djdelarosa25

Hi! I noticed my front rim brake caliper would get misaligned after every ride. Turns out the little centering screw loosens itself from road buzz (the roads here are ****). What's strange is it still has the factory threadlocker on it. I want to reapply it, but threadlocker here costs around 7 USD and no local shop stocks it (I live in a small town), so I have to order it online. As a broke college student, I'm not keen on the idea of spending on something I'll only use once. Are there other alternatives for threadlocker, preferably something that isn't too strong since the grub screw is tiny and prone to rounding out? Thanks!

shelbyfv

Fingernail polish.

alcjphil

Threadlocker is not a bicycle specific product. You can probably also find it in hardware or auto supply retail outlets

HillRider

Every auto supply or big box hardware store stocks small tubes of Loctite or it's one of its competitors. Get Loctite Grade 222 (Purple) or Grade 243 (Blue) which are removable without heat.

easyupbug 

Shelbyfv's recommendation is probably your best bet and I would add super glue can often work.

djdelarosa25

I know, but I live in a small town and trust me, they don't have it.

Thanks!

rm -rf

My bottle of loctite is still good after 10 years, at least. I use it for more than bikes, too. It's helpful to have it in my toolkit.

squirtdad

Note the OP's Location.....locktite while ubiquitous in the US small towns, it is not elsewhere. but as noted if you can get it online, it lasts a long time, is purpose designed so there will be less problems than with using alternatives

sch

I recently rebuilt my recumbent (disassembled for cleaning and adjustment) and the mid drive RD mount is not
positively located but fixed in place with loktite. Well my 10 or more year old loktite failed despite recleaning
several times. A new bottle worked fine to freeze the RD mount in place but not so much as to make removal
difficult as I had to take it down again for another reason. You may not realize that the stuff is not doing its job
unless the part comes loose, and the vast majority of our bike use the loktite is not under much stress, unlike
my RD mount or the OPs brake mount which is stressed every time the brakes are applied.

Point is loktite is cheap and should be discarded after 5-8 yrs of opening.

Hondo6

Nice Unix reference in the username. Tagline underneath is apropos, too. (smile)

blacknbluebikes 

kill -9 is still my fave...

squirtdad

thinking the same, but only a problem if you have root

(that was one of my inteview questions for people who listed unix as a skill, amazing how many failed

ThermionicScott 

Side-note to this: it would probably be good practice to open the QR and hold the brake arms in with one hand while adjusting the centering screw, so that you are not doing it under tension. You don't want to wear the threading in the arm any more than you have to!

csport

It will delete your files even if you are not root. rm -rf , should the tagline say "/home"?
Like this:
rm -rf *
Do not try this at /home


Edit: or $HOME

Hondo6

Au contraire mon frère.

As I recall, it's only a problem for everyone if you have root access. It's often if not generally at least a minor problem for whoever issues that command. (smile)

ShannonM

Unix jokes aside, cheap garbage nail polish from the drugstore is a great threadlocker. Cheap, comes with a built-in brush, holds tight enough for most bicycle uses, and it only requires a decent tug on the wrench to break it loose when you have to remove the threaded thing you used it on.

And you can usually find a bottle that will match your paint reasonably closely, so you've also got a quick-n'-dirty touch-up paint on hand as well.

Win-win!

--Shannon

tFUnK

I've experienced a similar situation with brakes not staying centered. Turns out I had to adjust my cable housing length so that it was not putting pressure on the caliper to cause it to be non-centered.

cjenrick

sometimes Locktite don't "take."

been having a devil of a time with rt hand downtube shifter thumb tightner not staying put.

tried cleaning the parts good and using locktite red, kind of a speed bump to loosening, but problem still there.

some bike parts have a plating that is too slick. Locktite calls it "inactive surfaces"

i remember using locktite primer at work and boy did it work, so i am sending for this>

https://www.amazon.com/Loctite-49414...73825757&psc=1

djdelarosa25

Thanks for all your suggestions! I used a generous coat of clear nail polish on the threads and let it dry. A 40 km ride today (on crappy roads) and I'm pleased to report that it seems to have worked. If it ever loosens up in the future, then I'll definitely get myself a small bottle of Loctite 243.

I also experienced this on my dad's bike. But it wasn't in my case as it was getting pushed in the opposite direction. It was definitely caused by the loosening centering screw. Good suggestion, though. Thanks!

easyupbug 

Tread lockers like Loctite, Pernatex, etc., have a 2 year shelf life sealed and 1 year after opening, and that is at home/office temperatures not shop/garage temperatures and needs to be kept from freezing. There is a date code on the packaging. You can certainly use it in your non critical cycling applications but we did not in industrial maintenance. Not surprising sch and others had some failures.