Getting bicycle brakes running smoothl again

Brand new bikes the inner wire cables slide in and out the outer cables like straight rods. After several 10's of km of breaking use the inner wire cable stretches a bit. There is a slack in the cable you are taking up before the brakes grab the wheels. The spongy feel of the breaking is a transference of the slackness of the inner cable, a feeling most of us don't feel safe with.

When you squeeze the lever of a new bike both break arms move inward gripping the rubbers on the rim evenly. The brakes have a clunk solid feel. This is a model of what all bikes brakes should be.

Uneven break arm movement is usually the result of tweaking around with the brakes. More often a distorted spring not responding, only working one side. The other side rubber is either permanently rubbing the rim or not making contact. Only one rubber is braking you effectively.

Observing new bikes both rubbers grip flat. This is that all bike breaks should be. Slack brakes is often the result of a twisted rubber both toed in or out wards as well as laterally twisted giving less than 50% breaking power that should be.

This applies to disc breaks hydrologic fluid and mechanical where both pads come together design. Some disc break are designed only one pad moves while the other is permanently fixed. This design pushes the disc ( often called a rotor ) less than a millimeter gap against the permanently fixed pad so both pads grip the rotor. Mechanical disc breaks are subject to the same pad toe in and lateral twist as rim brake designs.

Both mechanical rim and disc brake is the same adjusting procedure. All mechanical brake systems have adjusting screws on the brake arms and handle bar levelers. There is also the outer cable adjustors.

First gather the tools need to unlock the cable of the brake arms and adjusting screws.

Turning your attention to the break arms unlock the inner wire cable fastener loose enough the pads slide wide open from the rim.

Next screw out any break arm adjusting screw to maximum, both arms.

Back to the handle bar end, screw out the handle bar lever adjuster to maximum. Then the otter cable adjuster.

Back to the brake arms depending on whether you are right or left handed, squeeze both arms together the rubbers pressed hard against the rim.

Holding them there, with one hand and with the free hand pull the inner wire cable tail outwards as far as it goes and lock tight again. Don't maximum tighten or you will potentially cross thread the fastener rendering it useless and damage the inner wire cable by crushing it. Crushed inner cable strands unravel resulting in eventually breaking up to short with constant retightening, not to mention adding bends in the cable here ruining adjustment.

Back to the handle bar end handle screw in the outer cable adjuster back in. The rest of the adjustment is a mater of fine tuning

Back to the break arm adjusting screws on both sides fine tune so the brake arms move inward evenly.

Back to the handle bar brake lever adjust screws fine tuned to the way you like your brakes to feel.