[Wirincon]

Last fall I put new rear brake pads on my 2006 Rincon. I have two Rincons and this is probably the fourth time I have changed the pads. The hand lever for the brakes worked great when I tested it out last fall. I went to change the oil this spring and I noticed the foot brake works great but the hand brake will not work at all. I adjusted the nut for the cable and the pull feels like it should but only the foot brake works. I tried bleeding the rear brake but it made no difference. Has anyone else had a problem like this?

 

[Oilcan]

When you pull on the hand brake, can you see the lever moving on the caliper? If not, either adjust, or replace the cable.

 

[Anthony C]

When you pull on the hand brake, can you see the lever moving on the caliper? If not, either adjust, or replace the cable.

It could also be the mechanical side of the caliper is frozen

 

[Anthony C]

It could also be the mechanical side of the caliper is frozen

I just replaced my rear pads after 5,189 miles. I stay out of the mud and water. I can’t find my maintenance manual right at the moment, we moved from PA to VA, and I’m still looking for stuff. Anyway I knew there had to be something special about the rear brakes because of the cable side. Well all was well with the operations of both sides of the caliper. I put the new pads in, pushed the piston back the caliper. Then adjusted the cable side of the piston. The piston ram itself is adjustable. I unscrewed the ram so it just fit over the new brake pads. It took several tries to get it where it should be. Now I have great hand brakes and foot brakes. The adjusting but on the caliper need not be-all the way up the adjustment rod. The brakes still won’t work good. You need to unscrew the ram from the piston so it’s snug. Not snug enough to keep the wheels from turning, just enough to know there a small amount of drag because there’s not much movement from the hydraulic side and cable side. So all the slack must be taken up from the adjustable ram in the caliper.

 

[Anthony C]

SPECIAL NOTE; When adjusting the ram, adjust it until it's almost impossible to get the caliper back in position. This way you will have outstanding hand and foot brakes.

 

[Wirincon]

Well I finally put a new rear caliper on my Rincon. I bled the brakes and the foot brake works but the hand brake doesn't work. I tried adjusting the cable and moving the piston on the caliper in and out but it doesn't make a difference. Nothing is any different than before I changed the caliper. I don't know if I should try replacing the cable next. I don't see how it could have just all of a sudden stretched so much that the hand brake is useless. Has anyone on h ere ever had problems with the brake cable?