Originally Posted by
79pmooney
chrisx nailed it. If your cantis do not that the screw, don't sweat it. The old Mafacs which for many years were the only canti had no such screw. Unless you messed with the springs or your bike's mounts had several holes to anchor the spring, uneven brake straddle cables were a fact of life. My Mooney has seen decades of it. I absolutely don't care. I just move the triangle to center teh brakes and call it done. Bikes have no brains that get bent out of shape from asymmetrical cables. If you can keep yours straight, the bike will be fine.
Ben
Many of the brakes have a set screw that won't allow you to slide the "triangle". In fact, the Tektro brakes that came on my LHT had 2 set screws, why I have no idea, it seems that they could have accomplished whatever it was they were trying to do with just one.
I think the springs that came with them were defective. Often times I would find the brake pads off center after removing the wheel for transportation purposes. The bike shop tried to tell me that each time you remove the wheel, you can't reinstall it in the exact same spot. BS. I did my own experiment. I would just walk over to the bike and release the brakes. The next morning I would check it and they would be off center. Touching the rim on one side. My wife has the same bike and the same problem. After a few days, they would be nearly centered again. A mind of their own.
I solved it by replacing them with Pauls. Have not had a problem since. I just recenter the moon unit whenever I remove the wheel.
You need to learn how to adjust the brake yourself. It's not hard.