How to adjust your road bike brakes?

While fitting the brakes is fairly straightforward, adjusting them to achieve effective braking without the pads touching the rim is slightly more complex. Here is how to do it.

• Time: 30 min
• Level: Intermediate
• Tools: Allen key set | Torque wrench

Steps

If you have a disc brake system, we invite you to consult How to adjust your MTB disc brakes as the procedures are quite similar.

After visually confirming that the calliper is properly centred on the frame,

1. Adjust the position of the pads so that they are well centred on the braking surface of the rim but slightly toed in at the front.
2. Now centre the pads on either side of the rim using the centring screw on the calliper.
3. Adjust the cable tension so that there is approximately 2 mm of clearance between the pads and the rim.
   Probikeshop tip: make sure the calliper quick-release lever is fully closed at this stage.
4. Finally tighten the calliper bolts to the torque specified by the manufacturer using the torque wrench.

The brake is now adjusted. It is recommended to check the adjustments and tightening after a few braking applications.