One of my bike's brakes works only if i press it very hard? What happened and what can I do?

Question

its a bit dangerous when i am downhill

Answer 1

1) Adjust, or change pads as needed. Braking action should be 60% front 40% rear.

2) Check your cables for frays and rust. Squirt some WD40 on the cable if you can.

3) Clean the surface contact on your rims clean, use some steel wool to smooth out any rust spots.

Keep you tires properly inflated!!

Answer 2

You probably have a seized caliper. Remove the caliper and try to move the slice and press the pistons in with a screwdriver (be careful that brake fluid doesn't overflow out of the reservoir and remove your paint!) If they are real hard to move, or if the movement is jerky instead of smooth, the caliper will need rebuilding. Otherwise, look into a bad or incorrect master cylinder.

Answer 3

stand over your front tire and look at the bracket that holds the braking pads. is it offset to one side? there should be an equal amount of space between each pad and the tire.

this happened to me once. i had inadvertently nudged it to one side while loading it on my rack. if yours is offset, you can manually move it back into alignment and wala... no more problems.

Check for this simple possibility before you start messing around with your cables.

Answer 4

Take up some slack on the cable to bring the pads closer to the rim. Also check your pads. Might need new ones.

Answer 5

If it is a break that is mounted on cable all you need to do is tighten that cable a little bit at the time untill you get the right tension.

Answer 6

your cable has probably stretched or slipped you can loosen the nut holding it pull cable through to original position or slightly past then tighten

Answer 7

check the pads and see if they need to be replaced