 You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Noticed my rear brake was rubbing a little today - being of the Avid variety they need their fair share of frequent adjustment, so I thought nothing of it as I got the allen key out to centre the calliper.
However when I undid the calliper bolts the CPS washers just fell apart!
[IMG] 
[/IMG]
Is it normal for them to fail like this? Possible causes? The cold? Over tightening? The slight lateral play I have in my rear wheel?
Prices for replacement appear to vary wildly! Are total Cycling reputable? http://www.totalcycling.com/a-z/brakes_mtb/mtb_disc_brake_caliper_adapters/BR_AVID_CPS.html
Mine broke...didn't notice until I was removing them and assume age and overtightening. Same that come with olde brake blocks if you have any about.
CRC stock the originals....
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=21475
Just replace them with some normal washers that come as close to the height of the male and female part combined.
I have done it as I was fed up of buying replacements. I haven't had any rubbing issues. Just set them up as you would with the cps washers.
Andy
A trip to your lbs should see you sorted. Most shops will bin loads on v- brake blocks everyday that have the washers you need.
andysredmini, are you not wearing the pads down at an angle given the wedge shape on the calipers?
No. They are still square and wearing down even. They have been on most of the winter with the bike being used most days in any weather. Never noticed the callipers are wedge shaped though. I did look for some better quality female cps replacements which I found in stainless but the price was quite high considering how many you need. They are known in industry as self aligning washers. I had a google and read a few people just changed them for normal flat washers when suffering the same problem so that's what I did.
Andy
orangeboy's spot on.
Though andysredmini probably is too, they're a bloody stupid idea, all they do is add an extra plane in which your brakes can be squint.
huh, I would've sworm blind the mounting area was wedged. Spherical washers will be getting binned in that case
You've got a cone and a bowl that need to go together, both are removable washers. You can remove both and find a spacer such as a washer or just use some v brake washers which are the same. I've done both on varying bikes.
Don't quote me on this but I seem to remember the combined height of the cps washers was 5.2mm and I replaced them with 2x m6 washers that measured 2.4mm each totalling 4.8mm. I can check these measurements tomorrow if it will help.
Andy
Had these break on me twice now. I torque to the minimum spec and crack, fall apart.
Not on new ones, but those that have been on there some time and I readjust or have taken the caliper off and reassemble.
Noticed this talking about such washers. Better quality stuff? Would they work for Avid calipers? - http://forum.ctc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=58988