What's Wrong With My Bike Brakes?

Question

I have a Schwinn bike that's about 10-20 years old, it's the kind with the thin tires and odd shaped handlebars with two places to grip them (I think it's a road bike but somebody who saw me riding it thought it was a racing bike), and when I pull both the front and back brakes it takes a good 25 feet or more to stop at a fairly slow pace. I replaced the brake pads, and the brakes are properly adjusted. So why can't I stop?

Answer 1

you may need to loosen that s***w on the right brake trust me i did it on my haro and the brakes got alot better..

Answer 2

You have a road bike, with "drop" handlebars, often referred to as a "racer" although true racing bikes are minimalist without any eyelets for mudguards or carrier rack.

A road bike of that age would have some very basic "side pull" caliper brakes, which if they are working at their absolute best, would be just about safe enough. One common cause of poor braking is that the levers are touching the handlebar before the brakes are working effectively. if so, you need to tighten the cable by pulling through more where it clamps onto the caliper.

If I was you, I would clean and grease the pivots on the calipers and levers, replace the brake cable if it doesn't move freely after lubrication. Then clean the wheel rims and brake pads, and check the alignment of the pads before tightening. Many road bikes are ridden around with only half the pads touching the rims, which limits the stopping power and gives the pads uneven wear. Take it to a bike shop if you're not confident doing this, you can't afford to take any risks with brakes.

Answer 3

Make sure the rims are clean and good brake pads have a lot more stopping power then the cheap ones that you would get at Walmart.

The wheels must be straight and the pads should have about 2 mm clearance.

http://bicycletutor.com/sidepull-caliper...