Cycling UK Forum

Beginner question, but thought I'd throw it out to the room before I start.

My daughter has a Halfords cruiser BSO. V-brakes.

The rear brake pads are as close as they can go to the rims without actually being in constant contact.

However, the brake arms do not engage until the brake lever is practically up against the handlebar/grip. Which I think is kind of dangerous...

They have always been a bit "squidgy" but this seems to be a new development.

I considered pulling more cable through at the arms-end, but there isn't room for the arms to go any closer to the rim.

I suspect the problem is either something at the lever end, or else that there's just too much darned cable... (!).

I'd appreciate any thoughts: thanks, people.

Can you add a photo inline with the frame showing the current angles.

Work along the cable: is the end sitting nicely in the lever, do all of the runs look right, and are all the bits of housing fitted correctly to stops, guides etc?

https://sheldonbrown.com/canti-direct.html

https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/linear-pull-brake-service

Jonathan

some brake arms (and frame stays) are rather bendy and some cable runs are rather squishy.

Is there a noticeable difference between the cable movement at the lever and at the caliper? If so, it must be 'lost' somewhere en route and it is a question of finding where this is happening.

It is also possible to have the wrong brake levers, which don't pull enough cable for V brakes to start with.

cheers

This is something I have often come across in my workshop. A lot of the problem is down to the use of low quality cable, FAR too much of it and poor finishing of said cable (ie the outer cable ends have ‘pig tails’ and are not tidy and cut square) .
If you are happy to tackle the job yourself you can make big improvements by buying standard cables from the likes of Shimano, Jagwire or Clarks and ensuring that the outer cable is a suitable length, cut cleanly and routed efficiently.
In addition, a lot of Halfords bikes (mainly the Apollo brand) are fitted with cheap resin levers and pressed steel calliper arms and soft compound pads which flex under pressure. You can change the pads quite easily but the other components will still absorb a noticeable amount of available travel under moderate to high pressure. Fortunately this level of braking is rarely needed or possible for a young child but to an adult testing the brakes it can seem quite alarming.

Also some BSO cruisers have slightly longer than avarage V brake arms to allow the cable to clear the chunky tyre and the mud guard, meaning the brake arms need a bit more cable pull than standard V brakes. With good components probably an irritation when adjusting, but with cheap arms/cable/levers, a real pain.

https://www.gravelbike.com/v-brake-arm-lengths/ has a table of V brake arm lengths, mostly 2 - 5 mm increments from 75mm (mini V's) up to 120mm. Interestingly there appears not to be a sudden jump from "mini" to "standard" V arm length.

Clarks do a brilliant V-brake kit for around £20. They are all metal, have halfway decent pads and cables.
When facing this issue I generally fit them as a reliable fix and upgrade that takes less time than all the faffing about with compromised stuff.
Here's the link in Amazon, Halfords also list it amongst others.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Clarks-Front-V ... 2952&psc=1

hamster wrote:Clarks do a brilliant V-brake kit for around £20. They are all metal, have halfway decent pads and cables.
When facing this issue I generally fit them as a reliable fix and upgrade that takes less time than all the faffing about with compromised stuff.
Here's the link in Amazon, Halfords also list it amongst others.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Clarks-Front-V ... 2952&psc=1

That is a good kit at a good price but Clarks do themselves no favours by wrapping those cables so tight. If you do buy it pay close attention to the cables and check they straighten out properly before fitting. I have bought a few sets of these and had to substitute the cables on one set.

Agreed - the cable outers can need a bit of massaging to get them to fit in smooth curves. I guess that they wrap so tight to keep the box small and transport cost down.

It sounds to me as if the brake arms are binding on their pivots due to corrosion. It may not be apparent because spring loaded levers will always return to position whereas old style with no springs will not return and so it would be obvious where the fault lies. Strip, clean, grease, reassemble.

Brucey wrote:some brake arms (and frame stays) are rather bendy and some cable runs are rather squishy.

Is there a noticeable difference between the cable movement at the lever and at the caliper? If so, it must be 'lost' somewhere en route and it is a question of finding where this is happening.

It is also possible to have the wrong brake levers, which don't pull enough cable for V brakes to start with.

cheers

They're the brakes (levers, pads, and calipers) that came with the bike (my wife bought it a couple of years ago, never used it, and my teenage daughter has 'inherited' it).

The back brake has always been softer than the front, but now its just ridiculous. You can pull the lever and the calipers don't even begin to move until the lever is practically up against the handlebar. They do then move.

I wondered if the cable itself has split or worn or stretched or something?

does the cable pull through the housing easily? You can often unhook the housing from slotted cable stops and see if each section of housing slides easily or not; can you try this on the bike in question?

Cables don't last forever and some bikes have cable runs which 'gather water' so cable problems are commonplace. Is the bike one of these by any chance?

cheers

Got it! Set aside time to properly sit down with the bike on a stand and look over it in a bit more detail... Mea culpa.

The metal bit that holds or guides the cable into the top of the noodle had come out(or come loose, anyway) and was sticking against the edge of the noodle and creating slack in the cable. Once I pushed it back in, everything was back to how I'd expected it to behave.

I tightened up the cable at the calipers (pulled some through, centred the arms) and it's all (touch wood) working fine now.

Well done.

Jonathan