Disc Brakes - Whats This?

Mal69

Pedelecer
May 22, 2017
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Scottish Borders
www.darkrealmfox.com
My disc brakes were making noises against the wheel as i turned it, both front and back, i saw an online YouTube video of how to fix it and gave it a go, it didnt really fix the issue and i cannot remove the wheel, my experience is not that great, i tried something with the allen key instead.

I adjusted the bit in the image below all the way to the right, this completely locked up the wheels, i then adjusted to the middle, it can go all the way to the left, anti clockwise or clockwise all the way to the right which locks the wheels up, middle position got rid of the disc brake noise issue and wheels now run freely without any problems.

I just need to know, from a safety perspective will leaving this in the middle position cause any problems for me, can the wheel seize up and cause me to have an accident, are they supposed to be turned all the way to the left ?
 

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Benjahmin

Esteemed Pedelecer
Nov 10, 2014
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Mechanical disc brakes only move the outer pad. This slides in and bends the disc onto the inner pad. The allen key is the adjuster for that inner pad. Clockwise moves the pad onto the disc, anti-clockwise moves the pad away from the disc. Adjustment is used to compensate for wear. Discs never run completely true, so adjust the inner pad so that it is just about clearing the disc (no binding). You can then adjust cable length etc etc.
Alternatively, invest in a set of hydraulic calipers, fit them, set them up and never have to look at them again until the pads need changing.
 
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Deleted member 4366

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Loosen the two two screws that hold the caliper to the adaptor or frame so that it can float from side to side. You then adjust the gap between the pads using that screw in the back, which is shown in your photo. The gap should be just a bit wider than the disc, so screw it in until the brake starts to rub on the disc, then back it off a bit. Finally, hold the brake lever on, while you do up the two screws that you loosened. The brake will hold the caliper central while you tighten the screws. When you let off the brake, the wheel should spin freely.
 
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Mal69

Pedelecer
May 22, 2017
177
123
Scottish Borders
www.darkrealmfox.com
Loosen the two two screws that hold the caliper to the adaptor or frame so that it can float from side to side. You then adjust the gap between the pads using that screw in the back, which is shown in your photo. The gap should be just a bit wider than the disc, so screw it in until the brake starts to rub on the disc, then back it off a bit. Finally, hold the brake lever on, while you do up the two screws that you loosened. The brake will hold the caliper central while you tighten the screws. When you let off the brake, the wheel should spin freely.
I find if i fully tighten the two screws holding the caliper that i get noise on the back wheel when it rotates, if i loosen slightly the noise goes away, thats with the screw at the back fully anti clockwise, the wheel is slightly running out of true.

Is it safe to have those two front screws slightly looser, they are still fairly tight, just not completely solid tight.

With the front wheel which is also slightly not true i can tighten more without any noise and dont need to put the back screw all the way counter clockwise for the noise to go away.

Brakes still wotk and do their job.
 
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