# How close to rim should brake pads be?



## Ventura Roubaix (Oct 10, 2009)

I am not real please with my brakes stopping ability. I have no name calibers on my bike with cool stop salmon pads. I probably run the pads with to much of a gap(around 3/32). I'm a large quy (230) an ride in mainly hill country. I try to keep my pads an rim cleaned. So do I need to just close the gap or think about new calibers.


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## C-40 (Feb 4, 2004)

I never pay any attention to the actual size of the gap. What's important is how much the brake lever moves before braking begins. You can adjust the cable tension as tight as you want, but if it's set too tight, it makes centering the pads more critical and your rims must run true, or you'll get some rubbing.

Try the adjustment first. Post the type of brakes that you have. Some cheap models are known to lack power.


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## Ventura Roubaix (Oct 10, 2009)

C-40 (it makes centering the pads more critical and your rims must run true, or you'll get some rubbing). that is why I run them that wide. I don't know the brand they came OE on my Specialized Roubaix 08. They sort of look like Shimano 105 or Ultegra.


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## tihsepa (Nov 27, 2008)

cables make a ton of difference. get good cables and housing. you may be suprised.


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## Dinosaur (Jan 29, 2004)

Just guessing, mine are set about 2-3mm from the rims, You get more torque if you have a little more clearance. A lot depends on how true your wheels are. My front pads are set a little further out then my rears. I use Kool Stop black. No problems in the wet, I just have to remember to fan the brakes a little to clear the water off before I expect the pads to grab.


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## rx-79g (Sep 14, 2010)

The only downside to running a larger gap is that you are using up some of your brake lever travel. But if you can apply full power to the brakes without the levers bottoming out, it isn't a problem.

Running your brakes tighter is fine, too. If the wheel goes out of true on a ride, just open the indexed quick release a little.

Bikes in this price range that have no-name calipers are generally 500 series Tektro calipers, which are pretty nice, and you have good pads. At this point, if you're braking is truly bad (and it isn't that you're just a lot of man to slow down), the rim surface is probably more to blame. Try cleaning them with Simple Green, citrus cleaner or acetone. The best braking bike I have has cheap Campy brakes - but dull aluminum rims.


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## MR_GRUMPY (Aug 21, 2002)

It depend on how true and how stiff your wheels are. If your wheels are true, but they flex in turns, you'll get pad rub if you keep them too close.


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## cxwrench (Nov 9, 2004)

Ventura Roubaix said:


> I am not real please with my brakes stopping ability. I have no name cali*p*ers on my bike with cool stop salmon pads. I probably run the pads with to much of a gap(around 3/32). I'm a large quy (230) an ride in mainly hill country. I try to keep my pads an rim cleaned. So do I need to just close the gap or think about new cali*p*ers.


fixed that for ya...

clean rims and good pads as others have posted are a good idea. i like the lever to come back pretty far, i feel that grip strength and resistance to fatigue is greater when you have more lever travel rather than less. i pay no attention to the actual pad-to-rim gap, just how the levers feel. maybe try some lower lever sram or campy brakes...rival, or something like that. maybe find a local shop that has a Mavic rim eraser and have them scrub your braking surfaces w/ that.


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## andulong (Nov 23, 2006)

Far enough that they don't rub the rim when you are not braking and close enough so that your levers don't bottom out on the bars.


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## FTR (Sep 20, 2006)

Will also depend on how you like your brakes to feel.
On/off or with more lever travel before they bite hard.
I like mine to be the latter but that is just me.


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## Mr. Versatile (Nov 24, 2005)

When I clean the braking surfaces on my rims I lay them flat on my workbench. I spray Simple Green onto a Scotch Brite pad, then scrub them all the way around. Take a rag & wipe them clean & I'm good to go. While the wheels are off & look at the brake pads for any embedded stuff & if I find any I usually remove it with an awl. I then sand the pads lightly with 60 grit sandpaper just to remove any glaze.


