For sidepull brakes, I know that dirt and lack of lubrication can cause uneven brake arm action, apart from bad adjustment, cable problems and rim problems. I have been doing a lot of basic year end work to my four bikes, and I noticed that on one brake caliper set it seemed that the cable side didn't move as much as the other. I took them apart, noticed the spring looked a little different on one side than the other but was unable to equalize the shape left to right. I cleaned re-greased and assembled and to my surprise they did work more evenly even though the spring still seemed a little unbalanced visually. What are we supposed to do when we do a complete cleaning reassembly and adjustment on brakes to optimize older sidepulls?
Garth Libre in Miami Fl