# brakes sticking



## tarwheel2 (Jul 7, 2005)

My Ultegra front brake calipers have started "sticking" over the past few weeks. That is, they don't spring all the way open you release the levers. I took my bike by a LBS and had them look at them, and they said the cable was just loose. However, the wrench tightened the cable so much that the pads rubbed the front tire. So I had to open the calipers with the release lever, but they still aren't springing fully open when you let go of the levers. I tried loosening the cable a little today so the pads won't rub, but brakes still stick. Any ideas of what's going on here? It's almost like the spring isn't working that's supposed to open the calipers.


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## Dave Hickey (Jan 27, 2002)

If it happens when the cable is still connected, my guess is the cable is either bent or binding on something. Maybe the housing has pulled away from the brake lever body.. 

If the caliper sticks without a cable attached, it's a problem with the return spring..

FYI, when I've had this problem, it's always been housing/cable related


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## cxwrench (Nov 9, 2004)

if you undo the cable and it still sticks, and the spring isn't broken, could it be the brake is just dirty? do you sweat a lot? corrosion? is it the rr or frt? undo the cable and see what happens. also, stay away from the shop you went to...sounds like the mechanics aren't too swift...


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## Visitor302 (Aug 6, 2005)

how tight is the center bolt?


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## DrSmile (Jul 22, 2006)

Release the cable from the brakes and check to make sure it is the caliper and not the cable or levers. I had a lever spring pop out on my old Shimano 600 levers and went crazy trying to fix the wrong thing until I found the cause.


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## tarwheel2 (Jul 7, 2005)

Thanks for the suggestions. I will tinker around with it today and see if I can figure out. If not, I am getting a new touring frame soon, and will have my mechanic swap most of the parts from this bike. The touring frame will use canti brakes, so the Ultegra brakes will stay on the current frame (a De Bernardi).

Anyway, I plan to rebuild the De Bernardi as a SS/fixed gear (with the Ultegra brakes), after the touring bike is completed, and will install new brake cables at that time. That is probably where the problem lies. I built the bike two years ago with new brakes, but I've put about 6,000 miles on it since then, and none of the cables have been replaced yet.


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## brblue (Jan 28, 2003)

+ 1 for checking for tightness the bolts that hold both caliper arms together. They should only be tight enough to not allow any front-to-rear play of the caliper arms. 

Although I've not seen bolts tighten on brakes, you might want to check if the brake sticks without any cable connected to it.
If this happens, you could untighten a bit (1/4 turn) both bolts and check again.For this you'll have to take off the brake caliper first


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## Kuma601 (Jan 22, 2004)

It may be beneficial to disassemble, clean and re-lube it if it has lots of miles. I don't have many miles on my new 6600 Ultegras, in the 600 miles it has been on the bike, between the calipers is an accumulation of road grime/grit. On the older single pivot brakes, I'd disassembled them at the end of each season along with the rest of the bike for cleaning and fresh lube.


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## lawrence (May 17, 2005)

I'd loosen the cable on the caliper completely and squeeze the caliper with my hands and make a determination if the problem is with the caliper. Then I would slide the cable back and forth in the housing to see if I feel any binding. The third thing I would do, or I might try this first, loosen up the allen bolt that bolts the caliper to the fork or frame, move the caliper side to side, hold the caliper in the middle and retighten.


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