Brakes...

[SadieKate]

No, clean the RIMs with alcohol. Clean the brake PADs by scuffing them with an emery board. Make sure you keep it flat so that you don't change the angle of the toe-in. Pads will glaze with use or just sitting around.

If the brakes feel soft, Melalvai is right on.

[Catrin]

No, clean the RIMs with alcohol. Clean the brake PADs by scuffing them with an emery board. Make sure you keep it flat so that you don't change the angle of the toe-in. Pads will glaze with use or just sitting around.

If the brakes feel soft, Melalvai is right on.

Ooops, thanks for catching that. It is only the right brake that feels mushy, and I know most of the braking power isn't from that brake. Hoping this will fix it, and thanks again!

[Catrin]

When I squeezed the levers in my apartment where it was nice and quite, I noticed a lot of noise coming from rear brake cable housing. Very odd in that it seems to be coming from the actual rubber, so that in itself may not be a matter of concern.

The right lever is coming noticeably closer to my bar, but I can't budge the barrel adjuster - and I looked it up to make certain you ladies meant the black thing and not the little red thingie. Thingie = technical term

[Hi Ho Silver]

For most simple adjustments, you can go to the Park Tool web site for instructions - they have drawings and such to help you out : http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-...ice-and-repair

[Catrin]

Thanks for the link!I am just going to wait and take it to my LBS as soon as I can, I couldn't adjust the barrel adjuster at all, in any direction (and I did look it up on the internet to make certain I had the right part). I doubt the noise coming from the rear rubber housing means anything.

Hopefully I can get it there Thursday as I am taking that day off.

[OakLeaf]

I doubt the noise coming from the rear rubber housing means anything.

I wouldn't be so quick. The cable is supposed to glide smoothly through the housing. It has to be hanging up pretty badly before it will make noise. There's probably either corrosion or a whole lot of crud in there and it's going to need to be replaced. Hearing a noise and the brake feeling soft are probably coming from the same problem - the cable going erratically and slowly through the housing.

Still, you're right that if you can't bring the bike to a stop at all, it's not the rear brake that's responsible. Front brake alone is plenty on pavement with reasonable traction when you're not going a million miles an hour. I'd still suspect glazing if the front brake feels normal at the lever but just doesn't work. Two thousand miles is enough to glaze, not nearly enough to need replacement.

[Catrin]

Thanks Oak, that would make sense that there are likely two different things going on. I couldn't remember hearing the noise before, and it also comes from the front rubber housing when I really hit the brakes - but not as loud as the rear.