Solution to foot hitting quick adjust on disc brake

[bentbike33]

@huskerdont 138831 wrote:

So, my new Masi CX Comp comes with the disc brake mounted on the chain stay in front of the seat stay. I’ve noticed that my foot occasionally hits the caliper while pedaling. While grinding a few miles out the towpath yesterday to lengthen the ride home, I eventually clued in that it was getting harder and harder and I was going slower and slower, even though I didn’t *think* I was tired. Dismounted and checked everything out, and the brake was tight enough that it was difficult to turn the wheel by hand. The barrel adjuster was most of the way out from my foot hitting it.

There are mounting holes behind the seat stay, but these are for racks, not a brake. Apparently there’s no adapter that can be used to mount it there such as on my Soma mountain bike.

So, any ideas on preventing this? I have a lower profile pair of shoes that hits it less so that will help to use them for this bike. I might put some tape on it as a temporary fix, but other than gluing the thing down, that’s all I got. It’s too late for footbinding.

Try one of these on the left side?

http://hostelshoppe.com/KNEESAVERS-Pedal-Extenders-174591/

[huskerdont]

@bentbike33 138842 wrote:

Try one of these on the left side?

http://hostelshoppe.com/KNEESAVERS-Pedal-Extenders-174591/

That might work. I used something similar many years ago converting a 1965 Schwinn crank to modern pedals. Thought of them as an adapter, not something to move the foot over. I’m going to give them a try. Thanks!

[dkel]

Changing your Q-factor can have physical consequences for your knees, so be sure to listen to your body as you ride those.

[huskerdont]

@dkel 138844 wrote:

Changing your Q-factor can have physical consequences for your knees, so be sure to listen to your body as you ride those.

Definitely. I have enough knee problems as it is. Post-surgery, seems there’s always a new thing going on in there I need to pay attention to.

[dkel]

You could also use shorter crank arms, if the overlap is slight. This also has effects in bike fit and pedaling efficiency, though. It’s possible a different caliper would give the desired effect; that change wouldn’t effect your riding position at all.

[huskerdont]

@dkel 138846 wrote:

You could also use shorter crank arms, if the overlap is slight. This also has effects in bike fit and pedaling efficiency, though. It’s possible a different caliper would give the desired effect; that change wouldn’t effect your riding position at all.

I think it’s too much overlap for shortening 5 mm to work. I might look into getting some BB7s instead of the Promax ones that came on stock if other solutions don’t work out. The Kneesavers seem like a cheap enough thing to try and toss if it doesn’t work (knee or hip pain or pedals hitting on turns). In the meantime, first thing I’ll do is a long ride with the other shoes. Their heel is much narrower and smoother so doesn’t hit nearly as often and may not turn the barrel.

Thanks to all for the ideas.

[bentbike33]

You could also just remove the barrel adjuster from the brake caliper, as long as you have one on the lever.

Although I thought most mechanical disk brake manufacturers recommended against using the barrel adjusters at all in favor of moving the pads.

[dkel]

@bentbike33 138854 wrote:

You could also just remove the barrel adjuster from the brake caliper, as long as you have one on the lever.

Although I thought most mechanical disk brake manufacturers recommended against using the barrel adjusters at all in favor of moving the pads.

This is a really good point. I don’t think my BB7s or my Spyres have barrel adjusters at all.

[huskerdont]

@dkel 138859 wrote:

This is a really good point. I don’t think my BB7s or my Spyres have barrel adjusters at all.

It is a good point. I looked at the BB7s on my mountain bike last night and there was no barrel adjuster.

[hozn]

Spyres have barrel adjusters. Though it is unlikely that your foot would hit it on a Spyre.

Barrel adjusters don’t make so much sense on the BB7 which is not a dual-piston design (I.e. only one side of caliper moves).

I love the barrel adjusters on the Spyres for pulling in the pads (compared to the bb7 adjustment wheels). In general, I think the Spyres are better brakes.

Of course, now that I put hydros on my commuter, I will probably never go back to mechanicals.

[dkel]

@hozn 138872 wrote:

Spyres have barrel adjusters.

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Yeah, I probably should have known that. :p

[huskerdont]

What I have here is a case of design envy.

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I’ll never go back to hydraulics, but I might replace with BB7s eventually. Can take the one off my mountain bike and see if it clears any better. The problem may not be solved with a different model because of where it mounts. I’ll likely remove the barrel adjuster, but my foot will still hit it and eventually could cause damage or wear.

[hozn]

@huskerdont 138880 wrote:

I’ll never go back to hydraulics, but I might replace with BB7s eventually. Can take the one off my mountain bike and see if it clears any better. The problem may not be solved with a different model because of where it mounts. I’ll likely remove the barrel adjuster, but my foot will still hit it and eventually could cause damage or wear.

Note that a MTB BB7 is not the same as a road BB7. If you just mean to check the clearance, that is probably reasonable; I don’t know if the calipers are actually shaped differently (but cable pull / actuation is different).

What happened to steer you away from hydros? I’ve always been a big fan of mechanicals on road or MTB, but that was mostly because I’d never tried hydros. [Powerful] single-finger braking from the hoods has me hooked. And the ergonomics of the SRAM hydro hoods are much better for rough stuff. The braking is, in short, significantly better. That said, I do hold that hydros are a lot more setup work than mechanicals. Time will tell how much maintenance work they require. If I have to bleed my brakes more than once or twice a year, I might rethink the value proposition.

In related news, I might have some Spyres for sale shortly …

[vvill]

@hozn 138889 wrote:

I’ve always been a big fan of mechanicals on road or MTB, but that was mostly because I’d never tried hydros. [Powerful] single-finger braking from the hoods has me hooked. And the ergonomics of the SRAM hydro hoods are much better for rough stuff. The braking is, in short, significantly better. That said, I do hold that hydros are a lot more setup work than mechanicals. Time will tell how much maintenance work they require. If I have to bleed my brakes more than once or twice a year, I might rethink the value proposition.

Good to hear the SRAM hydros are working well! I have my heart set on hydros for my next road/CX/gravel/adventure bike, whenever that is, and I’m thinking SRAM. Mech discs are great in that they solve all the basic issues of rim brakes (riding in the wet and no rim wear) but I agree that hydros are still a significant improvement. I’m hoping that bleeding will only be required at most once every year or two. I’ll never upgrade the BB7s on my 26″ beater bike though – they work perfectly for their purpose.

[huskerdont]

The hydraulics on my old Gary Fisher Tass went on me (a leak). Bought the fluid and everything to fix and just didn’t like fiddling with it so converted to BB7s. I didn’t notice any difference in braking ability between the mechanicals and the hydraulics, so I was happy to switch. (Note that it took me a while to notice my brakes were rubbing on that ride on the towpath, so I may not notice subtle differences very well.) The braking with mechanicalis is so much better than with standard brakes, I’m happy enough with them.

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