Rear v-brake repair

[Alex88627]

Hi everyone,
I'm new here and I've been trying to avoid taking my bike to a mechanic and save some money.
I succesfully fixed my front but struggle with the rear, I got new brakes for the rear. I notice i think it might be the housing causing the noodle to be off centered and making the left brake pad to close to the rim. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!! My next project is to attempt the shift cables.

[Jake1]

@Alex88627 welcome here.

I cannot remember when I last set up V brakes so I may be rusty on my advice after decades of not messing with them. Knowledge from @Painkiller is probably your best bet.

I assume your wheel is true and centered in the frame. Did you clean and grease the frame's mounting studs? Upon mounting the arms I think there is a way to do a spring tension set point inserting the pin in a different hole. Start with them both in the same position and in the middle most spot (or in original position). Both arms should spring away fairly evenly (& smoothly) and at that point you can connect cable and adjust the screws at the pivots to fine tune the tension (screw in/cw pushes arm out; screw out/ccw arm pulls in). Easiest way to adjust from side to side is by adjusting both screws simultaneously (with bike a in stand/held between legs); screw one in while screwing the other out. Maybe pulling the housing forward will help? Cable should move smoothly.

[Alex88627]

(03-23-2025, 09:54 AM)Jake1 Wrote:  @Alex88627 welcome here.

I cannot remember when I last set up V brakes so I may be rusty on my advice after decades of not messing with them. Knowledge from @Painkiller is probably your best bet.

I assume your wheel is true and centered in the frame. Did you clean and grease the frame's mounting studs? Upon mounting the arms I think there is a way to do a spring tension set point inserting the pin in a different hole. Start with them both in the same position and in the middle most spot (or in original position). Both arms should spring away fairly evenly (& smoothly) and at that point you can connect cable and adjust the screws at the pivots to fine tune the tension (screw in/cw pushes arm out; screw out/ccw arm pulls in). Easiest way to adjust from side to side is by adjusting both screws simultaneously (with bike a in stand/held between legs); screw one in while screwing the other out. Maybe pulling the housing forward will help? Cable should move smoothly.

Thanks Jake, that was my issue I didn't know about the pin hole.

[ReapThaWhirlwind]

I noticed you don't have the cushion piece that goes on the noodle.

This is an important piece for gauging the cable adjustment based on the strength of the springs used by the manufacturer.

You simply use that rubber boot as a guide when placing the cable inside.

From there, you'll make simple adjustments using the tension screws. Dialing them in brings the arm out and dialing them out brings the pads in. This is the final adjustment phase to troubleshoot any spacing issues, alongside dialing the barrel adjuster on the lever in or out as well. Dialing the adjuster on the lever in removes tension from the line, loosening up the brakes–and dialing the adjuster out adds tension to the line, tightening up the brakes.