Rear Break shuddering

[theNJR]

I've had my Cross Current for two months now and have put on around 400 miles. Love it beyond belief, but having some recent brake issues.

Last weekend I went on a pretty epic 30 mile ride. Heading home with a few miles left, I noticed my back brake was really wonky. Didn't work right and was vibrating hard. I pulled over and checked all the screws on the back - some of which were very loose. Tightened everything (these screws: https://vid.me/oDKcC) and the brakes seemed fine, and made it home just without another issue.

I couldn't ride this week until today. Took it out for a quick ride and the back brakes are once again shuddering. Nothing is loose, so I'm not sure what else to check for... any ideas?

http://i.imgur.com/f9EtZwF.jpg

Are these parts supposed to be screwed together? http://i.imgur.com/eAxIbWB.jpg

 

[rich c]

It sure looks like they should bolt together, but if you do that on your bike, it looks like you might not have enough slot to align the rotor and caliper. I just did a Google image search for Cross Current rear brake. It shows a bolt going through there.

 

[J.R.]

Yes they should be bolted together. Given other bolts were loose, it likely vibrated off. Use BLUE Loctite with the caliper mounting bolts and check with Tektro for the proper torque spec.

This is similar to your bike.

 

[Deleted member 803]

Take your bike to a competent bike dealer and have them adjust your brakes. Many things can cause a shudder. No bike comes with properly adjusted brakes, especially hydraulic disc brakes. Avoid using loctite at all on your bike. We build 5-10 bikes a week and techs spend the most time adjusting brakes.

 

[J.R.]

Avoid using loctite at all on your bike

That is the most irresponsible advice you could offer for working on a bike, especially brake caliper mounting bolts. Shimano, Avid and Tektro disc brake mounting bolts all come with blue Loctite from the factory. If a bike owner is replacing a missing bolt with a proper spec bolt, blue Loctite should be used. When servicing brakes, old Loctite should be removed and new applied. Manufactures and techs use blue Loctite on many bike fasteners.