[johnbryanpeters]

I just bought a cheap Haro BMX and it has linear pull brakes that don't work worth a damn. I'm used to cantis, side pulls and disks, so I tried the obvious, took the slack out of the cable, figured out that there's an adjustment that allows control of return spring tension on each arm, which allowed me to get them reasonably centered, shoes are aligned OK, but they still seem to have very little stopping power. Am I missing something or are they just cheap crummy brakes?

(I can post the brand tomorrow - the bike's at work)

J

 

[binary visions]

If you're looking for a cheapo solution, my first thought would be to give the pads a good sanding and clean the rims really well. If that doesn't improve things, and you really want to avoid buying new brakes, try to find a set of pads to toss on there.

The other possibility, of course, is that the housing and cables are old and the housing is flexing a lot.

Is it tough to squeeze the lever, or does the brake lever have a whole lot of throw before you get anything? Or do you feel like you're getting good clamping power and they're still sliding?

If you're getting too much lever throw, you can increase the tension on the brake cable by unscrewing the nut that the brake housing feeds into on the levers. May not help, though.

They may just be crappy brakes, I'm just throwing out some ideas.

What I'd do:
-Sand the pads
-Clean the rims

Test the brakes, if they still suck:
-New brake line housing (since I always have a bunch around, it's free to try), maybe a new cable since it's only a buck or so

Test the brakes, if they still suck:
-Try to find free or almost free pads.

If I couldn't find the pads, or if they still suck, I'd hit up eBay for something cheap and decent to replace 'em.

 

[johnbryanpeters]

Good clamping power, limited stopping power. I'm thinking that the calipers are flexy.

 

[binary visions]

Could be, if you're getting good clamping power it'll either be that the brakes suck, or the pads suck. Do you have another set of linear pull brakes or a friends brakes you could swap the pads over from for a trial run?

 

[johnbryanpeters]

Prob'ly not worth it. I'll just look for some good brakes. Suggestions?

BTW, the brakes are Tektro.