MY BRAKES WON'T WORK!

Sanding your rims won't help. Are they actually painted or factory anodized? If they're painted, use paint stripper to get the paint off. If they're anodized, your brakes should still work. But seeing as you've already sanded them it's too late for that. If I were you, I'd get some oven cleaner to strip the anodizing off, then buff the heck out of the rims with wire wool. Then buff them up more with metal polish. Then clean them.

How is your brake set up? How long is the straddle cable? What brake/lever/cable are you using? You shouldn't need to wear the pads in at all. All you need to do is lightly sand the very top shiny layer off.
Your straddle cable should be as short as your frame will allow (assuming they're seat stay mounts, and the yoke is before the seat tube) so the yoke is almost touching your seat tube when the brake isn't being pulled. Your brake lever should pull in to about parallel with your bars as that gives you optimum leverage. Any cheap parts, especially outer cable, will give a lot of flex. And small pads have a much lower stopping power, as there's less surface contact. The softer the pad, the better braking it should give, although they need sanding more frequently, and give a bit of a spongey feeling.
A general rule is, the nicer and snappier the brake feels, the worse it actually works

grumpySteve wrote:

Sanding your rims won't help. Are they actually painted or factory anodized? If they're painted, use paint stripper to get the ...more

grumpySteve wrote:

Sanding your rims won't help. Are they actually painted or factory anodized? If they're painted, use paint stripper to get the paint off. If they're anodized, your brakes should still work. But seeing as you've already sanded them it's too late for that. If I were you, I'd get some oven cleaner to strip the anodizing off, then buff the heck out of the rims with wire wool. Then buff them up more with metal polish. Then clean them.

How is your brake set up? How long is the straddle cable? What brake/lever/cable are you using? You shouldn't need to wear the pads in at all. All you need to do is lightly sand the very top shiny layer off.
Your straddle cable should be as short as your frame will allow (assuming they're seat stay mounts, and the yoke is before the seat tube) so the yoke is almost touching your seat tube when the brake isn't being pulled. Your brake lever should pull in to about parallel with your bars as that gives you optimum leverage. Any cheap parts, especially outer cable, will give a lot of flex. And small pads have a much lower stopping power, as there's less surface contact. The softer the pad, the better braking it should give, although they need sanding more frequently, and give a bit of a spongey feeling.
A general rule is, the nicer and snappier the brake feels, the worse it actually works

My brakes feel like a marshmallow, they have a very soft and sticky compound, the brakes I use are some stock rant brakes that came with my subrosa, I need to do some more adjustments on the tension, also the brake cable I ue is the Animal Bikes Linear cable

I'd assume the brake itself will have more flex than the better brakes on the market. Also the lever if it's stock may have the wrong leverage, and add to the flex. Are your pads touching the rim properly? When the brake is on, the posts should be at a 90 degree angle from the rim, so they sit perfectly horizontal and in line with each other. And should hit the rim at the same time. If they squeek you can toe them out slightly (so the back of the pad touches just before the front) it will add a little sponge, but cuts down on the squeeking and makes your brake work better when just slowing down. Another way to cut down on squeek is to make sure the mounts and bolts have plenty of grease on, and are tightened up properly.
Make sure there's no kinks in the cable, and only have the outer as long as you need it. Make sure all the ferrules are seated properly and the outer is cut nice and neatly.

All these little things will make a difference. So it's worth checking all of them

clean and toe in your pads
clean your rim
check if your cables are fucked up
both pads need to be like 5mm from rim (most important thing)
make sure your wheel is true

some pics would help tooh

grumpySteve wrote:

I'd assume the brake itself will have more flex than the better brakes on the market. Also the lever if it's stock may have ...more

grumpySteve wrote:

I'd assume the brake itself will have more flex than the better brakes on the market. Also the lever if it's stock may have the wrong leverage, and add to the flex. Are your pads touching the rim properly? When the brake is on, the posts should be at a 90 degree angle from the rim, so they sit perfectly horizontal and in line with each other. And should hit the rim at the same time. If they squeek you can toe them out slightly (so the back of the pad touches just before the front) it will add a little sponge, but cuts down on the squeeking and makes your brake work better when just slowing down. Another way to cut down on squeek is to make sure the mounts and bolts have plenty of grease on, and are tightened up properly.
Make sure there's no kinks in the cable, and only have the outer as long as you need it. Make sure all the ferrules are seated properly and the outer is cut nice and neatly.

All these little things will make a difference. So it's worth checking all of them

Ya like my whole brake setup is pretty dicked, there's a big kink in the cable by the lever but the cable works fine. So yes there's probably alot of flex in general.

tiho wrote:

clean and toe in your pads
clean your rim
check if your cables are fucked up
both pads need to be like 5mm from rim (most ...more

tiho wrote:

clean and toe in your pads
clean your rim
check if your cables are fucked up
both pads need to be like 5mm from rim (most important thing)
make sure your wheel is true

some pics would help tooh

Ya I'll post up some pics when I get a chance

tiho wrote:

clean and toe in your pads
clean your rim
check if your cables are fucked up
both pads need to be like 5mm from rim (most ...more

tiho wrote:

clean and toe in your pads
clean your rim
check if your cables are fucked up
both pads need to be like 5mm from rim (most important thing)
make sure your wheel is true

some pics would help tooh

That far from the rim is NOT important. You need smooth pull, even tension and clean everything. When my rims are true the pads are no more than around 2 MM from my rims.

Also having stock parts off a complete could be part of it, generally cheaper brakes have a lot of flex, which instead of helping slow down/stop you is actually making them not grip as tightly as they should.

Here are some pics of my brakes


So in the first and third picture there are kinks in the cables, also the brake lever in picture 1 is way to close to my grip when it actually engages.

