Tektro IO brakes

[Gold Cobra]

I just bought a used Schwinn Rocket with Tektro IO disc brakes. I'm pretty sure it was left outside for some time before I bought it and all maintenance was neglected. So I've been giving the bike some love to get it back into shape. However I can't seem to get the rear brakes to perform properly. I'm pretty sure I've adjusted them properly (thanks to threads I found here) but it seems like I'm not getting enough pressure out of the caliper. Is this because the cable is old and could be stretching a little? Any help would be appreciated.

[pruitt1222]

Could be bad cable, could be bad pads. May just not be broken in yet, bought a revel 29er with bb5 brakes for my first bike and the brakes just didn't have the pressure needed to lock up the wheels, Switched to organic pads and it helped but still not as strong as I liked. Does the lever have lots of travel?

[skewe]

Are you able to dismantle the system?

[Gold Cobra]

I am, and I did. I made sure the pads were in good shape and everything was free of contaminants. I disassembled it, cleaned it, and reinstalled it and adjusted it according to the tektro manual I found on this site. No change.

[Max24]

I just bought a used Schwinn Rocket with Tektro IO disc brakes. I'm pretty sure it was left outside for some time before I bought it and all maintenance was neglected. So I've been giving the bike some love to get it back into shape. However I can't seem to get the rear brakes to perform properly. I'm pretty sure I've adjusted them properly (thanks to threads I found here) but it seems like I'm not getting enough pressure out of the caliper. Is this because the cable is old and could be stretching a little? Any help would be appreciated.

Sounds like a bad cable to me...

[moefosho]

For what its worth... The IO is a pretty dang cheap braking system. Even when set up properly they dont provide much power or modulation. I would start looking at bb7s or some Hydros.

[NateHawk]

Cheap discs aren't any better than decent vees. Some are worse. The IO are not worth too much effort. Regardless, new cables and housings will make any old bike work better. I would do that. If you are still dissatisfied with them, better but not too expensive options are available

[watts888]

also have to remember that the rear wheel only has about 30% of the total braking compared to the front wheel. Add the fact that IOs aren't all that great to begin with. If you weigh more than 170, you'll have a hard time locking up the rear tire unless you're on a loose surface. I'm in at 230 lbs, and I cannot lock my novellas unless I'm on loose dirt. The bike with bb7s lock up just fine.

Something you might try before swapping out the cables, and even after swapping the cables, is going down a long hill with constant force on the brakes. Get them nice and hot and "break" them in again. If you have the stuff, lightly sand them with some 400 or higher grit sandpaper in an outward motion and wipe them down with cloth/carb cleaner before re-"breaking" them in. They'll never be great, but simply cleaning them and re-sufacing the pads/rotors should help quite a bit.