How to Disconnect Bike Brakes

Bike maintenance is very important. To keep your bike safe and performing to the highest standard, you should have at least a basic understanding of how your bike works. Bike brakes are one of the trickiest things to work on; they are also one of the most important things on your bike. You don't want to find yourself without brakes; this is why it is important to check your brakes frequently to make sure the cables are performing to the highest of standards.

Things You'll Need

  • Allen wrench
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Instructions

    • 1

      Identify the kind of brakes you have. Rim brakes have rubber clamps that pinch down on the rim when you pull the lever. This kind of brake are common on most road bikes. If your bike has disk brakes, the front and back wheels will have a round metal disk attached to them. A calipers will be attached to the fork or the frame of the bike. These calipers have small pads that press down upon the disk when the lever is pulled. Disk breaks usually are found on mountain bikes.

    • 2

      Disconnect the rim brakes: follow the brake cable down to where the brake cable locking nut connects with the brake itself. The brake cable locking nut will be an Allen wrench fixture--the size of the Allen wrench needed will differ depending on the bike.

      After you have loosened this nut, the brake cable will slide out of place. To remove the whole cable, unscrew the finger nut where the brake cable connects to the brake handle. You can now replace your brake cable or oil it and replace it to increase its performance.

    • 3

      Disconnect your disk brakes: This is very similar to disconnecting rim breaks. Follow the brake cable down to the wheel. On disk brakes, the brake cable locking nut will be found on the caliper.Loosen that nut and the cable will come free. To remove the cable completely, loosen the finger nut that connects the cable to the braking handle. Remember, if you loosen either of these nuts, your breaks will not work.