Advice on how to "toe in" calliper brakes

phil k

The other Saturday (whilst it was raining!!) i took the opportunity to give my old Cannondale a good clean and tidy up - it looks great, but............now i cant get the rear brakes to stop squealing, screaching, screaming!! The bike is 13 years old and has never had the problem before!!

Josh kindly advised "they need toe-ing in mate" which i guessed was the case but how do you do it? I have taken out the brake blocks, "fiddled around" with those and put them back in with what i hoped was some toe in (by inserting a plastic "shim" between the wheel rim and the back end of the brake block to create an angle) but it made no difference.

The blocks do not have the "dished" washer arrangement (like you get on canti brakes) so i am at a loss on how to achieve "silent running" (except for ear plugs!)

Is it just a case of getting the big adjustable spanner out and "tweaking" the lower end of the calliper arm in the correct direction?

The callipers are Shimano 105 (Circa 2005) any help, advice and handy hints would be very much appreciated.

Thank you.

tduckett

Without the dished washer arrangement, yes its the big adjustable "tweaking". Also, try taking them off and running a file over the surface to remove the top layer, that sometimes works.

Shaun

Modern calliper brakes shouldn't really need to be toed-in.

As it's a recent phenomenon, it sounds like (see what I did there) contaminant on either the rim or pads. Also check the calliper bolt isn't loose. Swapping pads or a back wheel from another bike might help to identify the source.

If you do want to toe-in and wish to avoid using the big spanner, sand the back of the brake pads slightly to achieve the toe-in angle.

phil k

cheers chaps - thanks for the sound (see what i did there) advice...............file/sandpaper; why didn't i think of that!!