Help fixing front brake

[CycleAli]

Hi, i am new here and hoping someone can help me fix my front brake, i have recently bought a bike second hand, i had to alter the handle bar height and didn't notice that the brake cable went through the centre of the handlebars, i have never seen this before.

Now i have totally messed up my front brake and no matter what i do, it will not work, its pulling together ok, but will not stop the wheel. I have tried putting the cable tighter etc, moved the position of the pads, i just can't do it.

I need to see a video on how to fix it but can't find anything on youtube or anything.

I don't even know what type of brake it is to look, i have attached a photo

Please can anyone help?

Thanks

[esuhl]

They're known as "cantilever brakes". I haven't had any on my bikes, but do the videos in this YouTube search help:

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_ ... OR+bicycle

[mattsccm]

If you have lowered the bars you have created slack in the cable that drops down to the clamp n the top of the picture. That bit of cable needs shorten to match the bar drop. Assuming everything else was fine before that should do it. If you have lifted the bars the cable will have become to short and its needs lengthening.
Without being rude, you may have complicated things by playing with the brake blocks as you may have changed their position which can be important. Even the angle that they meet the rim at matters, especially if they have worn to match it.

[mattsccm]

If you can find a video by Park tools they are usually very reliable.

[robgul]

Assuming that the levers would work with them (pull etc) I would cut my losses and install V-brakes which are more effective and easier to set and adjust - cantilevers are just a PITA

Rob

[the snail]

I think the problem is that you have made the straddle wire too long, so the angle to the brake arms is wrong - you need to shorten it so that it is much closer to the wheel

[hamster]

Exactly as snail says. The critical thing is the straddle wire. It needs to be much shorter. If you think about the brake cable pull, all it is trying to do (the way you have it) is pull the brakes up the fork - little is helping squeeze them together. You will need it to be around 5 cm shorter.

[Norman H]

I think the problem is that you have made the straddle wire too long, so the angle to the brake arms is wrong - you need to shorten it so that it is much closer to the wheel

+1
https://forum.cyclinguk.org/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=57410&start=15#p482174

[gaz]

I think the problem is that you have made the straddle wire too long, so the angle to the brake arms is wrong - you need to shorten it so that it is much closer to the wheel

Untitled.png

Shorten the straddle cable that runs between the brake arms. You'll probably need a new brake cable to lower the yoke. Set the yoke as low as you can without taking off the reflector.

[foxyrider]

do not remove the reflector! - the bracket acts as a safety stop in event of a cable failure.

[pwa]

I think the problem is that you have made the straddle wire too long, so the angle to the brake arms is wrong - you need to shorten it so that it is much closer to the wheel

Untitled.png
Shorten the straddle cable that runs between the brake arms. You'll probably need a new brake cable to lower the yoke. Set the yoke as low as you can without taking off the reflector.

That's it.

[Brucey]

The straddle geometry is the main thing for sure, but I would also suggest that you slide the brake blocks (on their posts) through the mounting eyes so that the brake arms are sticking out sideways a bit more; this will also increase the brake MA and will ensure that the brake MA stays higher for longer as the brake blocks wear.

cheers

[CycleAli]

Hi everyone, so many helpful replies, i'll get a new brake cable so i can make it longer, i can see it's too high, now you have all pointed it out.

Thanks you all for helping, hopefully i can fix this now

[pwa]

I find it easier to make adjustments like that with some sort of strap wrapped around the brakes and wheel rim/tyre, holding the brake blocks against the rim.

[cycleruk]

Re-iteration of the above.
Getting the correct angles of the cables and arms makes a big difference to the performance of cantilever brakes.
Set the arms to something like the angles by adjusting the cables (may need new ones?).
Then adjust the brake blocks to suit.

I used to set mine like below:-

.