# weinmann 605 brake trouble



## DP1112 (Nov 30, 2006)

I have an '82 schwinn super le tour with weinmann 605 brakes. I absolutely LOVE it but the brakes are just not working well. I can't get them tight enough for them not to move. For example, when I apply the rear brake under pressure, once I let off the brake, one pad goes back to its' original position, the other though, stays contacted on the rim. I'm not sure exactly what is causing this. The wheel is slightly off center due to the QR rear wheel, no matter how hard I tighten it, it moves just a tad. But I thought I could adjust the brakes to make up for this. Anyway, thank you for your help and sorry for the long post.


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## plodderslusk (Sep 2, 2005)

You can center your brake by using a blunt screwdriver and a hammer to hit the spring of the brake on the side opposite of where it is contacting the rim.
Cheap Weinmann brakes suck, get a better brake ! (Mavic or Campy preferably)


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## fbagatelleblack (Mar 31, 2005)

DP1112 said:


> I have an '82 schwinn super le tour with weinmann 605 brakes. I absolutely LOVE it but the brakes are just not working well. I can't get them tight enough for them not to move. For example, when I apply the rear brake under pressure, once I let off the brake, one pad goes back to its' original position, the other though, stays contacted on the rim. I'm not sure exactly what is causing this. The wheel is slightly off center due to the QR rear wheel, no matter how hard I tighten it, it moves just a tad. But I thought I could adjust the brakes to make up for this. Anyway, thank you for your help and sorry for the long post.


Tough call. How good are you at setting up brakes? There is a real feel for it you develop over time. It sounds like you need to center them better, then tighten them down, but maybe you already tried that. The blunt screwdriver method previously described works very well.

Upgrading to better brakes might also be an option. You can get modern dual-pivot sidepulls from Nashbar (www.nashbar.com) for not much money. You might need to use a long-reach brake on that bike, so if you decide to upgrade, make sure the brakes you are buying are long enough.

Good luck!

- FBB


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## DP1112 (Nov 30, 2006)

I'm definitely not an expert, this is my first venture into road bikes. I'm actually MUCH more familiar with disc brakes and side pull V's. With that said, i definitely will try the flathead screwdriver thing, but I don't know why the brakes won't tighten enough to prevent them from moving. Thanks for the replies.


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## fbagatelleblack (Mar 31, 2005)

DP1112 said:


> I'm definitely not an expert, this is my first venture into road bikes. I'm actually MUCH more familiar with disc brakes and side pull V's. With that said, i definitely will try the flathead screwdriver thing, but I don't know why the brakes won't tighten enough to prevent them from moving. Thanks for the replies.


You could also go to an LBS or a hardware store and find a star washer to go between the brake and the frame/fork. That would keep it from moving around. Many sidepull brakes come with star washers as part of the kit.

Yours,

FBB


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## ARP (Mar 7, 2002)

*Sounds like one of the fixing bolts*

in the middle of the threaded stud that holds the unit together and everything pivots around is too tight. Unsure of what the weinmann looks like but my older black label DiaCompes have a fixing acorn nut on the end, then a washer and a fixing nut followed by brake arms and springs then a spacer, it threads through the stay, spacer and the fix bolt. That second nut needs to allow the brake arms to sort of have some play, not loose, just some pivot motion. The acorn needs to be tight, the bolt behind it pushing against the arm needs to be adjusted. On my brake the spring assembly has a bolt like finish so a wrench fits on it so you can hold the brake centered and loosen the fix bolt with a second wrench. I watched a tech adjust mine and he used a special wrench that came off the head at a 90* angle and used a regular box wrench to adjust while the brake cable was still attached. The arms must be able to pivot, too tight does not permit this to happen and if all else fails, take it to a shop and pay for the lesson to know how to adjust.


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## DP1112 (Nov 30, 2006)

yeah I think I'm going to take 'em to a shop because I have tinkered around with them enough to where this is just costing me a lot of time. It seems like both brakes are doing this. After the suggestions I went and tinkered and it seems that I no matter what I do, I can't find the happy median between the brakes being tight enough to stay in place under braking, and loose enough to allow that caliper to return to its' normal position. Is it time for new brakes? I appreciate all of your help.


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## fbagatelleblack (Mar 31, 2005)

DP1112 said:


> I can't find the happy median between the brakes being tight enough to stay in place under braking, and loose enough to allow that caliper to return to its' normal position.


This could be the problem. These two functions, "tight enough to stay in place" and "loose enough to allow that caliper to return to its normal position," are controlled by different nuts on the threaded shaft.

Tighten or loosen the nuts in front of the fork (or in back of the seat stay bridge) to adjust the force necessary to open or close (via spring force) the calipers. You should set these nuts up such that the calipers move easily, but don't have any slop.


Tighten the nuts in back of the fork (or in front of the seat stay bridge) to keep the brake from moving around. You can crank the heck out of those.

An LBS should be able to do this no problem.

I do not think you need to replace the brakes. There were a lot of decent bikes back in the day that came with these brakes.

Yours,

FBB


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## tarwheel2 (Jul 7, 2005)

Personally, I would get new brakes. When I replaced my mid-80s Bianchi a few years ago with a new bike, one of the things that most impressed me was the better quality of brakes these days. They really do stop much better and have other nice features, such as releases.

Unless you want to keep the old Weinman brakes for nostalgia or their classic appeal, I would do some shopping around. In addition to the Nashbar brakes that FBB mentioned, you can buy a new set of Ultegra 6500 brakes for $60 right now at Cambria bikes. If you prefer Campagnolo, there's always eBay, but you'll need new brake levers as well for the release buttons.


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