Just got a 2012 felt DA1. Having a little problem with the rear brake. With the new integrated brake, there is no brake lever, I can’t adjust my rear brake to accomdate difference wheel like a dura ace brake. The only way to adjust the openning for the brake is by adjusting the cable. The problem I run into is the pad on the chain side does not return to neutral position after I apply the brake, the the brake pad robs the rim. Anyone knows how to fix that? Thanks!!
its a toughie, especially if you don’t have a bike maintenance stand. Release cable tension to open then you need to unscrew the brake pads and reposition the washers to align with the rim. I know I know, not the easiest thing to deal with on a bike this expensive! I just took to to the lbs when I was trying to squeeze on the 808 fc. Looks like they will be on all season!
I managed to adjust the brake opening to accomdate my disc, my problem is that the brake pad on the chain side does not return to neutral and therefore rubs the rim. Any idea? I see there are a couple screws on the brake, one secures the brake to the frame, any idea what the other screw does?
i believe there are screw that adjust the arms, I forget which ones and where they are exactly however
pretty sure I adjusted mine when I got it
.
I wish I could be relieved to hear this and say “nice to know its not just me” but given the cost of this damn frame I have to say I’m not too happy. Isn’t the 808 one of - if not the most - popular wheels in the sport? Isn’t Zipp FC one of the most popular clincher deep dish wheels in the sport? How the frig did Felt screw this up? My dealer told me he had to shave the brake pads down just to get my 404 rear wheel on the bike when he put it together. Now I go to mount my new 808 FC rear wheels and the rear brake is too narrow and it is rubbing. Like you, I could not figure out how the heck to adjust the thing and could not find any docs on Felt’s website whatsoever. My guess is that the brake pad will need to be shaved down even more and I’ll just have to rely a lot more on the front brake in order to allow enough room to permit easily swapping the 404 and 808 in and out.
Having just bought both the F1 and DA1 frame sets I have to say my impression of Felt is that they are all engineering. Great products overall but the product marketing/sales support leaves a lot to be desired. Documentation is hard to come by or non-existent. I won’t even go there when it comes to specs or info on accessories. I guess that is the way the bike industry is - either they are fat corporate marketing whores like Trek/Cannondale or small techie engineering driven companies with underwhelming product marketing/sales. Sigh…
You should NOT have to shave it down. I took my 808 rear and the zipp pads to my lbs to put it on as I don’t have a pro-style bike stand to get at the rear brake. Its tiiiight but no rubbing.
Edit, forgot the NOT in there. My guy didn’t have to shave it…yes, just removed a washer
You should have to shave it down. I took my 808 rear and the zipp pads to my lbs to put it on as I don’t have a pro-style bike stand to get at the rear brake. Its tiiiight but no rubbing.
Sorry didn’t quite understand - I should or should not have to? Either way, I will take it to my LBS. But honestly I hate to drag this thing 18 miles away to my LBS for something that should be so simple. I just want to adjust the brake. I am looking at the Felt website right now and still cannot find a single doc on the brake. There was nothing on the DI2 aero cover either, but I found that install info on youtube - certainly cannot find that on Felt’s website either. Dunno… I have a bike stand so I guess I can put it up there and see what I can figure out. But I still have the issue of wanting to be able to swap out the 404 and 808 without mucking around with the brakes every time. I did this on my previous frames with Dura Ace brakes and had no issue. Maybe this is typical of integrated rear brakes?
then your dealer ddoesn’t know what he /she is doing.
there are many washers on the rear brake, remove the ones you don’t need to get the width rimn in you need. it is not rocket science, and I was able to figure it out myself just by turning a couple of screws. the extra washers are pretty obvious as well, as if you have the initial brake open wide enough for a FC wheel, the arms will hit the chain rings. remove those not necessary and voila, it works. very strong springs on brakes as well, such that you can nhave less than stellar cable routing and the brakes will open after lever release. even shimano brakes have limits screws to adjust, just like the DA
they want a dealer to put together so folks that have little comprehension don’t screw things up, seems like sometimes the dealers stil get it wrong, depends on which mechanic does th ework.
no shaving required, seriously, remove one of the three washers on the brake arms, or 2 if necessary.
then your dealer doesn’t know what he /she is doing.
there are many washers on the rear brake, remove the ones you don’t need to get the width rimn in you need. it is not rocket science, and I was able to figure it out myself just by turning a couple of screws. the extra washers are pretty obvious as well, as if you have the initial brake open wide enough for a FC wheel, the arms will hit the chain rings. remove those not necessary and voila, it works. very strong springs on brakes as well, such that you can nhave less than stellar cable routing and the brakes will open after lever release. even shimano brakes have limits screws to adjust, just like the DA
they want a dealer to put together so folks that have little comprehension don’t screw things up, seems like sometimes the dealers stil get it wrong, depends on which mechanic does the work.
Good stuff Jeff. Thanks! I didn’t have time to really look at it as I tossed them on for a spin on the trainer before a flight out of town. I will throw it up on the bike stand and have another look. Sounds pretty straight forward though now that you’ve pointed out the washers.
the hard part is adjusting the pad location without taking cranks off, unless compact cranks I suppose, allen wrench doesn’t seem to pass through my solid chain ring
.
