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Front Tire won't fit through rim brakes

Old 09-11-21, 09:39 AM
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Dr1v3n
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Front Tire won't fit through rim brakes

I have a Giant Contend 3, completely stock: https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/contend-3

That 700x28c tire is quite a bit wider than the rim itself. While it clears the fork just fine, it gets caught up in the brakes when I am trying to remove and replace the wheel, such as when I am travelling with my bike. This occurs even with the brake lever released and the brakes in their widest position.

I end up having to basically force the wheel/tire in and out, which throws my brakes out of alignment a bit. I don't really like doing this, can't imagine it's great for the brakes, and am wondering if there is another way, because with my current transportation setup I have to remove my front wheel every time. So practically every time I do this, I end up having to make adjustments to my brakes or get different sounds, the toe-in gets messed with, etc...

Tires have to be forced thru brakes.
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Old 09-11-21, 09:48 AM
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carry a pump, deflate as needed, reinflate
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Old 09-11-21, 10:03 AM
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Originally Posted by dedhed
carry a pump, deflate as needed, reinflate
Yes, carry a good pump. But no, don't deflate and re-pump every day! This is 2021, not the dark ages! There is a way to add another release in the brake cable path. I don't know what it is but I wouldn't stop until I found (or invented) it. An easy one is brake levers with built-in releases but brifters are not yet so enlightened. I'd see if there is an equivalent to the in-line barrel adjusts. You could just use a barrel adjuster to loosen, then re-tighten the cable (in addition to the caliper brake release),
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Old 09-11-21, 10:13 AM
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Can you set the pads with a bit more clearance when the brakes are fully closed and still have good lever travel? An alternative is to set the pads wide and use the cable adjuster on the caliper to tighten them up. Then use the adjuster to gain more clearance when you want to remove the wheel.
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Old 09-11-21, 10:13 AM
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Looking at the Giant page, I spy a barrel adjuster on the upper brake arms. On my bikes with caliper brakes, I clamp the brake cable in the right spot so that I need to turn the barrel all the way out (but just before losing any thread engagement) in order to get the brake pads close enough to the rim. Then, wheel removal is a matter of opening the QR and adjusting the barrel all the way in. It allows a fully-inflated tire to pass through for me (28mm tires on 20mm rims), but I like Ben's idea to add an in-line QR or barrel adjuster to provide more slack if you need it.
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Old 09-11-21, 10:15 AM
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https://bike.shimano.com/en-EU/produ...0/SM-CB90.html
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Old 09-11-21, 10:35 AM
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I look at the picture of the brake and it looks like someone setup the brake with the cam release lever open. If so loosen the cable and close the lever and readjust the brake.
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Old 09-11-21, 10:52 AM
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Originally Posted by 79pmooney
Yes, carry a good pump. But no, don't deflate and re-pump every day! This is 2021, not the dark ages! There is a way to add another release in the brake cable path. I don't know what it is but I wouldn't stop until I found (or invented) it. An easy one is brake levers with built-in releases but brifters are not yet so enlightened. I'd see if there is an equivalent to the in-line barrel adjusts. You could just use a barrel adjuster to loosen, then re-tighten the cable (in addition to the caliper brake release),
Uh… Campagnolo?
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Old 09-11-21, 11:03 AM
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Originally Posted by Rick
I look at the picture of the brake and it looks like someone setup the brake with the cam release lever open. If so loosen the cable and close the lever and readjust the brake.

That sure is what it looks like to me. Even after doing this, you may still not have clearance. That depends on the width of your tire. I personally have no issue with having to let the air out, and then pump the tire back up after remounting the wheel/tire. Were talking about maybe 10 seconds to deflate, and maybe a minute to inflate. Forcing the tire through and having to readjust the brakes is just making it a bit more difficult, and taking more time. How often do you dismount the wheels?
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Old 09-11-21, 11:32 AM
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As stated, loosen the cable, and set up brakes properly.
Tim
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Old 09-11-21, 04:10 PM
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And what's wrong w/ the threaded end of your skewer? It is on backwards?
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Old 09-11-21, 04:52 PM
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Originally Posted by delbiker1
That sure is what it looks like to me. Even after doing this, you may still not have clearance. That depends on the width of your tire. I personally have no issue with having to let the air out, and then pump the tire back up after remounting the wheel/tire. Were talking about maybe 10 seconds to deflate, and maybe a minute to inflate. Forcing the tire through and having to readjust the brakes is just making it a bit more difficult, and taking more time. How often do you dismount the wheels?
He does this every ride. See the first post. (Hence my post.)

Last edited by 79pmooney; 09-11-21 at 04:52 PM. Reason: typo
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Old 09-11-21, 06:29 PM
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Originally Posted by dedhed
carry a pump, deflate as needed, reinflate
Or, remove one of the brake pads, remove the wheel. Return the pad to the caliper after re-installing the wheel. I find that to be less work than pumping the tire all the way up again.
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Old 09-11-21, 06:43 PM
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Originally Posted by 79pmooney
He does this every ride. See the first post. (Hence my post.)
Everybody has their way, not right or wrong. As one post stated, just get a bike with disc brakes. I have no doubt that is the answer for some. For me, even doing it every day, every time, not a problem. If I have my bike with me, I have a pump. It is not worth it, for me, to install inline cable adjusters. I would just be changing from pumping every time to adjusting every time. Even with those adjusters, one is going to be limited in tire width that would fit through the opened calipers.
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Old 09-11-21, 06:48 PM
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Originally Posted by JohnDThompson
Or, remove one of the brake pads, remove the wheel. Return the pad to the caliper after re-installing the wheel. I find that to be less work than pumping the tire all the way up again.

