My wfe has a Gazelle Easy flow that has magura hydraulic rim brakes. The front brake does almost nothing to slow the bike down. The brake lever has been adjusted and engages properly and does not come in contact with the hand grip when applying the brake. When I apply the brake while looking at the brake pads, both pads squeeze the wheel as they are suppossed to. There is no contamination on the pads and the pads are nowhere near worn out. The bike has 500miles on it. There is plenty of hydraulic pressure being developed so this problem is a complete mystery to me. Has anyone else had similar issues w/ hydraulic rim brakes? The rear brake works perfectly. I have aligned the pads to be in perfect contact with the rims and am at a loss as to what to try next
Hydraulic rim brake issue
- Thread starter DDBB
- Start date
IggyBBR
Member
- Region
- USA
Had friend with the same issue, this past weekend, after doing all of the basic checks we couldn't figure why they wasnt grabbing, since they're were brand new brakes. It turn out it was the pads. If you have another set of pads or swap the pads. If not, back to front, to rule them out and test them again. Also clean the disc rotors, to remove any possible hidden residue.
The pads are just shy of touching the rims, as close as I can get them w/o touching. With the brake lever pulled and the pads squeezing the rim, it's easy to push the bike forward, the brake does not hold.. I have cleaned the rims with acetone. I guess I'll try new pads but they look fine and have tons of meat left on them
There is a quick release lever on the brakes for easy wheel removal...is this in the closed position?
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Looking for the quick release lever.. The only thing I can find is a little sliding tab under the brake lever which seems to add bring the pads closer to the wheel when engaged. Brakes still don't grab. Braking action is next to nill.. I'm no bike mechanic but am fairly handy. This has me baffled. EDIT: found online manual for magura rim brakes, my model doesn't have the quick release lever
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Just removed front wheel and brake pads.. Sanded brake pads down in case they were glazed but they didn't appear to be.. Lot's of meat left on them. cleaned rims with acetone.. Re-installed. brake pads squeeze the rim and are equidistant but do not slow the front wheel down. No evidence of any hydraulic fluid leaking anywhere
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I gave up and brought it to the LBS.. Somehow the tech was able to get the pads closer to the rim. I didn't see any adjustment for that but they work great now. The pads were going to the rim and stopping just as they contacted the rim proviing almost zero braking force.. I still don't understand it as there's lot's of meat left on the pads. I still didn't understand how he fixed it. The tech said it took him over an hour of fiddling but he didn't have to bleed the system. He said they are good brakes and they work great until they don't.... He has a flair for the obvious. 
... He charged me $25... It would have cost me that much in gas just to bring the bike back to the dealer so I'm happy
... He charged me $25... It would have cost me that much in gas just to bring the bike back to the dealer so I'm happyHi there. I have a Gazelle NL, 1700 Km on it. Since I have had my bike (Aug/20) the brakes have SQUEALED terribly. I also have an issue now with not being able to adjust any further the rear brake lever. It comes right up against the handlebar and there is no braking whatsoever. I'm sure this is a simple issue but can't seem to find anything online that can help me. Thanks!
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