Fork judder under braking

[tinkerer]

I have a basic but quite nice steel framed Holdsworth road bike that suffers from pronounced fork judder under braking. Has anyone here got any suggestions as to solutions for this problem?

Cheers,

Adam

 

[the_dark_horse]

Hi mate,

Does it happen at one particular spot on the wheel when braking - could be due to a rim joint if so.

Mavics are often finished down at the join so it does not occur when braking - one of my old bikes did this for a while but over time the braking actually wears the joint edge down too so is only a temporary problem.

Hope this is of help!

 

[hamster]

Check that the brake callipers aren't loose. It might be a bit of play in the headset too.

 

[tinkerer]

Thanks for the tips - will give the headset and brakes a good going over!

Cheers,

Adam

 

[lelobysfoot]

judder

If you make sure the pads brake shoes are tight and thats not the prob, I would give the pads a rub with emery paper and check the rims are clean. Bits of rim get stuck in the pads and sometimes makes them judder. Also check the pads angle to the rim. They should be perfectly flat or, if anything a bit of toe-in - that sometimes does it.

 

[tinkerer]

I changed brake pads and set them really carefully to be flat against the rim and the fork judder disappeared! I guess it shows how even tough materials like steel have their weaknesses- before the fork blades were rippling like mad, now they are solid and steady.

Thanks for the tips,

Adam

 

[hamster]

It's not weakness- everything flexes a little. You just have to set things up to minimise flex.

You could have less flex, but then it would weigh a ton.