How to Make Bicycle U Brakes Have More Stopping Power
Largely obsolete now, u-brakes were designed for use on bmx and mountain bikes and were unique for being mounted at the bottom of the bike. While heralded as an effective braking design, their unusual location on the bike made wheel removal and brake maintenance difficult. Adding stopping power to your u-brakes will mean ensuring that the brakes are properly adjusted. This will involve positioning the cable yoke, aligning the brake shoes, and adding tension to the brake arms.
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Instructions
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Cable yoke adjustment
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1
Turn the bike over to give you better access to the brake. Grease the brake cable where it passes through the cable guide on the bottom bracket. The bottom bracket is the cylinder to which the pedal arms are attached.
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2
Lightly tighten the cable yoke, using a proper-sized spanner wrench. The yoke is the triangle-shaped piece through which your brake cable passes. Do not fully tighten the bolt; the yoke should still be able to slide along the cable.
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3
Slide the cable against the bottom bracket. Pull the brake lever to the handle bar. This will cause the yoke to move to its proper position. Now, tighten the bolt securely.
Brake pad alignment
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4
Loosen the nut on each brake shoe. The nuts are found on either side of the brake arms and hold the brake shoes in place.
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5
Position the loosened pads squarely against the rim. Toe-in the shoes so that the front of each pad strikes the rim before the backs of the pads.
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6
Re-tighten the brake shoe nut. Pull the brake handle to test the effectiveness of the pads and re-adjust them if necessary.
Brake arm tension
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7
Insert a proper sized Allen wrench onto the spring nut, and a spanner wrench onto the accompanying tension nut. There is one bolt and nut combo located on each brake arm.
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8
Turn the tension nut towards the rim, and then tighten the spring nut. Now do the same to the other side.
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9
Again pull the brake handle to test the adjustment. The brake pads should not rub the wheel rim except when pulling the brake handle.
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