Tell me about - cheap Shimano V brakes

Just replace the cable! Most bikes don't have anything stopping you locking the wheel up, short of the poor efficiency of the brake.

Brake levers are generic, and the cables are too.. The problem comes with how the cable is terminated. The brake lever end is always the same, its the same little cylindrical nubbin.

The brake end, may just be screwed onto the brake assembly, or it may have another nubbin of some sort on it. If it is a bare end, then it is dead easy to replace.

are they actually v brakes, or cantilever?

i'd say chop that power adjustomodulationcrap out of that, put on a standard cable... as long as your brakes are sprung otherwise you'll have no return...

edit: need pix

My post count was an Iron Maiden album there for a moment

ah one of those things

just a spring in a cylinder

fook it off , made for numpties

from the shop you will need a pre stretched inner ( non road type ie the common barrel type ) stainless if memory serves me
and an arm stretch length of brake outer ( coil wound not straight wires , thats gear lol ) its good if its got an inner for the inner to run in , just have a look to see if theres a plastic tube inside the coil of the outer . youl also get 2 cable ends and a bit to crimp on the inner

depending on the shop you might get one thats good and cost about £3 ( thats what i used to charge ) you may be offered names such as odyssey slik , or even a braided outer but you don't need that

pick up some light lube if you don't have any , but you will of course otherwise what are you using on your chain !

once home make a cuppa and have a sit down , wasnt that such a hassle lol best to avoid the bike shop on a saturday in the future

time to crack on by cutting the old inner off , undo the remains from the v and get the inner out of your chosen lever

i ignore the old outer as a reference due to them always being too long , you don't need enough cable to turn the bars 20 times but keep it long enough so you can get 3/4s worth ( more cable is more stretch , the modulation comes from your finger , experience tells that finger what to do )

at this point i have the adjuster on the lever wound in but out enough so the slot is pointing down ( wont let rain in as easily )

use decent cutters and make sure the cut coil isnt intruding over the hole for the inner

take inner and run it through the outer to make sure it moves freely

then take it out again

on my own bikes i file the casting marks off the barrel on the inner , if you don't know why you wont feel the benefit so its up to you to decide if its worth it , besides its valuable tea drinking time . you did make another cuppa didnt you

at this point id make sure the parts are clean and there isnt excessive slop in the lever . there will be a bolt holding the arm to the body of the lever that can be tightened to dial it out but there mustnt be any friction and its a moving part so a bit of lube will be reet

i also lube the cutout where the barrel sits but unless your a nutter like me who will spend a lot of time keeping the bike in perfect fettle use a grease

you might want to remove the v and either lube/grease the mounts or depending on condition wire wool then lube/grease

with the brake off its easier to get a file to the pads to rasp off the glaze

my personal preference is a very light feel at the lever so go for the middle hole on the forks if theres a choice

so with the brake back on pop the inner into the lever , take the lube and literally pour it through the outer so it pours out the bottom and onto your shoes

sorry

run the inner through the outer then through the brake

its best to do the setup without tension on the brake , if you have long "springs" ( just a length of steel on each side ) pop them off , if not shame

put the pads square against the rim then grab whatever generic credit card type thing and put it on the rear edge of the pad and tighten , thatl be toe adjusted then

grab the end of cable hanging from the arm of the v and pull it so the pads are firm against the rim , hold both arms with one hand and with the other hold the cable so you can take our hand off the arms and they stay against the rim , with your removed hand gently squeeze the lever to the point where you would like the brake to bite but no more , tighten cable

check for feel/preference

mmmm silky

clean braking surface with white spirit

and have a cuppa

Junk the modulator thing, and itll fit together like a normal v-brake. If your local to southampton i can give the bike a once over if you like?