Most bicycle brakes are activated by a set of cables connected to the brake levers, and most points together with your brakes will be solved by adjusting the stress of these cables. They can even want periodic changes to maintain them working correctly.
To check the stress of your brake cables, give your brake levers a squeeze. In the event that they contact the handlebar grips or get shut sufficient to crush a finger slipped beneath, you have to improve your cable stress. On the flip aspect, if solely the slightest stress on the levers causes your brakes to clamp down—or in case your brake pads rub while you spin the bike’s wheel with out squeezing the brake lever in any respect—then you have to lower your cable stress. Normally, cable stress will be modified by twisting the barrel adjuster discovered on the level the place the cable meets the hand lever. There are tons of easy-to-follow YouTube videos that present you tips on how to adjust brake cables.
There are a number of sorts of brakes, however you are most certainly to have rim brakes or disc brakes. The most typical rim brakes—V-brakes or caliper brakes—pinch each side of the wheel rims from the highest of the wheel. Disc brakes do not contact the rim in any respect and as an alternative use small calipers to pinch CD-sized discs mounted within the middle of every wheel. Disc brakes provide superior stopping efficiency, however they are often fussy to take care of.
Fancier disc brakes use hydraulic mechanisms to pinch the discs. Whereas hydraulic brakes are usually not unattainable to take care of at dwelling, they seem to be a bit greater than most individuals need to sort out. Bear in mind to periodically get the traces checked and refilled with recent fluid at an area bike store. And if the brake fluid reservoir in your handlebars appears to be like low, take it to a motorcycle store quickly.
Much less frequent are coaster brakes, which do not use levers and are as an alternative activated by pedaling backward. These are tough to regulate your self and are harmful when not correctly adjusted, so take your coaster brake to an expert.
Brake pads put on out progressively as you utilize your bike and are simply changed. You simply have to know what measurement or sort of brake pad to buy. The writing on the worn pads ought to offer you a touch about what to purchase. Brake pads are largely common, although their mounting techniques fluctuate. The start of this video explains the variations.
Swapping out worn V-brake pads for brand spanking new ones takes no quite a lot of minutes, and all you normally want is the proper measurement hex key. We suggest Park Tool’s hex wrench ($14) with the three most typical key sizes on it. It’ll take you a bit longer to interchange disc brake pads as a result of the brakes are smaller and extra intricate; this video exhibits a number of methods to strategy pad substitute. In each circumstances, you need to readjust your cable stress after placing new pads on.
You are going to want to wash these brake pads periodically too. Use an outdated toothbrush or a shop towel ($3) to get into the hole between the brake and both the rim or the disc, and use some brake cleaner ($10) to take away any buildup.
