08-11-2011, 08:27 PM
Hi everyone,
I am a bicycle newbie and this is my first time here! I read a couple threads but I'm having trouble understanding the jargon you guys use.
Anywho, I moved to Missouri from California for school and I'm in desperate need of help adjusting my front bike brakes to use for commuting. I've been using it for 3 years but have always relied on my friend for my bicycle's maintenance. When my bike was boxed and packed, the front brakes were removed but the back were still retained in place.
After re-mounting my front brakes onto my bike, I noticed that when I use my front brakes, the arms do not retract back into place and are in contact with the rim. Likewise, my back brakes are working fine. I tried aligning the front brakes with my wheel and re-tensioned the cable using pliers (not sure what the correct terminology is but I followed this youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8merR9JxVbo). I'm thinking that maybe I need a "third hand tool" to pull the cable tighter than my pliers is able to. I hope I'm overlooking something very simple. Please help. I look forward to indulge in an "Ah Ha!" moment. :]
<a href="http://s70.photobucket.com/albums/i92/magicmayonaise07/?action=view&current=087.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i92/magicmayonaise07/087.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s70.photobucket.com/albums/i92/magicmayonaise07/?action=view&current=084-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i92/magicmayonaise07/084-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s70.photobucket.com/albums/i92/magicmayonaise07/?action=view&current=083-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i92/magicmayonaise07/083-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
I am a bicycle newbie and this is my first time here! I read a couple threads but I'm having trouble understanding the jargon you guys use.
Anywho, I moved to Missouri from California for school and I'm in desperate need of help adjusting my front bike brakes to use for commuting. I've been using it for 3 years but have always relied on my friend for my bicycle's maintenance. When my bike was boxed and packed, the front brakes were removed but the back were still retained in place.
After re-mounting my front brakes onto my bike, I noticed that when I use my front brakes, the arms do not retract back into place and are in contact with the rim. Likewise, my back brakes are working fine. I tried aligning the front brakes with my wheel and re-tensioned the cable using pliers (not sure what the correct terminology is but I followed this youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8merR9JxVbo). I'm thinking that maybe I need a "third hand tool" to pull the cable tighter than my pliers is able to. I hope I'm overlooking something very simple. Please help. I look forward to indulge in an "Ah Ha!" moment. :]
<a href="http://s70.photobucket.com/albums/i92/magicmayonaise07/?action=view&current=087.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i92/magicmayonaise07/087.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s70.photobucket.com/albums/i92/magicmayonaise07/?action=view&current=084-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i92/magicmayonaise07/084-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s70.photobucket.com/albums/i92/magicmayonaise07/?action=view&current=083-1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i92/magicmayonaise07/083-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>