How do you adjust front cable tension, the front brake pads are a bit away from the rim

Brake squeal can be caused by:
1 Rim or pad contamination
2. Dried-out/oxidized pads
3. Pads not "toed-in"

1. Clean pads and rim with glass cleaner, can also try alcohol or mineral spirits on rim (do not get latter on tires.
2. Replace pads
3. Carefully bend the arm holding each pad so that the front of the pad touches the rim slightly before the rear.
https://www.bikeman.com/bicycle-repair-tech-info/featured-tech-articles/704-rim-brake-adjustment

http://www.manualsonline.com/

Nothing to do with fuel economy my friend,but that black soot is brake dust from your front pads.THAT's whats doing MOST of your braking.The front.YOUR problem,believe meit is YOU,is the fact that you do not use the emergency brake ever.Each time you put that emergency brake on,it adjusts the rear brake up a bit more,until eventually you have even braking force all around.Use the emergency brake EVERY time you park the car and get out.Eventually you'll notice that the black soot is minimal,but it will always be there a bit.Just keep the rear brakes adjusted up by using the e-brake a lot when stopped.That's also why the front pads ALWAYS wear out and back are still fine.NO emergency brake use.Rigger

Hi chermy637

You need to unscrew and loosen the brake pads with an Allen Key until you have enough slack in the cables to reach tboth he pads and brake levers easily. Clutch one brake lever (as you do when braking) to maximum, hook the grommet at the end of the cable into the hole slightly larger than the grommet, then slide it back along the groove leading from the hole so the cable is anchored in the pivot end of the lever, carefully threading it through to the static rest that the lever rests against when released.

Extend the cable, now anchored at the brake lever at the end, down towards the brake pad on the same side of the bike. Feed the grommet of the brake pad end of the cable through the hole in the retaining arm holding the brake pad.

Holding the grommet to stop it springing back through the hole with your subordinate hand, use your principal hand to take the Allen Key and tighten the retaining arm of the brake pad adjusting the orientation of the brake pad and the rim of the wheel as you go along. Just before the gripping point, pull the cable down to take up any slack, pulling any extra length down through the hole with your subordinate hand as you tighten with the Allen Key.

When the cable is held fast at the brake pad end and the brake pads are well aligned with the wheel rim, test for the correct tension on the brake lever and adjust the tension of the cable accordingly.

Repeat the process on the other side of the bike.

I hope this helps.

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Thanks for using FixYa.

Is this disk or brake blocks like cantilever or vbrake. I have disks now b ut have never messed with them. If it is not disk then I would just say to make sure that the rear part of the pad hits the rim first. Fine tuning is done by adjusting the turn buckle where the cable goes into the lever. Set the brakes so that when you are pulling hard on the brakes, on dry pavement, set the brakes so that they only get tight enough to not quite lock up. And make sure you use both brakes at the same time. Not just one or the other. adjust the pads by putting one or two dimes between the pad and rim. There are also adjustment screws on the brake arms that control spring tension and in the end the alignment of tire between the brakes. You want the same space between pads and rim on both sides. If they squeal because you have been riding with poorly adjusted brakes take a file to the pads to level them out. Thy will grab better after this. Hope it helps

I think that bike has a v-brake on the front. You probably need to loosen the spring tension adjustment screws. On each brake, near the pivot, there is a small screw - turn them counterclockwise until you see a gap between the pad and the rim. If you don't have enough play, you may need to loosen the screw on the top of the right (i think) brake to give you some slack. Try the tension screws first.

Depends on the braking system.

1) turn the adjuster know on the side of the brakes, this will increase/ decrease the distance the pads are from the rotor.

2) adjust the cable adjuster at the brake lever, if it is screwed out (away from) the lever, then turn it back toward the lever to provide a little slack in the cable tension.

3) loosen the cable by loosening the attachment bolt at the brake, letting some of the tension out of the cable, then retightening.

If none of these work, then you will need to take into your local bike shop to see what is wrong.

Sounds like you need to adjust the tension spring on the brake arm that has the pad rubbing, Not the Cable.

Hope this helps

Hi

Depending on what brakes are fitted (I'll assume V brakes or U brakes for now) here is a similar procedure for both:

On the brake itself, loosen the pinch bolt , move the arms of the brakes inwards, so the pads are 1-2mm from the rim, tighten the pinch bolt. If the pads are down to their wear indicator, replace them. If they are missing the rim, on the ouside of them they have an adjustment bolt, loosen, aim the pads at the rim and tighten.

Adjust the lever tension by spinning the adjustment screw. Get this right for your own preferenece.

An added tip, to get your brake pads working amazing for a week or so, get a cloth, some Coca Cola and wipe the rims. The acid in it, cleans the rims of oil/contaminants and the stickiness grips the pads :)

Vote for me when this works , thanks.

Read this from the experts.

http://parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=160


Put the wheel on straight (tight up against the dropouts (those little grooves the axle fits into). Attach the brake cable if it was removed. Test the brakes. If way off center you need to adjust the relative tensions of the two pads so they oppose each other equally enough to keep them both off the rim unless you squeeze the brake lever.

If using the Quick Release to secure the wheel, read up on it.

http://www.bicyclinglife.com/HowTo/UseAQuickRelease.htm