Mountain Bikes · Public discussion

First Post: First question re: brakes

Started by shizats · · Last activity · 4 posts · 1,279 views

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Original section
Mountain Bikes
Published
23 September 2003
Last activity
24 September 2003
Original author
shizats
Posts
4
Discussion status
Public discussion
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1,279
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Topics
Gear indexingBrake padsChain lube and cleaning

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  1. Original post
    shizats
    Archived post
    #1

    Hello everyone!

    I've been reading through the forums and I think this is a pretty awesome place.

    I myself, am just getting back into Mountain biking since I moved to a new city that has lots of nice trails. I bought a bike in the summer and have been getting a lot of use out of it lately so it's been a lot of fun.

    Over the weekend I went out and hit the trails a day or so after a big storm had gone through here. My brake performance really lacked after the ride but I thought it was just because my rim and or brake shoes were soaked.

    But after I cleaned off my bike and rubbed down my rims when I got home, I still noticed that the brakes weren't gripping as well. (BTW - I have V'z)

    I tried adjusting the little adjuster at the brake levers themselves but I really have no idea what I'm doing.

    Can anyone help a newbie out and through me a clue? 😕

    Thanks so much folks!

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  2. percious
    Archived post
    #2
    Quoted post said:

    Originally posted by shizats
    I tried adjusting the little adjuster at the brake levers themselves but I really have no idea what I'm doing.

    You did the right thing adjusting the barrel adjuster on your brake lever. If the adjuster is maxed out, then you will need to tighten the cable by loosening the allen bolt on the brake, then pulling a bit of cable, then tightening it back down. Make sure you have your barrel adjuster backed off (not completely) before you do this.

    If your braking is still not improved there are a couple of other tricks...

    Take some sand paper, and sand the shinyness off your brake pads. This is caused by particles of the rim getting embeded into the pad.

    You can also clean your rims with alchohol and a rag. You can take a bit of sand paper to the rims to rub out any inperfections.

    Also, inspect your pads to be sure that they are not in need of replacement. There are wear lines on the pads to indicate this.

    Good luck! and have fun!

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  3. shizats
    Archived post
    #3
    Quoted post said:

    Originally posted by percious
    You did the right thing adjusting the barrel adjuster on your brake lever. If the adjuster is maxed out, then you will need to tighten the cable by loosening the allen bolt on the brake, then pulling a bit of cable, then tightening it back down. Make sure you have your barrel adjuster backed off (not completely) before you do this.

    Awesome. Thanks for the reply!

    Here's what I did to the barrel adjuster, let me know if I did the correct thing...

    There seems to be like a nut and then a barrel that seems to be threaded into the lever assembly. I backed off both almost all the way out. (So turned it to the left, I believe, so that both the nut and the barrel came away from the lever assembly) Then, I tightened just the nut part (by turning it to the right) back close to the lever assembly and leaving the barrel far out. The brakes are much tighter now. I haven't taken it for a spin yet but they feel how they felt when they were brand new.

    With that all said, did I do everything correct?

    - Dan

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  4. ireman_1
    Archived post
    #4

    You adjusted them correctly. In an ideal world you would tighten them by adjusting them at the calipers and then use the barrel for fine tuning only leaving room for adjustment tighter or looser. If decide to clean off the rims please do not use sandpaper (even a fine grit like 600 is too rough). Use a cloth rag and/or 000 steel wool. A degreaser is good as well. A fine grit sandpaper is fine on the pads of V's (320 grit or so) but don't get really aggressive with it and make sure you leave them square/flat. Have fun riding and welcome back!

    K.

    Report

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