How to Tighten or Loosen Bicycle Brakes

Series Summary

Riding a bicycle is a great recreational sport, provides a fun work out and is a viable form of transportation in many areas where urban traffic is difficult and annoying. Bikes have become increasingly popular throughout the world because they are relatively inexpensive, easy to use and have very little impact on the global environment. For many young children, a bicycle represents that first taste of freedom and is the primary manner in which a child will experience the world. Many people continue to ride their bikes into adulthood for enjoyment and exercise. Whatever your reasons, biking is a great activity alone or with friends. In this free video series on bicycles, bike mechanic Jeff Moesch demonstrates several tips for riding, purchasing and maintaining bikes. Moesch explains how to adjust the brakes, wash a bicycle, adjust the handlebars, pedal, do a wheelie, perform a bunny hop and even how to install a quill stem. He then discuss purchasing and choosing bikes for recreational use or athletic training. Moesch reveals how to buy a used bike, upgrade a bike, buy a road bike fork and how to determine the appropriate bike frame size. Watch these videos and learn several bicycle tips and maintenance techniques today.

Video Transcript

"Hey, this is Jeff for the Two Wheeler Dealer, and I'm going to talk with you about how to tighten or loosen your brakes and make sure that they're properly adjusted. Now to start, on this bike, the first thing you want to do is make sure that the pads are properly aligned with the rim; they're not going to hit the tire, or they're not hanging off the bottom of the rim. To do that, squeeze the brake lever all the way closed to kind of hold the pads in place. And this is a four millimeter Allen in the end. Loosen that and then you should be able to reposition the pads on the rim. Tighten that back down. Do the same on the other side. And then you need to set your cable tension. Right now, the cable is too loose, so I can pull the lever all the way back to the handlebar before it engages. If it's too tight the wheel won't spin freely and your brake pads will rub, so there's a a fine line to to the point where it needs to be adjusted with cable tension. The easiest method to do this is to squeeze the brake pads against the rim, loosen this pinch bolt on the side; it's a five millimeter, and then pull the cable tight into there. I'll hold it down, holding everything about as tight as I can. I'll tighten this pinch bolt back on the cable, and when I release, there should be a small amount of give in the cable to open back up a slight amount off the rim. Pull the brake; make sure that it's adjusted properly. It should engage, maybe about two thirds of the way, or sorry, a third of the way into the into the lever pull, so right about there it engages. It still gives you plenty of leverage to come back. That's a, it's a well adjusted brake. And that's how to properly adjust it."