[BruceW]

I just bought a pair of Avid Single Digit 7 v-brakes to replace my XT kit (parallel push pivots). But when I mount the Avids to the frame, the main pivot has a lot of play in it (wobble). I can grab the brake arm it plays from side to side. I had heard that this is the exact issue where Avid excels over Shimano, for greater stopping power and less squeal.

So, for those of you who own SD7's, is this a manufacturing defect in my copy, or is it a common feature of SD7 brakes?

Thanks.

...No, I'm not ready to move to disc.

 

[HTail]

Hence no replys.....j/k

 

[HTail]

Seriously though, is the play on the caliper arms occurring over the post, or the pivot bearing itself? I just tuned up a bike with Avid brakes and the fit of the arms over the post was loose enough to slide easily on, but snug and once tightened down, the only play was very slight in the bearing or bushing.

Assuming you're comparing this to you previous XT's? BTW- I still run XT V-brakes on my 'other' bike and my wifes bike, work great.

 

[BruceW]

Just checked again... It is the pivot bearing itself, and the brake is tightened down to the frame. The top of the SD7 brake arm has about 3mm (1/8") of play in it, 3x that of my XT brake arm (with the parallel push setup).

 

[Wombat]

Yes it's a manufacturing "feature". if you search old threads on this you will see that a number of people were disappointed to find the slop in the pivots; some reverted to Shimano again. I got used to it on my bike, and others worked out various shims to get rid of the play.

Tim

 

[HTail]

Interesting.... honestly I've only owned Shimano v-brakes...well Avid discs now. Have you tried the higher end Avid rim brakes, maybe better? If you're really serious about staying with rim brakes, I suppose the best of the best would be the Shimano XTR v-brakes.

 

[Wombat]

I have the Avid mags, which is I think about the equivalent of the SD-7s, but made of course with magnesium, so I think they were relatively high end at the time (outdone probably only by the ultimates). The slop annoyed me at first, but I got used to it.

Tim

 

[rockyuphill]

I think the slop is just there to make the Avid Ultimate brake arms look terrific because of the lack of slop provided by the two sealed bearings. That was the one thing that made me feel the cost of the Ultimates was worth the $$$$ when I bought them. The fact that the brake arm assembly has a tendency to turn into a stack of jigsaw puzzle parts about the second time it gets removed from a V-brake boss was less satisfying, even though you eventually can get good at reassembling them on the fly.

 

[BruceW]

I did ring the UK distributor this morning and asked their opinion. They did say that a little "float" is part of the design, but agreed that 3mm (at the top of the brake arm) is a bit beyond tolerances and I should return it to the shop as defective.

 

[Wombat]

Let us know how this goes.

Tim