That sucks. But I suppose once it is done, it is done. Price to pay for progress I guess (integrated brakes).
then your dealer ddoesn’t know what he /she is doing.
there are many washers on the rear brake, remove the ones you don’t need to get the width rimn in you need. it is not rocket science, and I was able to figure it out myself just by turning a couple of screws. the extra washers are pretty obvious as well, as if you have the initial brake open wide enough for a FC wheel, the arms will hit the chain rings. remove those not necessary and voila, it works. very strong springs on brakes as well, such that you can nhave less than stellar cable routing and the brakes will open after lever release. even shimano brakes have limits screws to adjust, just like the DA
they want a dealer to put together so folks that have little comprehension don’t screw things up, seems like sometimes the dealers stil get it wrong, depends on which mechanic does th ework.
^THIS^
The brake is a simple linear pull claiper placed in a somewhat difficult to reach spot unless you put the bike in a work stand and rotate the bike in the stand so the bottom faces out toward you making it easier to see.
There are shims behind the pads, use the right number for your particular rim width (likely ZERO with Firecrest wheels).
There is an independant spring tension adjustment that can be increased or decreased in small amounts with a 2mm hex key from the side of the bike. If you want to make gross adjustments, there are 3 different holes you can position the spring in. If you are using a brake lever without a return spring like HED or OVAL, use a higher spring tension.
Remember, the DA is used by SRAM/Zipp professional triathletes like Terrenzo and Rinny. Garmin/Transitions used the same DA frame with both wide Zipp wheels to win National Championships and narrow MAVIC rims to win UCI World TT Championship medals. You own that same frame, that same brake, and the same ability to run narrow or wide rims.
If you have any specific questions, please let me know. As for brakes, I’d encourage you to let your Felt Dealer set them up. If you travel with your bike to races, ask them to walk you through the adjustment.
Just got a 2012 felt DA1. Having a little problem with the rear brake. With the new integrated brake, there is no brake lever, I can’t adjust my rear brake to accomdate difference wheel like a dura ace brake. The only way to adjust the openning for the brake is by adjusting the cable. The problem I run into is the pad on the chain side does not return to neutral position after I apply the brake, the the brake pad robs the rim. Anyone knows how to fix that? Thanks!!
My bike shop pointed this out to me when they were building my DA3 and suggested they could install inline barrel adjusters for both brakes. They give enough adjustment for me to be able to swap my wheels on and off without much effort.
Thank you! My bike was set up by the authorized dealer. And the particular mechanic that worked on it didn’t know that. I noticed the washers, I mentioned that to him, we have it at zero now. I guess it is the tension screw that we need to adjust so that the pad on the chain side will return to its starting position and not rubbing the rim?
then your dealer ddoesn’t know what he /she is doing.
there are many washers on the rear brake, remove the ones you don’t need to get the width rimn in you need. it is not rocket science, and I was able to figure it out myself just by turning a couple of screws. the extra washers are pretty obvious as well, as if you have the initial brake open wide enough for a FC wheel, the arms will hit the chain rings. remove those not necessary and voila, it works. very strong springs on brakes as well, such that you can nhave less than stellar cable routing and the brakes will open after lever release. even shimano brakes have limits screws to adjust, just like the DA
they want a dealer to put together so folks that have little comprehension don’t screw things up, seems like sometimes the dealers stil get it wrong, depends on which mechanic does th ework.
^THIS^
The brake is a simple linear pull claiper placed in a somewhat difficult to reach spot unless you put the bike in a work stand and rotate the bike in the stand so the bottom faces out toward you making it easier to see.
There are shims behind the pads, use the right number for your particular rim width (likely ZERO with Firecrest wheels).
There is an independant spring tension adjustment that can be increased or decreased in small amounts with a 2mm hex key from the side of the bike. If you want to make gross adjustments, there are 3 different holes you can position the spring in. If you are using a brake lever without a return spring like HED or OVAL, use a higher spring tension.
Remember, the DA is used by SRAM/Zipp professional triathletes like Terrenzo and Rinny. Garmin/Transitions used the same DA frame with both wide Zipp wheels to win National Championships and narrow MAVIC rims to win UCI World TT Championship medals. You own that same frame, that same brake, and the same ability to run narrow or wide rims.
If you have any specific questions, please let me know. As for brakes, I’d encourage you to let your Felt Dealer set them up. If you travel with your bike to races, ask them to walk you through the adjustment.
Thanks Dave - I love the frame and wouldn’t have dropped the kinda coin on the frame if I didn’t have some grasp of its pedigree. That said, as a purchaser of the frame, was I supposed to get any documentation on the brake? I mean, there was nothing stipulating that if I bought the frame from an authorized dealer that I had to have that same LBS assemble my bike - I just so happened to have had that shop build it up. And as Jeff pointed out, it appears the dealer didn’t have a clue about this brake which makes me wonder about training requirements for Felt dealers. They didn’t know how to assemble the aero cover either - I did it at home but they were completely puzzled as to how it attached. But back to the main point/question - if I buy a Felt frame from an authorized dealer; pick up the box and take it home to happily build my own bike up; what documentation is provided with the frame set about DI2 routing? Integrated brakes? Aero covers or aero water bottles (like the VR)?
the VR bottle??..
it is just a regular bottle, albeit not so easy to get the bottom screw in. set up just as said in the thread I posted about the bottle
I just meant info about availability, price, etc. my dealer still has no clue.
included with each 2012, I was told, so when they arrive, you should be able to get one retro
.
What is this aero cover you speak of, something for Di2?
Just to echo your comments, I have literally spent hours of trial and error getting the housing routed through my DA4 for SRAM Red. A simple diagram and probably 5 sentences of instructions would have been incredibly valuable.