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[Akura]

The brakes on my bicycle are terrible. More than once I've almost been hit by cars because I have trouble stopping, even using my feet to brake(plus, the ability to drive a car is apparently not a requirement to actually driving a car in New York).

Earlier today I fixed the front brake, but the rear brake simply does not work. I can't squeeze the brake handle at all. There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with the brakes itself, and I haven't found any problems with the brake wire, but I also can't find the problem in the brake handle. I'm not sure what there is that would prevent the handle from being pulled, and I don't want to try and detatching pieces because I'm afraid I might break the brake wire or accidentally detaching it and not being able to put it back in.

I suppose I could just take it to a repair shop, but I'd rather be able to fix it myself, I also probably should replace the front brake pads, since even though I just fixed the problem with them, they aren't fully stopping me, possibly because the pads are so worn down(I have not been able to use the rear brakes ever since I got the bike).

[Meph]

I dont think anyone can give you technical advice over the internet, about breaks on your bike that no one has seen, doesnt know the condition of, nor the brand and type.

[Hubris Incalculable]

and I don't want to try and detatching pieces because I'm afraid I might break the brake wire or accidentally detaching it and not being able to put it back in.

This might actually be the best course of action. I don't think there's any danger of damaging the brake cable, and a replacement brake cable is dirt cheap. Just go slowly with the disassembly, and remember what order you took out parts, and you should be fine.

Also, you can probably get more stopping power (and time) out of your front brakes by increasing the tension of/shortening the front brake cable.

[miauw62]

I agree with Meph. It's sort of hard to give advice on bikes if you can't see the bike.

Do the braking blocks on the rear wheel go down? Because if they go down and you don't get braking they're just very worn out.

If your bike is any like mine there should be a wire connecting the braking blocks above the wheel and a few screws to bring them closer together, maybe the problem is there.

[Meph]

Or just buy some Magura HS33 and be done with brake mainentance for the next ~10.000 miles.

[Hubris Incalculable]

I agree with Meph. It's sort of hard to give advice on bikes if you can't see the bike.

Do the braking blocks on the rear wheel go down? Because if they go down and you don't get braking they're just very worn out.

If your bike is any like mine there should be a wire connecting the braking blocks above the wheel and a few screws to bring them closer together, maybe the problem is there.

well, his problem is that his handle won't depress. My guess is that some part in the handle has become jammed. Generally, brake handles are pretty mechanically simple, so I'm sure it'd be a fairly trivial job to take it apart and put it back together.

[martinuzz]

Not as much advise on your current problem, but more general advise for brakes on your bicycle:

do NOT use rim brakes like mentioned in this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_brake
they will be severely hampered by rain (except maybe a few of the very expensive ones)
Also, as they wear down, they make you squeeze your brake handles harder to get the same braking effect you were used to.
That's #1 reason of brake cables snapping while trying to brake. Can get you killed.

instead use either disc brakes:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disc_brake
Their light weight is their biggest benefit,
they brake reliably in my opinion, but are somewhat less durable (it has pretty squishy parts) than

drum brakes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drum_brake
which are my personal best choice.
Brake anytime, all conditions, always.
As long as your grip and cables are fine that is

But yeah, for your current problem, as said before.
Hard to diagnose your exact problem from here.
If it's in the grip, it should be easy enough to open that up and see what's the problem. They're not very complicated.

That's all advise I can give you from bicycle nation the Netherlands

[Reudh]

Not as much advise on your current problem, but more general advise for brakes on your bicycle:

do NOT use rim brakes like mentioned in this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_brake
they will be severely hampered by rain (except maybe a few of the very expensive ones)
Also, as they wear down, they make you squeeze your brake handles harder to get the same braking effect you were used to.
That's #1 reason of brake cables snapping while trying to brake. Can get you killed.

instead use either disc brakes:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disc_brake
Their light weight is their biggest benefit,
they brake reliably in my opinion, but are somewhat less durable (it has pretty squishy parts) than

drum brakes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drum_brake
which are my personal best choice.
Brake anytime, all conditions, always.
As long as your grip and cables are fine that is

But yeah, for your current problem, as said before.
Hard to diagnose your exact problem from here.
If it's in the grip, it should be easy enough to open that up and see what's the problem. They're not very complicated.

That's all advise I can give you from bicycle nation the Netherlands

As a cyclist, rim brakes are the fucking worst thing. My front ones jammed on when I was travelling at 35km/h, flipping me over the front and damaging the front derailleur lever. My rear ones were heavily worn as well, after maybe a year of using them. Thankfully, it was a dark and stormy night on a dirt road far away from any cars.

If you're going to totally replace your brakes, go for disc brakes, they're pretty damn decent. Drum brakes are second best, in my opinion - while they're simple, they are as martin said the best all-rounder brakes.

If your brake handle simply won't depress, then there's something mechanically wrong with the cable. You can take it apart with a screwdriver to see what's wrong, really.

(also i feel the need to add, wet rim brakes lose about 45-50% of their stopping power)

[Meph]

Why the hate on rim brakes? I am a touring cyclist, have done ~80.000km, and nothing beats Magura HS33. They are hydraulic rim brakes and generally considered the best touring brakes you can get. As long as you dont do crazy mud downhill/offroad.

[Reudh]

Why the hate on rim brakes? I am a touring cyclist, have done ~80.000km, and nothing beats Magura HS33. They are hydraulic rim brakes and generally considered the best touring brakes you can get. As long as you dont do crazy mud downhill/offroad.

Well, hydraulic rim brakes are probably better than bog standard rim brakes, Meph. I can't say I've done anywhere near 80,000km over the course of my lifetime on my bike! Heh. Maybe 5,000km tops.

[Hubris Incalculable]

You know, as a casual cyclist (i.e. to work and back and fetching groceries), in a very wet climate (Lower Mainland British Columbia), I don't find I have any trouble with my rim brakes, as long as I keep them tensioned to within a quarter inch of the rim, and make sure the pads are in good condition.

[Meph]

Heh. Maybe 5,000km tops.

I did 10,000km in the last three months.

[Reudh]

o.O

Yeah, my odometer(?) reads 863km on it since i started cycling that bike, which was about a year ago with a break in between. I really need to get cycling more.

[Akura]

Bleh, turns out that brake problem was actually three. I managed to loosen the brake handle enough to actually pull, and then I found out how to tighten/loosen the brake cable at the brake end. Then I had a time trying to actually keep in place for some reason that was more trouble than it was worth. Then another part of where the the brake cable attached to the brake needed tightening. All in all, I managed to get more than an insignificant amount of braking power out of the rear brake.

[Reudh]

Bleh, turns out that brake problem was actually three. I managed to loosen the brake handle enough to actually pull, and then I found out how to tighten/loosen the brake cable at the brake end. Then I had a time trying to actually keep in place for some reason that was more trouble than it was worth. Then another part of where the the brake cable attached to the brake needed tightening. All in all, I managed to get more than an insignificant amount of braking power out of the rear brake.

I had that problem once! And the same repair worked.
In other news, my bike is out of the repair shop - turns out it had a spring that was installed the wrong way so every time I used the front brake there was a slim chance of the brake calipers pinching the spring, which would in turn lock the brakes on. The guy in the shop reckoned I was "lucky to have ridden it for a year without the brakes locking once".