How To Repair Brakes On A Bike

Nosotros're all bound to deal with squeaky, tight, or maladjusted brakes at some point during our time on the bike. But the skilful news is that near brake rub fixes are ones that you tin can exercise at home or fifty-fifty on the fly.

Mike Perejmybida, service managing director at Squire John's ski and bike shop in Ontario, Canada, has over a decade of bicycle mechanic experience, and he's seen dozens of exercise-information technology-yourself disasters—from restriction bleeds gone wrong to adjustments that resulted in even bigger issues. Here, he explains a few tips and tricks for adjusting your disc brakes, caliper brakes, and even cantilever brakes—and when you should seek professional aid then you can avoid a disaster of your own.

Disc Brakes

Offset, make sure your bike is seated correctly.
If the rotor is rubbing, loosen the two bolts that mountain the disc restriction to the frame, and tighten them back while squeezing the brake lever. This ensures that it's centered.
If there's yet rubbing, the rotor may need to be trued. You tin can opt to (gently) practice it yourself, using a rotor truing fork.
Check to run across if your brake pads are actually worn and need to be replaced.
If your brake lever feels too soft, it might exist time to become your brakes bled.

Disc brakes—on a road bike, mount wheel, or cyclocross bike—might seem intimidating, but Perejmybida says they're actually the easiest to adjust.

If you remember yous have restriction rub, showtime by loosening the 2 bolts that mount the disc brake to the frame. Once they're loose, Perejmybida says to clasp your brakes so that they appoint the rotor. It'south now centered perfectly, and so—with the brake levers however depressed—retighten those bolts. That fixes virtually 75 percent of disc adjustment problems, Perejmybida says.

Disc Brake Rotor Truing Fork

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Rotor still slightly rubbing, but you can't experience information technology? Don't freak. "Virtually no rotor is perfectly straight," he says. If it's an annoying rub that affects your ride, you can use a rotor straightening tool similar the Park Tool Rotor Truing Fork. Set the bike in a stand or flip it and so the wheel tin can spin freely. Await for a wobble, or a gap opening and closing, between the pads to identify if the rotor is out of true. Annotation the section that needs truing and rotate it abroad from the caliper. Gently work the tool around the rotor at that section to straighten it if slightly warped. This only works if the rotor is rubbing in one specific spot. If you're unsure if it's the rotor or the brake, yous're probably improve off taking it to a professional to get it done right. "If you do try it yourself, call up that they're really fragile and so be very gentle," he says.

To bank check your brake pads, look in the superlative or back of the restriction to encounter the side contour of your pad. If the spring that keeps the pads together looks perilously shut to the rotor, if you can't run across the pad at all, or if your pistons are stuck out as far equally they can become, it'due south time to replace them, Perejmybida says.

Replacing them is quite simple. "There's a pivot that you undo, the brake can stay on the bike, and the pads come out from the summit of the brake," he explains. After you lot put the new pads in, press the pistons dorsum gently with the apartment side of a big, wide flathead screwdriver to brand room for the new, thick pads and then they don't start rubbing immediately.

Pro Tip: "Always, always make sure that the wheel is in the frame properly," Perejmybida says. "And then often, people don't have the wheel seated in the frame right, and they end up adjusting the brakes entirely incorrect." This isn't a problem with thru axles, but nigh route bikes with disc brakes still utilize quick release skewers. Perejmybida suggests flipping the wheel upside down or putting information technology on a stand up to brand sure the wheel is seated correctly, not at an bending.

When to Seek Pro Help: Bleeding brakes. If your brakes suddenly feel super tight, are increasingly mushy, or ane of your pistons in the restriction is stuck, your hydraulic brakes may need a adept bleed. In this case, it's worth getting the aid of a pro. The fluid tin can be a mess, Perejmybida says. And getting the fluid in without air bubbling is tricky. Practice yourself a favor and don't try this at home. Treat it like your car's oil change and go it done effectually every iii,000 miles, even if you don't feel whatever bug.

