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Bicycle repair - brake shoes

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Eyvind
Hey folks,

Quick question: On the older style caliper brakes I know we had to "toe-in" the brake shoes. On the newer style ones - the ones that are mounted right on the forks - is it the same? The instructions that came with my new brake shoes say to install "parallel to the rim". I did this and find they're moaning a bit. Do you think I should go against the directions and toe 'em in a bit?

Thanks.

Take care,
Eyvind
Gagnar The Unruly
Are you talking about v-brakes (direct pull cantilever) like are on most modern mountain bikes and stuff? I always just put them in as flat as possible, but I googled and found this:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/canti-direct.html

..which says...

Quote:
Yaw angle ("toe in")

The shoe can be set so that the front edge of the shoe contacts the rim slightly before the rear edge. This is commonly called "toe in." If this is not set perfectly, normal pad wear will eventually even it out, but braking will be less effective, and the brakes may squeal until the shoe has worn in.

Most direct-pull cantilevers, however, use asymmetrical shoes (longer end faces the rear) that are designed to be set with no toe in.


So maybe you could toe yours in a tad to see if it stops squealing, or just let it fix itself. You probably already have, but you could also make sure it isn't rubbing the tire.
Eyvind
Thanks Gagnar. That helps a lot. Yep, v-brakes; yep, checked they're not rubbing the tire. The squealing seems to be lessening now though so I guess they are fixing themselves. Maybe I didn't have them set perfectly parallel.

Thanks again,

Take care,
Eyvind
jwellsy
I think a small bit of toe-in is a good thing to do.
It makes the brakes smoother by applying pressure progressively.
notbroken
Eyvind wrote:
Thanks Gagnar. That helps a lot. Yep, v-brakes; yep, checked they're not rubbing the tire. The squealing seems to be lessening now though so I guess they are fixing themselves. Maybe I didn't have them set perfectly parallel.

Thanks again,

Take care,
Eyvind


Since you said they are not rubbing the tires, then I assume the noise is when you apply the brakes. To fix this, take a fine grade sandpaper and gently rub the brakes. With new brakes this will help brake them in and with older brakes this will take the debris that is ground into them out.

Andy
Eyvind
Nice tip, Andy. Thanks for that.

Eyvind
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