del690

I own a Giant cyclocross bike that came equipped with Avid Shorty cantilever brakes. I cant describe how noisy and horrible sounding the Avids have become over time. After reading some other forums the general consensus seems to be that the Shorty’s are prone to a great deal of brake squeal. So I have ordered a pair of Tektro CR720 brakes that have a great reputation, and I’m sure will live up to their billing.
In the meantime, and because I plan to use the Avids on another bike I am building up I purchased a Tacx brake shoe tuner, model number T4580.
It cost $29 from my LBS which seemed like a tad expensive for what it is. That afternoon I set up the Shorty brake pads using the tuner. I have to say that I have never before set up the pads with such precision and absolute ease. The pads now have the precise toe in and clearance for a perfect set up.
I took the bike out today for an hour ride and am totally pleased to report there was not a single peep from the brakes even under stiff braking. Time will tell if this situation stays the same but at this time I am completely happy with the result of my purchase. The brake tuner is such a simple idea I don’t understand why every bike tool manufacturer doesn’t have one in their lineup.
Hope this helps.

Andy_K 

My first reaction was "What?" but then after looking at it for a minute or two I decided it's kind of a cool idea. Something similar has traditionally been done with rubber bands.

It looks like Jagwire makes a similar tool for under $10 but it may require five hands to use.

Kopsis

What a fiendishly elegant design! Thanks for the tip, I just ordered one. I have a set of Koolstop canti pad holders that just drive me nuts trying to get the adjustment right. If this thing works it will be a huge time saver.

fietsbob

those things pre set the Toe In? is it tapered front to back?

And, what is the measured difference?

del690

Yes.
There is a ridge along the top that stops the pads going too high on the rim and the unit is tapered to give correct toe in. I just loosened my brake shoes, held the arm and pad snugly against the unit and retightened. I think the strength of it all is that the shoes are completely mirror images of each other with the toe in and the way they contact the rim.


As best as I can measure.....The unit is 2.75 inches wide, and across that distance the taper is 1.1 mm in the front to 2.4 mm in the rear. The ridge is 2.3 mm thick.
There are also tiny lips on the inside of the tuner that register it against the top of the rim.

himespau 

Looks interesting. Not cheap, but interesting.

del690

Agreed, but if it does the job that softens the blow, or expense in this case.

TommyBing

That is a wonderful tool.

Probably not an issue for anyone here, but pretty difficult to use on many 36 and ALL 40 spoke wheels. Couldn't fit it when trying to adjust the cantis on an ancient tandem.

Works awesome on my current canti bikes.

Every February or March it's on sale at Chain Reaction for $18.43 or something like that.

Honestly after using that tool (the blue one) I would pay $90 for that piece of exacting plastic. I paid $160 for a CK hub tool that I've used 4 times in 8 years. Now I'm going to buy another $150 hub tool since I have new hubs with a new spec. And in 2023 I'll spend another $180 on the next CK hub tool when these 2013 hubs are obsolete. I don't mind $20 now.

My brakes are professional and I'm a lousy cro magnon mechanic. I can shear the o-ring off a griplock any day. But my brakes are stealthy and precise.

bobotech

I really want to get one of those tools for our bike co-op. Looks super handy and will save some nice time.

jtm54

Has anybody used this tool on other styles of rim brakes? I don't see why it wouldn't work, but would like to know as I only have one bike with canti's but several other rim brake types.

flargle

This photo from Tacx shows them with calipers. https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/produc...00_1_large.jpg

jtm54

Fantastic, none of the photos I found showed anything but canti.

merlinextraligh

It does the same thing you can do with a dime. Assuming you have change in your pocket, you can have the job done with the dime in the time it takes to find the Tacx tool on your work bench.

bobotech

Easier said than done in the bike co-op environment. Much easier to just slap the tool onto the wheel and show the customer how to set the pads rather than explaining all about toe-in vs toe-out and how to set it using a card or dime. with this tool, it will just make settin canti brakes so much easier for the customer. They don't understand proper pad angles or all that stuff.

Cynikal 

I use an old spoke that is bent in a U. A trick that I picked up working at a Co-op.

merlinextraligh

How much more difficult is it to explain: 1) put this tool between the pads and the rim before you tighten them; 2) put a dime between the back edge of the pad and the rim before you tighten them?

fietsbob

math says a 1.3 mm thick thing under the leading edge of the brake shoe does the same thing.
[leading edge of the top of a forward rotating wheel is the back]

flargle

Back in my day we didn't HAVE your fancy dimes to adjust brake pads!

Really, y'all should stop being so retro-******y. This is a handy-dandy tool that frees up a hand by staying attached to the rim, and helps get you the correct orientation in all dimensions, not just the toe-in. Is it absolutely necessary? Of course not. Is it overpriced? Probably.

I'll bet on cooking forums there are people who argue that there's no need for a food processor if you have sharp knives and good technique.

Andy_K 

That's not entirely true. Besides setting toe-in, this tool also aligns the pad in the braking surface.

I just picked up the Jagwire brake tuner tool (which looks like it works the same way but with less plastic). I used it to set up my cantis before a very sloppy race this weekend. It took me two tries to figure out that I needed to press the pad a little harder against the upper lip of the tool for good brake track alignment but once done it gave me good performance with no squeal (using Shimano CX70 brakes).

bobotech

That is exactly why I like the idea of the tool, it allows you to set the toe and pad alignment all in one step. The tool appears to help you set not only the toe, but the proper angle and alignment of the pad which confuses people who don't know mechanics. It seems to have a lip which will prevent the pad from spinning when you tighten the pad nut. And if you have the old school sliding post canti pads, then this should make it much easier. No more needing 3 hands to hold everything just right.

del690

Sorry to disagree, but it ( a dime) will be nowhere near as precise as using this tool. In all my years of setting up my own bikes I have never set my brakes as easily as this.