break help

[Antaresia]

I got new break pads, but they're too thick to use on my bike as-is. I just installed them and they touch the rim. Can anyone point me in the direction of a tutorial that will show me how to loosen the breaks or something? IDK what to do here, and all my searches are bringing up break alignment stuff instead of anything useful. Guy at the bike store said these pads would work.

I got some salmon kool stop Eagle 2, my breaks are these:
http://bikeisland.com/cgi-bin/BKTK_STOR20.cgi?Action=Details&ProdID=201

[lph]

I don't have a tutorial for you, but I can try to explain:

it's normal to have to re-adjust the brakes to get new brake pads to fit. As they wear down the pad gets thinner, and you (or the shop) tighten the cables a little to keep the braking tight and responsive. New pads will be thicker, and will usually need for you to loosen the cables a bit again.

First check if you have a barrel adjuster at the brake handle. If so, turn it until it's as small as possible, flush against the brake. That loosens the cable a little bit. You may also have other ways of doing minor tension adjustments to the cable, I have a small lever next to the brake itself and one higher up on the frame. Check if you have anything like that, and move it to the loosest position. You can see or feel the brake pads tightening or loosening.

If that isn't enough you may have to loosen the cable completely from the screw attaching it to the brake, and re-attach it. Try just loosening it a little, a few mm. Be sure to attach it firmly again.

One final thing, probably not relevant: many brakes come with different spacers, to allow them to fit different frames and rims. If you look at the brake levers you'll probably see one spacer between the brake and the rim, and one on the outside, with a different thickness. If you have the thickest one on the inside, you can switch it with the one on the outside. But this is usually just if you're moving brakes from one bike to another.

eta: by "levers" I mean down by the wheel, by "handle" I mean up by the bars. Sorry, a bit wobbly on the terminology and in a hurry :)

[silversurfer]

Maybe this will help illustrate the above: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2X1ZN75BLk If you have drop bars, the barrel adjuster will probably be closer to the brakes.

[OakLeaf]

I think your brake cable releases at the caliper by slipping it out of a slot, but as a more general matter, for those who do have a quick-release lever at the caliper, that's for removing the wheel, NOT for adjusting. That lever should be fully closed when you're riding. Tires, even deflated, are normally wider than the rim, so you can't get the wheel out from the brakes when the brakes are at their working position. The quick-release lever - or the slot where you can slip a cable or housing out of position - lets you release the brake enough to remove the wheel without unclamping the cable.



Once you've finished the installation, squeeze and release the brake lever (the one at the handlebar) HARD several times. This will help the cable and housing seat in their final working position. You'll have to readjust the cable after doing this. With any luck you'll be able to use the barrel adjuster to do that, but it's possible you'll need to re-clamp the cable.

[tzvia]

I just love the Park Tools website, there are great instructions for things like repairing/adjusting brakes: http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/cantilever-brake-service.

[laura*]

I got some salmon kool stop Eagle 2

The Eagle's are a really old design from the 1980's. They were meant for mountain bike cantilever brakes.

Today there are many choices that are more compact and which may better fit your cyclocross style cantilevers.

[Antaresia]

Thanks, it was just a screw I had to turn and I got them to fit now.

My new problem is that no matter how hard I try, I can't get the nut that holds the pad to the caliper tight enough. The pads keep sliding around, I feel so hopeless that I can't do this one simple stupid task of replacing break pads. I'm going to have to take my bike to the LBS tomorrow, crappy embarrassing Saturday here I come.

[Melalvai]

Last night my daughter said 'I need you to look at my brakes'. Her rear brake was rubbing the tire. I was able to adjust it so it was off the tire, but then it was rubbing the rim. I called our bike mechanic and he came right over. (We don't have a bike shop, but there's a guy who does free lance bike repair, and he makes house calls!) He has been telling me that as much as I ride, I ought to be more self sufficient as to my bike maintenance. So he didn't just fix it, he showed me what to do.

Now I want to take the brakes off on all my bikes and see if I can fix them! But I will start on my daughter's old bike (too small for her now) and my husband's bike (he doesn't ride anymore), instead of a bike that gets ridden (mine).

I have been shown how to do brakes before. I've watched all the videos and read all the articles. I don't know if he's the first one to show me in a way I could understand, or if I'm just more comfortable with bike mechanics after a few years of riding, or what. Maybe I just needed to be shown & told ten times before I can absorb it.