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So - when did they complicated bike brakes so much?

episodic

episodic

Lifer
Bought my kid a nice mountain bike off of craigslist. . .

The brakes were rubbing - but other than that fine.

What ever happened to the 'simple' side pull brakes? These had like a bracket that swung behind a catch and just float. It took me adjusting 50 different ways until I got the bright idea of sticking a nickel between the pad and the rim and tightning everything down. I still can't figure out what the two little screws sticking out of the side that can be turned with your hand do.


Anyway - it stops and it doesn't rub. . . too bad the town doesn't have a bike mechanic.
 
Have you got a link to this bike? I'm finding it a little hard to understand your description of the bike's brakes.
 
Originally posted by: episodic
Bought my kid a nice mountain bike off of craigslist. . .

The brakes were rubbing - but other than that fine.

What ever happened to the 'simple' side pull brakes? These had like a bracket that swung behind a catch and just float. It took me adjusting 50 different ways until I got the bright idea of sticking a nickel between the pad and the rim and tightning everything down. I still can't figure out what the two little screws sticking out of the side that can be turned with your hand do.


Anyway - it stops and it doesn't rub. . . too bad the town doesn't have a bike mechanic.
Click to expand...

should have took it for a test drive?
 
You do know that some of the more expensive mountain bikes out there have disc brakes like on your car right? And even better some of the more advanced ones use hydraulics instead of your usual cable system.

 
he has V-brakes, they use a different style of lever compared to what he was expecting which are cantilever... the nickle is the easy way, the better is a dime (tighter tolerances) the side screw you are describing is for adjusting the tension on the spring that forces the brake lever (pad) away from the rim, more tension (tighter screw) means it repels from the rim harder...
 
Well I figured it out. I don't think the dime would have worked as the tire isn't entirely 'true' - it has an ever so slight 'wop' in it as every tire I've ever had - has had. I have no idea how to fix that.
 
You can get a set of truing wrenches at just about any bike store and you adjust the spoke tension to set the tension on the wheel to get rid of the wobble you are seeing. Google is your friend for understanding how to properly "true" a wheel.

A good truing stand can be had for less than $100, a really nice one (park makes very popular tools) will go for more and they allow for better adjust/alignment...
 
because now theyre sooooooooooooooooooooo much more effective than older brakes

(of course, center pull cyclocross-style are simple and very effective, too)
 
Yes, they (V-Brakes/Linear pull) have a higher mechanical advantage and if adjusted properly a good set of V-Brakes is much better (and lighter) than the older cantilever style brakes.
 
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