My mountian bikes brakes dont work well, how can i fix them so i can lock them up if i need to when riding?

Question

I bought a used mountian bike, and my brakes dont work very well on it. Its a cheap bike just to goof around on.. But I want to be able to lock them up if i need to stop quickly. I sqeeze the brake handel all the way down and it doesnt work well.. I tryed tighting the cable, but no suck luck.. Do i need to buy a new break cable to fix the problem?... Im not sure what type of brakes they are? Any advice?

Answer 1

Lets start from the beginning... would you please provide the brand and model of bike, and try to explain the brakes? Here are some pictures that might help... try to see if any of these are similar:

These are V brakes http://www.flickr.com/photos/24269823@N0...

These are cantilevers http://www.flickr.com/photos/rcrowley/27...

These are sidepulls http://www.flickr.com/photos/20084214@N0...

Provide this info and I'll edit my answer.

FYI, locking up brakes is not something you should try to do. Just like a car with "antilock braking", once your bike starts to skid you lose the ability to stop and to keep the bike under control. Proper technique would be to use the rear brake to control the bike and front brake to stop. 70% of your stopping power should be done with your front brake.

EDIT: There are specific things you can do. Here is cheapest to most expensive...

1. Have the brakes professionally adjusted. Cantilevers are tricky since they "arc" into the rim.

2. Replace the pads, cables, AND housings. The cables with stainless steel and the housings with compressionless type.

3. If the levers are all or part plastic, replace them with aluminum versions. They flex too much to allow reliable pressure against the rims. Also, replace the brake calipers with aluminum versions. It would be a good time to switch to V brakes. V brakes require different levers than cantilevers.

- - - - At this point you will have spent more than a decent new bike would have cost, but in the interest of giving a complete answer, here we go....

4. If the rims are steel, replace the wheels. Steel rim sidewalls flex when pressure is put against them causing limited braking performance. Aluminum rims are much stiffer and don't require a slippery coating (chrome or paint) on them to prevent corrosion.

Good luck!

Answer 2

are your brakes v-brakes (they pinch on the rim) or are they disk brakes (pinch a metal disk near the center of the wheel)