I must confess... (ignorance)

[briantrumpet]

Oh my god...it's true.


But....we...I...it......er

You're now one of the cognoscenti on this forum.

 

[sbeqs]

So I watched a couple of YouTube videos and fixed one problem, both sides pull in when I pull the brake. That little screw on the bottom there...
But the brake still hits the handle with little resistance. I can't see what that adjuster thing does where the cable joins the handle.

 

[Ihatehills]

If you unscrew the barrel adjuster on the brake lever (where the cable joins) you will effectively shorten the cable giving you more pull on the lever, if you can't unscrew the barrel adjuster enough ( ie its already adjusted out quite far) then you will have to adjust the cable length at the mechanism, this vid takes you through it
View: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mGgidUE8drE

Hope this helps

 

[summerdays]

If the lever touches the handlebars then you need a larger adjustment than you can do with the barrel adjuster (the silver bit just as the cable exits the lever on the handlebars). So you need to make the cable shorter.

To do that you need to undo he bolt where the cable meets the actual brake arms (just after the curved bit of metal), whilst holding the cable, then pull it through about half a centimetre and then re tighten the bolt. I usually untighten bolts by about what I call 1 and a half full turns, then I know to tighten it up by the same amount.

Then try the brakes and the levers should touch the handlebars hopefully.

That's probably not the best explanation, but I'm not a really technical person, but it should be a starting point, with the information you've been given above. There is more refining you can then do with the barrel adjuster.

Edit: what @Ihatehills said above, that will teach me not to read to the end of the thread before replying.

 

[sbeqs]

If you unscrew the barrel adjuster on the brake lever (where the cable joins) you will effectively shorten the cable giving you more pull on the lever, if you can't unscrew the barrel adjuster enough ( ie its already adjusted out quite far) then you will have to adjust the cable length at the mechanism, this vid takes you through it
View: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=mGgidUE8drE

Hope this helps

I'll give it a try, thanks...

 

[Yazzoo]

@sbeqs - whilst i'm all for learning how to do things and being more self sufficient there is also no shame in handing the bike in at a shop and asking them to do it if you're not confident. By all means follow the advice here and have a go if you want to, but you don't HAVE to be able to do it yourself. If you have a friendly local bike shop they may even adjust it in front of you and explain what they're doing and why.

 

[sbeqs]

@sbeqs - whilst i'm all for learning how to do things and being more self sufficient there is also no shame in handing the bike in at a shop and asking them to do it if you're not confident. By all means follow the advice here and have a go if you want to, but you don't HAVE to be able to do it yourself. If you have a friendly local bike shop they may even adjust it in front of you and explain what they're doing and why.

Thanks, I want to do it for myself because I can't afford to pay for repairs, but if I can't sort it I will get help from a local bike shop.