Not kidding here, I am not sure if that is a serious post, or not. Back to " Just get a bike with disc brakes". You do it our way, and I'll do it mine, is that a song?
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Old 09-11-21, 06:51 PM
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I had the same issue when I replaced the brake calipers on a bike fitted with Schwalbe Big Apple 26" X 2.35" tires. It was a very big disappointment, as I LOVE those tires and, like you, have to take the front wheel off every time I transport the bike. I deflated/inflated the tire for a few months but finally got tired of that and ended up putting a more narrow tire on the front only. Surprisingly, the ride doesn't feel that much different.
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Old 09-11-21, 06:57 PM
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Originally Posted by delbiker1
Not kidding here, I am not sure if that is a serious post, or not.
Absolutely serious. It takes maybe ten seconds to remove or install a brake pad; much less time and effort than deflating and reinflating a tire with a hand pump.

But @Rick Makes a good point re: the caliper release cam. If you adjusted your pads close to the rim with the caliper release in the open position, you won't be able to get more clearance when you try to remove the wheel.
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Old 09-11-21, 07:19 PM
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Those appear to be the stock tires, which are 28mm.

Seems unlikely that that bike would be sold with the tire not clearing the brakes,

so my bet is on the brakes adjusted with the release open.
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Old 09-12-21, 08:24 AM
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Originally Posted by Dr1v3n
I have a Giant Contend 3, completely stock: https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/contend-3

That 700x28c tire is quite a bit wider than the rim itself. While it clears the fork just fine, it gets caught up in the brakes when I am trying to remove and replace the wheel, such as when I am travelling with my bike. This occurs even with the brake lever released and the brakes in their widest position.

I end up having to basically force the wheel/tire in and out, which throws my brakes out of alignment a bit. I don't really like doing this, can't imagine it's great for the brakes, and am wondering if there is another way, because with my current transportation setup I have to remove my front wheel every time. So practically every time I do this, I end up having to make adjustments to my brakes or get different sounds, the toe-in gets messed with, etc...

Tires have to be forced thru brakes.
🙄 OFFS - it’s a minor inconvenience. Let enough air out of your tire to slip the wheel past the brakes, and wait until your wheel is in the bike before you pump it up to pressure. Throw your floor pump into the trunk when you’re transporting your bike, top up the tire after it’s reassembled.
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Old 09-12-21, 08:28 AM
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Originally Posted by JohnDThompson
Absolutely serious. It takes maybe ten seconds to remove or install a brake pad; much less time and effort than deflating and reinflating a tire with a hand pump.

But @Rick Makes a good point re: the caliper release cam. If you adjusted your pads close to the rim with the caliper release in the open position, you won't be able to get more clearance when you try to remove the wheel.
and you dont think he photographed the situation with the caliper release open to demonstrate that, even with the release open, he didn’t have sufficient clearance?
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Old 09-12-21, 08:48 AM
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Actually to make wheel removal easier was one of the minor reasons I had to get a wider-rimmed wheelset. Obviously for example, if your rim width is the same as, or a just slightly narrower than your inflated tire width, then the brakes after being adjusted to fit the rim width once you've flipped the release lever, don't have an issue clearing the tire. In my case I went from 20mm rims to 24mm rims which made all the difference. That said, I know neither the max rim width the stock Tektros can accommodate, nor what the current rim width is of the OP's S-R3 rims.
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Old 09-12-21, 11:46 AM
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Originally Posted by Litespud
and you dont think he photographed the situation with the caliper release open to demonstrate that, even with the release open, he didn’t have sufficient clearance?
Fair point.

Since the OP hasn't told us I wouldn't assume the others are wrong for asking. If the rim is on the smaller side of what works well with 28 mm tires, then maybe the OP does have the release open and know to close it after the tire is in. However I find many cyclist that don't know what that release lever is for.
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Old 09-12-21, 05:53 PM
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Originally Posted by Litespud
you dont think he photographed the situation with the caliper release open to demonstrate that, even with the release open, he didn’t have sufficient clearance?
Not sure; that's why I asked. I see plenty of people riding around with their caliper release levers in the open position, so it's a real possibility that the caliper was adjusted with the release open.
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Old 09-13-21, 06:55 AM
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Originally Posted by JohnDThompson
Not sure; that's why I asked. I see plenty of people riding around with their caliper release levers in the open position, so it's a real possibility that the caliper was adjusted with the release open.
me too, and know someone who would loosen brake cable bolt each time to remove wheel because they were using the second little bump thing on the cantis cable instead of the larger.

also some people tend to like setting up their brakes with pads super close, thinking a really short lever reach is safer. Can make all the difference though.

also often a good sharp whack moves a tire past pads easily, where a slow push and wiggle will misalign more.

good spot on wonky qr end
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Old 09-13-21, 08:19 AM
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I'm with the previous posters who suggested just setting your brakes with the cable adjustment almost all the way out and just turning it in when removing the wheels. No tools or pump needed and also the quickest method.
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