I have a rim brake on the back of my bmx that just wont stop me. I just replaced the pads to huge Odessey 2x4's but still no luck. The next thing i tried was sanding the pads alittle but still not alot of improvement. Next, i rubbed soda on the surface of the rims so they got sticky. This made things alittle better but i still cant stop very well at all and now it makes an annoying screeching noise when i brake. What else can i try? The rims i have are black not chrome. Can i sand the actually surface of the rim?
Getting the most out of rim brakes
- Thread starter Dropking
- Start date
u-brakes are just terrible on a whole.
Grab an orbital sander, and take to your rims with that!
It worked for me... not the safest modification, but it made my brakes grip .
It worked for me... not the safest modification, but it made my brakes grip .
u brakes or center pulls work just fine if set up properly.
JUST FINE.
I run a gyro w/ stock cables and I can get my brakes to lock w/ one finger.
this has been typed a million times. do a search.
but i'll give you the quick run down.
first, you didn't mention what brand brakes you have. most brands work great, unless they are the lowest bottomest of the barell crappy brakes you should be able to get them working.
1.lube everything minus the rims.
take the tension off the brake posts (undo the springs) and using your hand, see if the brake arms pivot ok on the posts. if they feel sticky take them off completly and hit the post w/ sandpaper. often times there are burs that catch the brake arms, making them not pivot so well.
next, put some grease on the post. not alot but some.
put the arms back on and put just enough tension to get the pad to pull away from the rim.
lube the cable.
alot.
clean the rims and pads with something like glass cleaner or simple green.
softer pads work great on chrome rims. harder pads usually work better on non-chrome rims. (go look at a road bike, they have side pull brakes and hard ass brake pads and non-chrome rims and the brakes work fine, even in rain)
now, if you go riding in the mud and dirt your brakes will suck.
they will NEVER feel like V brakes or disk brakes.
but you can get them to work just fine with a little work.
JUST FINE.
I run a gyro w/ stock cables and I can get my brakes to lock w/ one finger.
this has been typed a million times. do a search.
but i'll give you the quick run down.
first, you didn't mention what brand brakes you have. most brands work great, unless they are the lowest bottomest of the barell crappy brakes you should be able to get them working.
1.lube everything minus the rims.
take the tension off the brake posts (undo the springs) and using your hand, see if the brake arms pivot ok on the posts. if they feel sticky take them off completly and hit the post w/ sandpaper. often times there are burs that catch the brake arms, making them not pivot so well.
next, put some grease on the post. not alot but some.
put the arms back on and put just enough tension to get the pad to pull away from the rim.
lube the cable.
alot.
clean the rims and pads with something like glass cleaner or simple green.
softer pads work great on chrome rims. harder pads usually work better on non-chrome rims. (go look at a road bike, they have side pull brakes and hard ass brake pads and non-chrome rims and the brakes work fine, even in rain)
now, if you go riding in the mud and dirt your brakes will suck.
they will NEVER feel like V brakes or disk brakes.
but you can get them to work just fine with a little work.
Someone should make pnj's brake setup tips a sticky in this forum.
read mine and more of pnj's at http://ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=48651 for some tips
I use simple green, loud as hell but hey I can stop.
Chrome rims work much better than painted.
Chrome rims work much better than painted.
ok thanks guys, tons of good info there. Ill have them running well in no time.
I was reading the other thread and no one mentioned which rim works best...chrome or machined. I've got alex triple walls laced to DK hubs. They're black and they brake like $hit. I'm going to take them to a wire wheel to hopefully get some more stopping power out of them.
In my post I said chrome rims and soft pads can't be beat for braking. Before I had a chrome rear rim I tinkered a lot with my raw aluminum rim. I tried everything. Occasionally roughing them up with sandpaper helped them lock up. I sanded them outwards from the hub and it worked okay but had to be repeated after a few weeks of riding. I found using tar worked best if you can stand the noise. Putting coca cola on the rims worked too but wouldn't last as long. After a while my rim got flatspotted and I didn't think twice before buying a chrome wheel. I recomend tarring them up and finding places to flatspot your wheel so you force yourself to buy a chrome one.