Issue with calipers

[Monsieur Remings]

Okay, have been busy doing a bit of fettling on the old Giant with a view to it being, well a bike to fettle around with and learn a bit more as I go along. Last night I figured the rear caliper needed some serious attention with a bit of rust at the point it bolts to the stays. I unscrewed the bolt and released the cable . This was enough, with the rear wheel removed to have a right go at the caliper which I did. However, when I came to replacing the cable, there seemed to be no tension on the brake lever. Worse still after fiddling I realised that when I achieved tension on the lever the caliper was seizing up and not expaning back out after contracting (probably the wrong terms).

So, I took the bugger to the bike shop and they suggested taking it apart completely and greasing it up. Problem is, some of the little hex key bits keep wrecking my hex keys and just won't budge. So, I noticed a massive amount of crunt inside the calipers so used hot water and bike cleaner to spray it off. I've since GT-80ed the whole lot and left it in the sun with the intention of adding some grease as best I can when it's dry.

Any other suggestions or do I need a new caliper?

 

[Angelfishsolo]

Okay, have been busy doing a bit of fettling on the old Giant with a view to it being, well a bike to fettle around with and learn a bit more as I go along. Last night I figured the rear caliper needed some serious attention with a bit of rust at the point it bolts to the stays. I unscrewed the bolt and released the cable . This was enough, with the rear wheel removed to have a right go at the caliper which I did. However, when I came to replacing the cable, there seemed to be no tension on the brake lever. Worse still after fiddling I realised that when I achieved tension on the lever the caliper was seizing up and not expaning back out after contracting (probably the wrong terms).

So, I took the bugger to the bike shop and they suggested taking it apart completely and greasing it up. Problem is, some of the little hex key bits keep wrecking my hex keys and just won't budge. So, I noticed a massive amount of crunt inside the calipers so used hot water and bike cleaner to spray it off. I've since GT-80ed the whole lot and left it in the sun with the intention of adding some grease as best I can when it's dry.

Any other suggestions or do I need a new caliper?

If they are low end callipers I would say they are probably not worth the time and effort involved in repairing them. Mind you if they are trashing your tools they must be made of pretty tough metal so maybe it's worth persevering.

 

[tyred]

Are these single pivot calipers by chance, with one arm not releasing properly from the rim?

If they were fine before, make sure the wheel is centred in the frame. Work some oil into the pivot and make sure it is moving freely, unscrew the locking nut slightly if necessary. Unhook the springs and put a spanner around them to give them a bend outwards to restore "springyness" and if necessary, unscrew the mounting nut and recentre on the frame.

If the mounting nuts are rusted to the frame, as they would appear to be, just add more GT85 over the next few days and use a long, good quality allen key, or alternatively, cut an old allen key down and use a socket or something to grip the end of it. Ideally, you would use a hammer to make sure the allen key is fitted properly in the nut but the location of the rear caliper mounting makes this difficult.

 

[Monsieur Remings]

Many thanks both of you. In the end some hot water, bike cleaner and some grease did the trick. Decided to replace the cable as it's not looking that great.

And yep, have recentred the mounting nut to the stays Tyred.

 

[Angelfishsolo]

Great news.