more help if you can this may test you

[angellonewolf]

i have a bmx bike (i know this is the elec fourm but you all have been so help full in the past)i did replace steel rims for plastic wheels like skyway wheels ( hope some of you remember these)i am good with repairs but my girls brakes do not seam to work very well i have made ajustments but no help the block are worn but look to have a fair amount of ruber left could this be down to having metal rims before and now would need other blocks for plastic rims or could this be down to the bike being 12 years old and rubber gone bad and hard ??


thanks for your help

angel

ps sorry about spelling

 

[Andrew harvey]

BMX brakes are generally poor, most of the kids around here take them of and use their trainers to stop.
The brake blocks can harden with time giving less grip and the plastic rims offer poor surfaces for the blocks to grip on.
The first thing to do would be to fit some nice new brake blocks, setting them as close to the rims as possible, to give the best pull on the levers.
If you have a giro on the rear brakes, a helmet and prayer book will both come in handy.

 

[angellonewolf]

how did we do stopies and enddows on the kirbs with carp brakes mine years ago did do all right from memory

thanks angel

 

[Lloyd_50cycles]

Skyway made mag specific pads, if you use normal pads on plastic mag wheels you will damage the braking surface. I think they were called skyway tuff pads, and kool stop did some uprated ones that also worked well with mags.

When I was a lad, we used to make sure the cable outers were lubed so minimum friction at the leaver (now a days you can just fit teflon lined cable outers), and a set of kool stops worked a treat.

The problem is the pads you are using are way too hard a compound.

Hope that helps

Lloyd