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Caliper Brakes

Caliper brakes tin can easily be adjusted using the butt adjuster near each lever. If the brakes are too soft for that to help, tighten the cablevision.
To fix restriction rub, make certain the brake is centered. If information technology'southward loose, squeeze the brake lever to eye it and tighten the commodities that mounts it to the frame.
If the brakes are still rubbing, bank check to see if your wheel needs to be trued.

Start by using what's in place for yous already: The butt adjuster that's at the summit of the brake lever on the cable. Just playing with tightening or loosening this can solve a lot of common issues, Perejmybida says.

If that doesn't work, you can check the bolt where the restriction is connected to the frame. When the bolt isn't tight enough, it can cause your entire brake to move as you ride. Similar to disc brakes, Perejmybida says to engage your brakes, and then tighten that commodities so information technology's centered.

If your brakes are too loose—pregnant y'all need to pull the levers fashion likewise hard to the bars to get the brakes to appoint—Perejmybida suggests slightly tightening the cablevision. It'southward a elementary adjustment: Using an Allen key, loosen the nut and bolt where the cable ends, pull a bit more of the cable through, and retighten. (Try the butt adjuster before you try this, though.)

When trying to adjust the brake pads to striking the same spot on the rim on either side, Perejmybida suggests tightening the brakes with the butt adjuster starting time. In one case the pads are tight to the rim, you can loosen the bolt that keeps them in place and make small-scale adjustments without them slipping too far to 1 side, since the rim itself volition keep them in place. "It's similar having a third hand," Perejmybida says. Loosen the barrel adjuster afterward they're in place.

Pro Tip: If yous're at the get-go line of a race or group ride and realize your brakes are rubbing, yous can utilise the switch on the side of about caliper brakes that'southward used to slightly loosen the brakes in order to remove the wheel. (Brand sure you can still stop the wheel easily.) After the ride, tighten information technology dorsum up and properly accommodate them, don't but rely on that switch.

When to Seek Pro Help: Truing your bicycle. If your wheel is nonetheless rubbing in 1 specific spot later on adjusting your brakes, that might mean your cycle is the issue—not your brakes. Bring the bicycle to a local mechanic."Just don't effort to do this yourself," Perejmybida says. "That's not a wheel part you want to mess with."

Tool Kits for Getting the Job Done

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Feedback Sports Team Edition Bike Tool Kit

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Pro Tool Kit

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Cantilever Brakes

Make certain the wires decision-making the brake pads are the same length. Take your time and brand small-scale adjustments—it'southward trickier than it seems.
If the lever is hard to pull, check to run into if the cable needs to be replaced.

If yous're old-schoolhouse, you might still sport cantilever brakes, in which the two brake pads are controlled by wires that pull upward as y'all utilise pressure to the levers. They may expect similar the simplest of the bunch, but they are actually the hardest to conform on your ain, Perejmybida says. That's considering in order to avoid restriction churr and jamming 1 brake pad into your rim while the other floats on the reverse side, they need to exist gear up perfectly.

It's all virtually symmetry, Perejmybida says. That means making sure that the wires decision-making the left and right brake pad are exactly the aforementioned length, and that the brake pads are sitting in exactly the same place on the rim. That doesn't require much by mode of tools—you can make these adjustments with an Allen fundamental—merely it does require a lot of patience as yous brand minor adjustments and keep testing to find the perfect rest.

Pro Tip: Keep an center on these brake cables, equally they're exposed to the elements and are likely to fray over fourth dimension. If your braking feels sloppy, or information technology'due south getting harder to pull the levers, it might be fourth dimension to supersede the cable, not just accommodate the brakes.

When to Seek Pro Help: Initial setup. Rather than trying to become your brakes perfectly symmetrical the first time you're putting your bike together, become a mechanic to handle that headache. Afterwards, Perejmybida says, it gets easier. But if you have them set up up wrong to start, information technology's going to be nearly impossible to become them perfectly tuned.