Is there a way to tighten my rear brakes?

Question

Hi I realized my rear brake is always mushier/looser than my front brake. This is important for me as I need sudden stops say a car coming in front, or a child jumps out of the bush, etc.

My LBS said there's no way but being concerned of the safety, I heard that replacing with disc brakes will do the job.

Any advice before I replace my rear with disk?

Answer 1

Joe is right about Sheldon Brown's library of help, and I second his suggestion.

Disc brake conversion can be very expensive, especially if your frame and front fork do not already have the special disc break mounting tabs built in.  There are adapters that are made for the rear, but if you don't have a disc fork you'll have to start with a new front fork.  Even if you do the work yourself, you are looking at a minimum cost of $300 for the conversion, and that's without a new fork, which will be at least $100 more.

A better option would be an upgrade of the brakes you already have.  For starters, please understand that over 70% of your stopping power comes from your front brake anyway.  My single speed has only a front brake, and it stops reasonably well.

Rear brakes are typically "mushier" because of the length and path of the cable, typically 4 times the length of the front cable.  The most economical upgrade would be to start with higher quality brake pads.  Kool Stops are one good after-market brand (link below).  The next step is to replace the cable and housing.  Again, go with a high quality product and be especially careful with the bent around your seatpost.  If it's too long or too short it can degrade your braking.  I start long and trim the housing until I get to a good gentle curve.  Buy a quality set of cable cutters if you don't already have one.  Pedro's makes the best reasonably priced tool here.

Step 3 would be a higher quality set of brakes altogether, but unless you have a Walmart grade bike with junk brakes, this is probably not necessary.

Finally, like I tell car drivers, motorcyclists, and bicyclists, always keep a bigger gap between you and the car in front than you think is necessary and you'll be OK.  I'm a county judge and I can't tell you how many following too close cases I've heard.  People are always surprised that they were unable to stop in time.  Unfortunately, our local schools don't have physics as a part of the required curriculum.

Good luck and happy riding.

Answer 2

Sheldon Brown's site is encyclopaedic when it comes to bicycle maintenance information.  He has a good section on adjusting the most popular kinds of brakes:  http://sheldonbrown.com/cantilever-adjus...

If you have one of those types he listed, just follow his guide.

Sheldon Brown's site is the first place I look if I need info on maintaining my bike.

Hope this helps, good luck.