Topic: Front brake pad supposed to hang/wiggle

[rocco]

Hey there,

I'm putting together my front brakes, which were already off when I bought the bike. I bought new pads and when I went to swap out the inside pad. The one secured by a cotter pin. I noticed the old one was loose and rocked in its place, whereas the new pad I went to install is snug. I've never worked on these before, but my guess is that it is supposed to be able to move a bit to insure the pad meets up flat with the rotor? So should I sand down the outside metal a bit to allow the the pad to sit loosely in its place?

Thanks

[flybox1]

New ones are usually snug because of the paint applied to the metal backer.
Most take some emery cloth, or a brass wheel, and clean that off to allow a little play in both pads.
If the pad is locked in place by the excess paint, it wont pivot to hit the rotor flat, so when you apply your brakes, the world hears you coming to a stop 

[rocco]

Perfect, that's what I thought, I'll get that paint off. Thanks!