I don't remember your username so I'm just putting this out there.
Last week I tightened my disk brakes, specifically at the cables. They had gotten to the point I had to pull the levers all the way to the handlebars and were still feeling weak.
After a little adjusting (I made the front one a little too tight at first) they started feeling great, but this morning on the way to work they started feeling really weak again, like they were barely engaging. Only this time, the levers don't go all the way to the handlebars, the travel distance is the same as when they were doing fine, so it's not that the cable has slipped.
I don't want to over-speculate since I haven't really done this sort of thing before, but I'd appreciate advice on things to check. My workplace has a ton of tools I can borrow if need be.
New development @4bicycles
I found out there's a bike shop right near work. They had a look at my weird brake pads for free and said they're actually not that worn down. Which means the culprit might be something else?
Then, when I was biking back from lunch, my front brake cable makes a twang sound, and all of the sudden it goes from 100% to zero, like no braking power at all. The cable still feels taut, it still pulls the caliper, I can even see the disk move slightly when I pull the handle so I know something is engaging, but it doesn't provide any stopping power. Like it was enough to completely bring me to a stop on its own, then instantly went to nothing. Idk what's happening but I'm taking it back to that shop after work because this bitch is not safe to ride.
Yeah hitting up the bike shop is probably a good idea. I'm out of anything that isn't a shot in the dark at this, allthough maybe @dallasw or @Kissmydadonthelips have an idea
dallasw sent me a video that gave me a flash of inspiration. Going to try one last thing, I think I might have fucked up something with the caliper's lever arm when I first tightened the brake.
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This is it! I'm pretty sure this is the source of the problem! If I loosen it completely I can't move it at all, even with a pair of pliers. It's super stuck. To tighten the brakes I had to move the caliper's lever arm up a bit which the video you sent said was a big no no. That's why it's having trouble engaging all the way even though the) everything is connected mechanically.
How to fix this is the next big thing because this sounds like a bad development.
Also, I'm not aware of any bike co ops near me but I could see. I'd certainly like to be able to take it to a place that I don't have to be so worried about them trying to oversell me dumb shit
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You are all so helpful 😭
Honestly no idea what it looks like inside the tubes (housing?). There have been a few times where it took a nasty spilll (or some moron knocks it over) and the handlebars got turned all turned around and twisted, but Idk if that caused any damage because none of that was recent.
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There is a bike co op near my home but for my own safety I think I should get them fixed asap. Like I got the front brake working again, but who knows how long that'll last.
Okay I actually can move it back and forth, it was just already at its maximum tension. I think I need to just take it in, I'm too unfamiliar with the finer details of the process to really know how to ask productive questions or give sensible answers I guess 😔 Thank you for trying to help anyway.
:sankara-salute:
Allthough this will mean you get @'d next time someone calls my dumbass for help
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