ATC 70 trouble adjusting brake

[Mike O]

Replaced shoes, cable and lever with correct parts. Seems like there is not enough adjustment. If I tighten adjuster nut down so brakes hold, the bike will not roll. If I back it off so bike will roll, the lever pulls all the way down to the grip. Any ideas as to what could be wrong?

[DAM shop]

Replaced shoes, cable and lever with correct parts. Seems like there is not enough adjustment. If I tighten adjuster nut down so brakes hold, the bike will not roll. If I back it off so bike will roll, the lever pulls all the way down to the grip. Any ideas as to what could be wrong?

are you adjusting at the rod? or the cable or both?

[200xkwit]

Hey Mike, I just got done building 2 70s and went threw this with both of them. It seems that the 70s have a very small adjustment sweet spot to work properly. Use both the cable nuts in the rear aswell as the adjustment on the lever to dial it in. But first Make sure your drum is perfectly clean and round and that there are no low spots. I had a very small slight dent in one of my drums and i was able to use a dremel and a die grinder to get it out. The other one didn't have any rhyme or reason but it worked great after I flipped the shoes around and cleaned up the drum with a wizz disk. I had my cable holder on the frame snagged the cable end not letting it seat properly while messing around with it causing a problem. I also had a washer in the rear catching the lever mechanism making adjustments damn near impossible. After you get it dialed in double nut and lock tight the cable where you want it bc mine moved on me not to long after even with tension on it. Hope this helps keep at it there a pita

[Mike O]

There is no adjustment on the lever. The only adjustment is the wing nut at the end of the cable. Maybe someone moved the brake arm on the shaft? I had to screw the nut on quite a ways before the shoes would even contact the drum with the lever pulled all the way in.

[coolpool]

Definitely check for that and make sure the shaft is lubricated and moves freely. And how is the spring on the arm and the two on the shoes, are they pulling everything back properly? And is the drum within specs for wear?

[200xkwit]

Hmm well since you have a new cable now its possible that someone moved that lever on the shaft back a notch or 2 to make up for some cable stretch on the old cable.

[Mike O]

Yes, I will check the position of the arm on the shaft. I never thought to check wear in the drum as it doesn't seem likely that it could be worn that much? Maybe. The lever perch is the original one on the stock bars and there is no adjustment there. when I got the trike, the cable was frozen and the lining on the shoes has crumbled off so the brakes have not been operable since I've had it. I have the cable adjusted now so there's about three inches of rod sticking out and the lever still goes all the way down to the grip. If nothing else works, I'll pull the drum and measure it. I've installed new EBC shoes and springs, cleaned the drum, new cable and a new repro lever from Spanglers. Gotta be either arm is set wrong or drum is worn excessively