v brake tension spring

[foxychick]

Does anyone know where i can get one of these from, it is the one on the right hand side in the picture. Many thanks.

[Brucey]

lost, broken, bent, rusty?

If the former two then try the LBS scrap bin.

If the latter two maybe titivate it and re-use it.

You can get spares for some brakes, e.g.

http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/avid-avid-brake-arm-spring-kit-single-digit-ultimate-(left-and-right)-prod28525/

but not usually for no-name/ generic V brakes.

A new V brake isn't terribly expensive; a new Deore V brake is less than £15 and there are plenty cheaper than that.

cheers

[foxychick]

Thanks brucey, i just cannot get any tension on the brake arm no matter which way i screw the tensioning screw, when i screw it right in, the screw keeps turning round all the time.

[Brucey]

it sounds like the thread on the adjuster may be stripped.

Do bear in mind that if the brake is seized on the pivot, the spring won't work.

If the peg is put in the wrong one of the three holes in the boss, the spring won't work.

Very often you can put a 'set' into a bad spring again and make it all work OK even with one bad adjuster. The other spring (on the other arm) can be set to match or adjusted using its adjuster.

cheers

[531colin]

Just bend the spring a bit....it won't mind!
If there is a screw adjuster the other side, you can use that for fine tuning.

[foxychick]

Thank you very much for all your sound advice.

[Sweep]

If the peg is put in the wrong one of the three holes in the boss, the spring won't work.

Could you clarify this?

I always thought that choice of 3 holes was for additional adjustment of the spring tension?

(be kind with me please)

[531colin]

Yes, the 3 holes provide the coarse adjustment, the little grub screw provides the fine tuning......that's if everything is as it should be....
However, if everything is as it should be, the left and right springs need to be in the equivalent holes each side to balance things up.......
.....if something is not as it should be, then you may need to put the springs in different holes (eg 1 in the middle hole, 1 in the bottom hole) to balance things up.....or you may need to bend one of the springs.....or you may only have a working grub screw one side......

[foxychick]

I went down to the local recycling centre to look for a tensioning spring and it is such a shame some of the stuff that is thrown away, bikes with good saddles, tyres, gears, wheels, drivetrain, etc, i bet that these could be put to good use in third world countries.

[markfh]

The is a charity that does such things, Re~Cycle, based in Colchester. Essex, which takes donated bikes and components.

http://www.re-cycle.org/Donate/Bike.

If you search the web you may also find other charities that do similar things for the re-use of bicycles in this country.

[Brucey]

....Such a shame some of the stuff that is thrown away, bikes with good saddles, tyres, gears, wheels, drivetrain, etc, i bet that these could be put to good use in third world countries.

I am of a view that we already ship enough stuff around the world and there are plenty of people who clearly 'need' bicycles (but don't necessarily know it yet...) in this country. But yes, almost anything is better than fragging servicable bicycle components.

cheers

[nickpaton]

If you search the web you may also find other charities that do similar things for the re-use of bicycles in this country.

In Newcastle upon Tyne there's the charity Recyke Y'Bike. A vast resource of second hand bike parts, including properly refurbished bikes.

[foxychick]

Great to see that some bikes get recycled for africa as they are an essential form of transport there, and it really warms the cockles of my heart to hear this.

[Redvee]

Such a shame some of the stuff that is thrown away, bikes with good saddles, tyres, gears, wheels, drivetrain, etc, i bet that these could be put to good use in third world countries.

Lifecycle in Bristol do similar, bikes are collected from local CA, civic amenity sites aka council tip/dump, as well as unclaimed bikes from the police and are taken to the local prison where they are made good and the crap scrapped. The bikes are then sold on at low cost to students etc.

http://www.lifecycleuk.org.uk/bike-recycling

[nickpaton]

Not wanting to hijack this post, just wondering if it's worth starting a new thread to specifically list these bike refurb charities?