Front brake caliper adjusting - or just bleed the brakes? By nivanov (Read 509 times)

[nivanov]

I've managed to bury a huge nail in my front tire. I've already changed the rear tire once, so changing the front one wasn't all that different, or complicated. Once I got the tire on and inflated, I noticed that my front brakes lost a lot of power - they still engage, but significantly weaker than before. I didn't take the caliper assembly off the frame when I was taking the wheel off and, in general, I wasn't doing much with brakes to begin with, so I'm not sure how air could have gotten into the hydraulic line.

Is it possible that I've spread the caliper when I was mounting/dismounting the wheel? I'm wondering if there's too much space between the brake pads and the rotor, so half of the action of squeezing the brake is to just get the brake pads to the rotor. I have a TaoTao ATM50-A1, is there something similar to what is shown in this video? Is there anything else I should check before bleeding the brake line? Thanks!

[cyborg]

pump them up 10 times or so,,if you didn't mess with hitting the lever while the disc was out there should be no problem,,,it takes a few hard hits to the lever to bring it up to normal

[nivanov]

I've tried that. It got better, but only marginally. Still not nearly as strong as it was before, and probably not safe to ride.

[cyborg]

Pads move when you removed the wheel?,,, one not in the correct position?

[cyborg]

Is it a single piston caliper or double?,,, if it's a double did you push th back hard? Maybe one is stuck in it's bore

[jct842]

Whats the big deal? just bleed them. There is no adjustment on disk brakes, thats what makes them so nice.

[nivanov]

I think it's single piston, but I'll take a look. I guess bleeding them isn't that big a deal - I'll give that a go as well. Thanks everyone!

[richardv]

Taking the wheel off would have shoved the piston back in. If it was enough for corrosion to get to the seal it would let air in. Bleed it and then watch closely for any sign of leakage.