How To Properly Adjust V-brakes



lectraplayer

Member
May 11, 2014
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I am trying to get my single pivot V-Brakes dialed in, and while I get how to get proper contact to the rim, I'm trying to figure out how wide to set the arms. I don't want them to hang what seems like four foot either side of the frame, it also "wipes" down the rim, what seems like excessively. Is there a guide to know where to set the spread of the arms, and the pad gap?
 
Pro tip: the spring tension adjustment screws, before I touch these I make sure the springs ate set to the middle hole (if more than one hole is on the frame), set both adjustment screws to the middle and then adjust tension as best as you can bending the springs themselves. Then when it's as close as you can get it, make the final tweak with the screw. It's a small detail but it looks so much better than having one screw jammed all the way in and the other pulled all the way out.
 
Froze said:
There are three really good websites I'm going to give you; see:
http://sheldonbrown.com/canti-direct.html
http://www.troubleshooters.com/bicycles/vbrakes.htm
http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/linear-pull-brake-service-v-brake-type

Then there is a series of 6 YouTube videos, the first one is obviously part 1, the other parts can be found on the sidebar, anyway see:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye5iRIHrReY
Thanks for posting the Youtube video. It seems simple yet complicated at the same time.
 
superbobby said:
Thanks for posting the Youtube video. It seems simple yet complicated at the same time.
Sure, the first time you do anything it will seem that way, so just dive in and see what happens. I would recommend that you at least read the other 3 sites first then watch the videos, then do your repair/adjustments in steps while reading the material and watching the video again accept this time step by step as you do the adjustments step by step.