Check brakes, change pads

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· 14.05.2008

Photo: Daniel Simon

A safe bike requires good brakes with the right pads - here's how.

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Degree of difficulty: for talented hobby mechanics

Tool: Hexagon socket, torque spanner, screwdriver, vice, pipe wrench

Excipients: Soft soap, sandpaper, cleaning petrol

Tips for stops:

- Regularly check the free travel of the levers and adjust the brakes. Even slightly worn pads increase the risk of the lever being pulled through to the handlebars and insufficient braking force being built up.

- Clean dirty rims with a cloth and a little cleaning petrol and remove the top layer on the pads with sandpaper.

- Check the pads regularly for small deposits that cause a scraping noise when braking and wear the rims excessively. These can be small stones, but also very hard components of the pads that tear aluminium particles from the surface of the rim flank. Over time, the pads become clumps of aluminium. The brakes become harder to modulate and the rims can be ground so thin that they burst unexpectedly due to the tyre pressure.

- New brake pads fitted? Then take a few test brakes away from road traffic - and before you plunge down your local mountain as usual - so that the pads can develop their full effect and you can get used to any changes in braking behaviour.

Brake test:

1. pull the brake lever and observe when the pads touch the rim. After a third of the way at the latest, the lever should have built up resistance. If this so-called pressure point comes later, turn the ring of the adjusting screw through which the brake cable runs into the brake. Observe how the distance between the pads and the rims changes. It should not be greater than one to two millimetres so that there are reserves even when braking hard.

2. if the adjustment travel is not sufficient, loosen the cable clamp bolt just enough to release the cable and tighten it slightly. Make sure that the inner cable is clamped in the groove and tighten the bolt to a torque of 6 to 8 Nm (Shimano and SRAM) or 5 Nm (Campagnolo). Also check the brake fastening on the frame and fork with a torque of 8 to 10 Nm (Shimano and SRAM) or 10 Nm (Campagnolo).

3. check that the brake pads are symmetrical to the rim. The distance should be the same on both sides. With Shimano and SRAM, turn the hexagon socket screw on the top of the brake body and observe how the brake is synchronised. With Campagnolo, the very small screws are on the side of the brake bodies.

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1. the easiest way to change the pads is to unscrew them completely. Turn back the adjusting nut of the retensioning device and release the brake body. Then loosen the pad screws.

3. slide a pad of the same shape and sufficient thickness as the rim type into the carrier. It is best to secure the pad with a new screw that has already been fitted with threadlocker.

4 When mounting the brake pad carriers on the brake, pay attention to their alignment. The carriers must be closed at the front and open at the rear. This ensures that the pad is pushed in and not pulled out when braking! In addition, the curvature must match the shape of the rim.

5. place a shim washer between the pad carrier and the brake body. This allows the pad to fit snugly against the brake track. Turn the screw only slightly so that the angle can be adjusted and slide the pads to the correct height. The pad must not protrude above or below the braking surface of the rim.

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Changing the coating:

Special features at Campagnolo:

1. pads on Campa brakes are more difficult to change as the pads are not held in place by locking screws but by a very narrow guide. Clamp the pad carrier in the vice with the screw screwed in and slide the pad out one centimetre.

2. then grab the covering and pull it away upwards.

3. smear some liquid soap on the sliding surfaces of the metal carrier and the new pad and push the pad in as far as possible by hand.

4 The last millimetres can be done with a wide-opening water pump pliers or in a vice. Place some cardboard between the pad holder and the sharp-edged tool.

5 After installation, wash the entire brake pad carefully with water to ensure that the soap is completely removed and the effectiveness of the brake is not impaired.

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