Have questions or want to discuss cycling? Join Now or Sign In to participate in the BikeRide community.

New: Take Part in the new May's Giveaway: coming soon!


SHIMANO BR-M445 brake problem
#1
Hi all,
I just got my new 2012 CUBE Attention delivered and after assembling the bike, I noticed that my rear brakes are loose.
Loose meaning when I lift the bike, spin the rear wheel and start slowly pressing the brake lever, I see the brake pads traveling a long way to the brake disc. The lever almost reaches the steering wheel and then the brake pads start to bite on the disc.
So that means there's a lot of clearance between the pads and the disc. How can I change that?
The brakes are SHIMANO BR-M445 hydraulic and they don't seem to have any adjustment on the lever.
In comparison, the front brakes bite almost immediately, so theres a very noticeable difference between the two brakes.

thanks
  Reply
#2
There's no facility for adjusting the lever travel on most hydraulic brakes. They are supposed to self adjust as the pads wear. Try pumping the lever, it may be that the pistons are pushed into the caliper body a bit.

You might also find some of this useful: http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/shimano-r-hydraulic-brake-service-and-adjustment
  Reply
#3
There was air in the rear brake system.
I know it for a fact because I was experimenting with the front brake system and ended up letting air into the system by accident.
So now I know I need to bleed the system to get good results.

P.S. The air that's in the system, it will probably try to get out to the highest point in the system, but my question is - the valve through which you put new oil in, is it a one-way valve, so the air can't get out, right?
  Reply


Forum Jump:

[-]
10 Latest Posts
Great Trail Ride - NW Lancaster, Pa
Today 05:26 PM
Pre Ride Food Intake
Yesterday 11:12 PM
braking by reversing the pedals
Yesterday 09:34 PM
Exploring the Hills with My Birch Hunter...
Yesterday 12:49 PM
Triathletes disqualified after crossing ...
Yesterday 12:44 PM
New Member
Yesterday 12:41 PM
Customer service
Yesterday 12:13 PM
Doctors are Prescribing Cycling
Yesterday 12:09 PM
Gu/SiS/Energy Gels replacement
05-12-2025 03:37 PM
Third best reason to ride a bent or trik...
05-12-2025 10:24 AM

[-]
Join BikeRide on Strava
Feel free to join if you are on Strava: www.strava.com/clubs/bikeridecom

[-]
Top 5 Posters This Month
no avatar 1. Painkiller
21 posts
no avatar 2. Flowrider
18 posts
no avatar 3. SPINMAN
12 posts
no avatar 4. GirishH
12 posts
no avatar 5. enkei
12 posts