Brake Sluggishness.
l00cas
Posts: 75
Hi ppl.
Today I was at my local trail and it dawned on me that recently my brakes have been really crap. When im holding the bike, and pulling the brakes, the wheel (back) grips well and the wheel will skid if the drag the bike, the front brake is a disc brake and the back is v. But when im in 'attack' position
approaching a jump or a swtichback I need to brake for or something, the back brake doesn't seem to bite at all, it stops me, but very gradually. Ive noticed that the brake wire for the back is slack along the top of the tubing on my frame too? Its kinda curved and saggy. Ive tried tinkering about with the wires, pulling them tight through the locks etc. but is there anything else I could try before admitting it comes down to shit brakes and going out and buying some new ones? 
cheers
Today I was at my local trail and it dawned on me that recently my brakes have been really crap. When im holding the bike, and pulling the brakes, the wheel (back) grips well and the wheel will skid if the drag the bike, the front brake is a disc brake and the back is v. But when im in 'attack' position
approaching a jump or a swtichback I need to brake for or something, the back brake doesn't seem to bite at all, it stops me, but very gradually. Ive noticed that the brake wire for the back is slack along the top of the tubing on my frame too? Its kinda curved and saggy. Ive tried tinkering about with the wires, pulling them tight through the locks etc. but is there anything else I could try before admitting it comes down to shit brakes and going out and buying some new ones? cheers
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Comments
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The top wire should be fairly tight0
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Agreed with Shorty12, reduce the slack by pulling it tight as possible and then pulling it through the V brake slot and then tighten the screw as much as possible.
Failing that, just get some new cables - K.ble from Wiggle or CRC are good.0 -
Clean cables, readjust brakes. Ensure spring arm tension is correct too. If unsure, Park Tools has a guide on set up.0
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Cheers,
Ive tried pulling them through/tight which gets rid of the slack but the brake lever doesnt spring back properly when I release it? I noticed there is some fraying under the rubber bungie on the v brake. Thats obv. not good so does it matter what type of new cable I buy? Theyre shimano brakes so can I just buy some shimano xt cable and shove that in?0 -
You need brake inner cable, and maybe new outers if they are damaged. Gunked cables could be why they don't spring back, or lack of spring tension in the canti arms (usually adjusted by a little screw on them).0
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Cheers. Ok, is it gonna take long to do? is it a fairly complex job because Ive never changed brake lines before. There is a little screw on the V-brake arms but it just moves them in and out?0
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Pretty straightforward, but maybe a little fiddly if you havn't done it before. Give yourself 30 mins!0
