Issue with Shimano cantilever rear brakes, spring issue?
Issue with Shimano cantilever rear brakes, spring issue?
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Discussion

London1986

Original Poster:

372 posts

67 months

Yesterday (22:53)
quotequote all
Hi all, I have inherited an old hand-me-down bike which I planned to temporarily use to see if I want to get into cycling more regularly.

I have attached images below.

The front brakes work fine however the rear brakes not so much. They seem to have a tension issue. I've watched countless Youtube vids and adjusted the brakes however there still seems to be issues with the tension. When I pull the brake lever, they don't seem to be as springy as the front brakes, I have to pull them quite hard and even then the brakes don't stop the rear wheel. I have tried adjusting the tension in the brake cable but to no effect.

Also when I do pull the rear brake lever, it doesn't return to its original position once released. Wondering if this is part of the issue?

I am new to bikes so please excuse my lack of terminology.

Any ideas or pointers that can put me in the right direction of what the issue is?














Super Sonic

9,961 posts

70 months

Yesterday (23:11)
quotequote all
Friction in the cable. It's probably rusty and needs replacing.

London1986

Original Poster:

372 posts

67 months

Super Sonic said:
Friction in the cable. It's probably rusty and needs replacing.
Thank you, I've googled that and it does seem like that could be the cause. I will try and replace that and see if that fixes the issue