Your bike’s brakes will operate more effectively and safely if you regularly tune them. The brake pads and the brake cables are the two primary components of your bike’s braking system that need adjusting. Safety risks might arise from worn brake pads that are mounted either too low or too high on the rim. It will be more difficult to brake if the brake cables are excessively slack. Fortunately, the article will give steps on how to adjust bike brakes easily.
Table of Contents
Check Your Brake Pads Before You Make Any Alterations
When you lift the brake lever on your bike, the brake pads are what squeal down on the front tire. Before making adjustments to your brakes, you must replace the brake pads if they have worn past the “wear line.”
If your brake pads’ wear lines aren’t marked with labels, they should still be identifiable by grooves on the side of the pads.
You may purchase replacement brake pads online or at your neighborhood bike store.
To ensure that your wheel makes good contact with your brakes, make sure it is lined up properly in the dropouts.
Pull The Brake Lever To Determine How Tight Or Loose Your Brakes Are
The brake lever’s tightness or looseness is the most obvious sign that anything is amiss with your brakes.
If the brake cable is too loose, the lever will touch the handlebars. It’s too tight if you can hardly squeeze it at all. The brake lever should squeeze for 3–4 cm before getting challenging.
See Where The Brake Pads Contact The Rim By Pressing The Brake Lever
The front tire’s rim and both brake pads ought to be in simultaneous contact. With an equal amount of space above and below the pad, they ought to be striking the middle of the rim. The rubber portion of the tire or the bike’s spokes may be contacted if the pads are striking the rim too high or too low.
Read about: What Muscles Does When Biking – Bike Your Best
As you squeeze the brake lever, stoop down to get a good view of the brake pads.
Check to see if the quick-release mechanism on your bike is loose or has come undone. Your brakes won’t apply pressure on the wheel tightly otherwise.
Adjust The Brake Pads Upward Or Downward
Once the bolts are loosened, they ought to move up and down without difficulty. Move the pads up till they are in the center if they were too low on the rim. Move the pads down until they are in the middle if they were too high on the rim.
Tighten The Brake Pad Bolts Once More By Utilizing The Allen Wrench
As soon as the bolts are completely tightened, keep twisting the Allen wrench clockwise. Make sure the brake pads are centered by checking. Adapt if necessary.
Tighten Or Loosen The Barrel Adjuster
If your brake cable is too tight or too loose, you can use the barrel adjuster to make a few little changes. Turn the barrel adjuster clockwise or counterclockwise to tighten or loosen. The cable’s tension will change as a result.
After adjusting the barrel adjuster appropriately, push the brake lever once more to determine if the problem has been resolved.
Best practice: If you’re out on a ride, you can quickly and easily fix braking problems by tightening or loosening the barrel adjuster. Even if it doesn’t repair the issue, it might make things better for long enough for you to make it home without incident and fix the issue properly.
Loosen The Brake Caliper Bolt To Recalibrate
After adjusting the barrel adjuster, if the brake lever is still too tight or loose, the cable on the brake caliper may also be out of alignment.
With your Allen key, move the cable away from the caliper counterclockwise, being careful not to completely unbolt it as you’ll have to put the brake back together. For a visual example, watch the attached video from 1:25 to 1:33.
Pull Or Release The Brake Cable Through The Caliper
The caliper bolt should spring back away from the wheel and cable after it is sufficiently loosened. To tighten or loosen the brake, you should now draw the cable outward or allow the wire to retract inward.
Tighten The Barrel Adjusters On The Handlebars
Until they are completely tightened, turn the barrel adjusters clockwise several times. The front tire-mounted brake pads can be released by tightening the barrel adjusters. Your brake cables ought to work after tightening the barrel adjusters.
Pulling the brake levers will once more test the brake wires. The distance between the lever and the handlebar grip when you pull the levers now should be 1 12 inches (3.8 cm).
Summary
There are two main points of adjustment on cable-based brakes like v brakes and mechanical disk brakes. One is at the caliper and the other is the barrel adjuster.
On v brakes, the caliper is the horseshoe-shaped device over your tire that’s attached to the brake pads. On mechanical disk brakes, the caliper is the claw-looking device at the disk in the center of your wheel. The barrel adjuster is the metal cuff on the brake cable at your brake lever.
If you find you have to pull hard on the brake lever to slow down, or it squeezes right into the handlebar, it’s likely your brake cable needs adjusting.
