Help with brake adjustment

Tina wrote:
<snip>

Quoted message said:

How do I adjust them, do I need to loosen the small nut holding the cable,
and push it closer to the rim, then re tighten again.

Yep. Also, have a look here for more info.
http://sheldonbrown.com/cantilever-adjustment.html

Cantilevers are a bit of a pain to adjust I always found, because you
have to adjust each pad to where it needs to be and hold it there while
you tighten it. It's easy to lose the adjustment in the process of
tightening it.

Try Sheldon's instructions and post back again if you don't have any luck.

Quoted message said:

Also one side does not seem to go towards the rim when the brake lever is
pressed, its only one side that goes closer, and I have to use my hand to
push the other side closer to the rim.
Hope I am easy to understand.
Yes I could go to a local bike shop, but I thought I would try here first.

Thankyou for any help, my sons impatient to ride his new bike, but needs the
brakes to work first.

Tina

--
Nick

Tina said:

Hello, I bought my son a secondhand mountain bike, which is nearly brand
new.

It needs the brakes to be adjusted.
I wanted some advice.
It looks like its the old brake type, cable, maybe cantilever I think.
Anyway, both pads are to far from the rim.
How do I adjust them, do I need to loosen the small nut holding the cable,
and push it closer to the rim, then re tighten again.

Also one side does not seem to go towards the rim when the brake lever is
pressed, its only one side that goes closer, and I have to use my hand to
push the other side closer to the rim.
Hope I am easy to understand.
Yes I could go to a local bike shop, but I thought I would try here first.

Thankyou for any help, my sons impatient to ride his new bike, but needs the
brakes to work first.

Tina

One thing with all brakes is that they need to be properly lubricated at
the pivot points or they won't release properly.

You could try putting a drop (the less the better) of sewing machine oil
or other suitable lubricant at each pivot point. Apply the brakes a few
times and hopefully the brake pads will start to release independently.
If not, you'll need to take the brakes apart, clean them up and
reassemble them.

Once they pads are releasing freely, you can adjust them closer to the
rim by turning the adjustment bolt (that the cable housing rests in)
anticlockwise a few turns.

Peter
--
Peter McCallum
Mackay Qld AUSTRALIA

Tina said:

Hello, I bought my son a secondhand mountain bike, which is nearly brand
new.

It needs the brakes to be adjusted.
I wanted some advice.
It looks like its the old brake type, cable, maybe cantilever I think.
Anyway, both pads are to far from the rim.
How do I adjust them, do I need to loosen the small nut holding the cable,
and push it closer to the rim, then re tighten again.

Also one side does not seem to go towards the rim when the brake lever is
pressed, its only one side that goes closer, and I have to use my hand to
push the other side closer to the rim.
Hope I am easy to understand.
Yes I could go to a local bike shop, but I thought I would try here first.

Thankyou for any help, my sons impatient to ride his new bike, but needs the
brakes to work first.

Tina

Another handy site to look at is parktool.comFAQindex.shtmlOpen ↗

I hope your son has a great time with his new bike 🙂

cheers,
Ali