Brake lever problem

[jnewk81]

Hi I am a new user. Any help you can provide me would be appreciated. I bought my son a 24" XR75 Mongoose mountain bike and I adjusted the brake pads and brake cable during assembly. The lever still sticks and the pads wont release. You manually have to push the lever forward to release the break pads. I am not sure what other adjustments can be done to fix the lever issue. Thanks in advance for your help.

[nfmisso]

Hi;

1st disconnect the cable(s) from the levers. If the levers move freely, it is not a lever problem.

To me it sounds like the springs on the brakes are one or both of the following:
(1) the stationary ends of the springs are not in the correct hole (often choice of three holes).
(2) the adjusting screw for each springs is not adjusted enough to open the brakes.

Other possibility: the cables are not properly lubricated - check that they move freely while you have them disconnected from the levers.

[X-RAY]

this happened to me once, i found the lever pivot bolt was overtightened. once i backed it off a little, the lever went back to its normal place.

[doctordee]

One other possibility is you have set the brake blocks too high and they are catching on the tire as they are releasing.

[jnewk81]

Thanks for all the help guys! X ray hit the nail on the head loosened the pivot bolts and good as new. Happy Easter thanks again!