needed to use the cable adjuster to open the brakes a bit wider for the new wheels, both were centred the same front and rear.

    I tried another Ksyrium (not one that was on the bike) this evening and it was fine. You may be right, but I never had to adjust the brakes for the original wheels, and they were the ones that came with the bike. And as I mentioned, I am very careful putting them back on.
    iwillhtfu wrote: »
    Surely this is just a matter of loosening the centre mounting bolt a bit pulling the brake lever so they pads clamp the brake surface then tightening the mounting bolt again.

    After that fine adjustment may be required but generally this is eas done.

    I probably didn't make myself that clear in the original post (pretty normal!) :p

    I am wondering about the mechanics of it all. A front wheel should be dead centre? Just width issues?

    I hear what you are saying to get around issues, but why would there be issues?

    The Elites that I took off the bike were the original ones, and I never had to adjust the brakes for them, bar pad wear. And they have been on/off the bike a few times.

    I suppose the question I was really asking was, If you swap around wheels a lot, do you find that you have to "adjust" your brakes for various wheel sets, rather than tweak them, as in it is a common enough thing to have to do.


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    #5
    Cee-Jay-Cee
    Registered Users Posts: 12,235 ✭✭✭✭Cee-Jay-Cee


    Unknown Soldier wrote: »
    I tried another Ksyrium (not one that was on the bike) this evening and it was fine. You may be right, but I never had to adjust the brakes for the original wheels, and they were the ones that came with the bike.

    That suggest the original Ksyrium was off centre and the brakes were centred for that wheel and so have always been off.

    Have you the wheel you took off to put in again and see the brakes are now off centre on it?


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    #6
    cython
    Registered Users Posts: 4,769 ✭✭✭cython


    Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »
    That suggest the original Ksyrium was off centre and the brakes were centred for that wheel and so have always been off.

    Have you the wheel you took off to put in again and see the brakes are now off centre on it?

    Also worth checking that and perhaps the other wheels "backwards" as well - a fully centrally dished wheel should be the same either way, so if this is not the case for one or more of your wheels it would indicate a dishing issue with that wheel


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