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## AvantDale (Dec 26, 2008)

I go by feel. I have a decent amount of throw on my levers. This way I can slightly grab the levers without having the pads scrub the rim.

Maybe you need some beefier brakes? Arms might be flexing?


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## MShaw (Jun 7, 2003)

cxwrench said:


> fixed that for ya...
> 
> clean rims and good pads as others have posted are a good idea. i like the lever to come back pretty far, i feel that grip strength and resistance to fatigue is greater when you have more lever travel rather than less. i pay no attention to the actual pad-to-rim gap, just how the levers feel. maybe try some lower lever sram or campy brakes...rival, or something like that. maybe find a local shop that has a Mavic rim eraser and have them scrub your braking surfaces w/ that.


Your hand is strongest as a fist. Looser is better. Well, till the levers bottom on the bars. Then you've gone too far.

Added benefit to looser: when you are descending, you can keep your hands on the brakes and feather em. Its not all-on of all-off like they can be when they're tight. Feather's not quite the right word, but my second cuppa hasn't kicked in yet.

M


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## Keeping up with Junior (Feb 27, 2003)

*Nickle*

I will tape a nickel (5 cents) to each rim when setting up brakes. Gives me just the gap I like. Then I can fine tune them with the cable adjuster.


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## Camilo (Jun 23, 2007)

MShaw said:


> Your hand is strongest as a fist. Looser is better. Well, till the levers bottom on the bars. Then you've gone too far.
> 
> Added benefit to looser: when you are descending, you can keep your hands on the brakes and feather em. Its not all-on of all-off like they can be when they're tight. Feather's not quite the right word, but my second cuppa hasn't kicked in yet.
> 
> M


^^

I used to get the pads as close as I possibly could so that it took as little motion as possible to brake when on the hoods. The past couple of years, I've made them quite a bit looser for the above reason (feathering when in the drops). I think both of my methods were kind of caused by my smallish hands, but I found that the looser brakes work fine on the hoods anyway and are quite a bit better in the drops.


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## Mel Erickson (Feb 3, 2004)

A from Il said:


> cables make a ton of difference. get good cables and housing. you may be suprised.


Cables make little difference. Housing, OTOH, can make a noticeable difference.


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## Mel Erickson (Feb 3, 2004)

Mr. Versatile said:


> When I clean the braking surfaces on my rims I lay them flat on my workbench. I spray Simple Green onto a Scotch Brite pad, then scrub them all the way around. Take a rag & wipe them clean & I'm good to go. While the wheels are off & look at the brake pads for any embedded stuff & if I find any I usually remove it with an awl. I then sand the pads lightly with 60 grit sandpaper just to remove any glaze.


I do pretty much what you do except my final wipe down of the rims is with alcohol. I want to make sure there's no cleaner left on the rims.


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## PoorCyclist (Oct 14, 2010)

Is it necessary to clean the rim if no grease / oil got on it?

On my MTB I don't clean the disc because after it built some pad deposits on it (not a glaze) stops better than a new disc.


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## Kerry Irons (Feb 25, 2002)

*Rim cleaning*



PoorCyclist said:


> Is it necessary to clean the rim if no grease / oil got on it?


I clean my rim sidewalls approximately never, but there's a lot of variation depending on your rims, your brake pad compound, the type of braking you do, ambient conditions, etc. I never have to do any serious braking since all of my descending allows me to just let it go. I don't get any buildup on the braking surface so there's no need to clean.

All you have to do is look a the braking surface - clean it if you see gunk or buildup.


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## m_s (Nov 20, 2007)

Tire traction is an often overlooked part of braking performance, but it matters a whole lot. As a 230 pound guy you might see a marked increase in braking performance with 28mm tires and lower pressure, though rubber compound matters just as much. The worst tires for braking performance in my experience are narrow flat resistant tires (hard rubber compound + not much contact with the road surface). The best are wider ones with soft compounds.

I know it's not what was asked, but I thought I would throw it out there since the question of pad distance has been well answered.


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