Front brake lever

[Guest]

Could anyone tell me how i'd go about reducing the tension of my front brake lever....my right wrist is quite weak and i cant pull the lever all the way in. pulled it in as far as i could manage and started a burnout and i kept juddering forwards, obviously not a good thing

[TiN]

Ideally, you shouldn't be able to pull the lever right in towards the handle bar (if that's what you meant), as that can be a bit crap for emergency stops etc. You should be able to adjust the distance between the lever and the handle bar by rotating a little disc by the lever.

There is also chance that your brakes need bleeding, calipers servicing/replacing, or pads replacing.
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TiN
dotgems.net

[Keith @ Work]

Hi

Depending on your style it is quite normal for the bike to move forward when trying to do a burnout, with the front wheel locked. You need to keep your weight quite far forward, and then get some help from someone who is some good at burnouts (that excludes me )

As Tin says the lever should not come back to the bars. There is normally a small adjuster which you can use to adjust the biting point of the brakes so that your fingers are in the right position to exert decent force just as it is needed.

If the brakes are slipping rather than the tyre slipping on the road then check the brakes over. How old are the brake pads? Are they clean (for example a leaking fork seal can easily contaminate them with oil)? Is the caliper operating freely? Is the disk badly scored?

All the best

Keith