I think your problems are all said here.

For one, stock brake setup. Generally speaking, they're good for one thing. Throwing them away. Invest in a good, strong setup. I recommend Odyssey brakes. Either the Springfield or EVO II work wonders, especially with Slim-By-Four pads.

You mentioned kinks and bends in the cables. While it'd be best to fix them all, your first priority should definitely be the brake arms themselves. Like many here said, the weakness in the posts result in too much flex, meaning significantly less stopping power. Once you're set up with them, however, invest in some new cables.

As far as your rim, stop sanding it. Although it's too late now, the Slim-By-Four pads work well on clean, anodized rims.

That cable is a lot of your issue. Either trim the housing to remove that kink or replace the whole cable.

That will be a HUGE improvement.

Then save for better brake arms and a lever.

As Dave said. Plus, wind your barrel adjuster all the way in and pull your cable through instead to take up the slack. The barrel adjuster being wound that far out plus the kink would be enough on their own to make your brake feel wafty

readybmxer wrote:

I think your problems are all said here.

For one, stock brake setup. Generally speaking, they're good for one thing. Throwing ...more

readybmxer wrote:

I think your problems are all said here.

For one, stock brake setup. Generally speaking, they're good for one thing. Throwing them away. Invest in a good, strong setup. I recommend Odyssey brakes. Either the Springfield or EVO II work wonders, especially with Slim-By-Four pads.

You mentioned kinks and bends in the cables. While it'd be best to fix them all, your first priority should definitely be the brake arms themselves. Like many here said, the weakness in the posts result in too much flex, meaning significantly less stopping power. Once you're set up with them, however, invest in some new cables.

As far as your rim, stop sanding it. Although it's too late now, the Slim-By-Four pads work well on clean, anodized rims.

I was thinking about getting new brake calipers, but I'm a bit weary about the Springfield Brakes, they use an external spring which seems like a cheap design. That could just be me, but I'd deffinately be willing to try them out because they're only around $30 for the kit. I just hope they're worth the money because I've spent $100+ replacing cables and getting new pads. If you have had experience with them feedback would be nice, thanks!

tiho wrote:

clean and toe in your pads
clean your rim
check if your cables are fucked up
both pads need to be like 5mm from rim (most ...more

tiho wrote:

clean and toe in your pads
clean your rim
check if your cables are fucked up
both pads need to be like 5mm from rim (most important thing)
make sure your wheel is true

some pics would help tooh

dave lawrence wrote:

That far from the rim is NOT important. You need smooth pull, even tension and clean everything. When my rims are true the ...more

dave lawrence wrote:

That far from the rim is NOT important. You need smooth pull, even tension and clean everything. When my rims are true the pads are no more than around 2 MM from my rims.

Also having stock parts off a complete could be part of it, generally cheaper brakes have a lot of flex, which instead of helping slow down/stop you is actually making them not grip as tightly as they should.

what i meant is that pads have to touch the rim at the same time, equal distance on both sides or he'll never stop haha

Macalin wrote:

I was thinking about getting new brake calipers, but I'm a bit weary about the Springfield Brakes, they use an external spring ...more

Macalin wrote:

I was thinking about getting new brake calipers, but I'm a bit weary about the Springfield Brakes, they use an external spring which seems like a cheap design. That could just be me, but I'd deffinately be willing to try them out because they're only around $30 for the kit. I just hope they're worth the money because I've spent $100+ replacing cables and getting new pads. If you have had experience with them feedback would be nice, thanks!

Unfortunately, I have no experience with the Springfield brakes. My guess is that it's such a simple design that it deems very effective.

However, I've been on EVO II brakes for nearly 3 years now. I'm running them with Slim-By-Four pads, which also come with the brakes when you buy them. It is 100% AWESOME! No problems so far and very easy to work with. I run dual gyro cables as well and they still work completely super. I currently run a painted rim. Used to be anodized blue, now matte black. With the proper brake setup, however, I still have achieved maximum stopping power. They're worth every penny. Highly recommend!

readybmxer wrote:

I think your problems are all said here.

For one, stock brake setup. Generally speaking, they're good for one thing. Throwing ...more

readybmxer wrote:

I think your problems are all said here.

For one, stock brake setup. Generally speaking, they're good for one thing. Throwing them away. Invest in a good, strong setup. I recommend Odyssey brakes. Either the Springfield or EVO II work wonders, especially with Slim-By-Four pads.

You mentioned kinks and bends in the cables. While it'd be best to fix them all, your first priority should definitely be the brake arms themselves. Like many here said, the weakness in the posts result in too much flex, meaning significantly less stopping power. Once you're set up with them, however, invest in some new cables.

As far as your rim, stop sanding it. Although it's too late now, the Slim-By-Four pads work well on clean, anodized rims.

Macalin wrote:

I was thinking about getting new brake calipers, but I'm a bit weary about the Springfield Brakes, they use an external spring ...more

Macalin wrote:

I was thinking about getting new brake calipers, but I'm a bit weary about the Springfield Brakes, they use an external spring which seems like a cheap design. That could just be me, but I'd deffinately be willing to try them out because they're only around $30 for the kit. I just hope they're worth the money because I've spent $100+ replacing cables and getting new pads. If you have had experience with them feedback would be nice, thanks!

I have the springfield brake kit. It's a great setup for the money, and they finally beefed up the spring so its less likely to break. The only complaint I have is that the springfield lever isnt very durable. I put some clear pads on mine and they work like a dream. The oddy ghost pads that came with it aren't too shabby either. The system is meant to be very simple and easy to setup, and it is! Basically, they are good brakes for the price and shouldn't do you wrong.