Hi, my daughter is 8yrs with a recently purchased Mountain Bike. My question is what are the fundamentals of tuning it up for summer,also her hand brakes seem extra hard to pull in how would I make them easier and still safe? Any assistance appreciated!
RJ

 

A basic tune-up consists of airing up tires to the proper presuure, truing the wheels, and adjusting the four cables - 2 brakes & 2 derailleurs.

The brake pads should be about a 1/16" from the rim when trued. The shoe might have about 1/8" toe on the back side. Almost all cable operated brakes have a barrel adjuster on them. If the locking nut has any threads showing between it and the top of the barrel then you can back it off a little and gain a little hand brake. This is usually enough.

Believe it or not - the front brake needs to be better adjusted than the rear. There is over 60% of the braking power up front when used correctly.

Cables should not have any slack when properly adjusted. Both derailleurs have in and out limit screws. They keep the derailleur from over shifting of either the chainrings or freewheel cogs. The slack in the cable comes when the derailleur is in the full forward position (usually the little chainring and smallest cog).

You will need metric wrenches to adjust the cables clamps, and a 6" or 8" adjustable wrench to toe the shoes. I can't recommend the proper size spoke wrench, because I do not know what gauge the spokes are.

Truing the wheel is by far the most difficult part. A true wheel is round and does not wobble side to side.

This entire procedure only takes about 15 or 20 minutes at a bicycle shop. We used to get $15.95 for a basic tune-up. They were free during the first year of purchase.

 

ok when did you work in bike shop 15.95 for a tune up try starting at 60.00 dollors going up to 160.00 in the town where i live or if you need a flat fixed thats 7.00 juust to check and make sure thr shifting system works is 20 or 30 if you want new cables the same for the brakes fitting a new chain is 15 which seems cheap to me and wheel adjustment is 15 per wheel wheel hub rebuild is 20 and so is headset rebuild and miscellanelous repairs dont know what they mean by it is 55 an hour so it must of been back in the day when you worked in a bike shop thank god i know how to do all of this myself

 

This post is seven years old. That may have been the price then.

 

yeah i saw that after i posted my reply well just goes to show how much things have gone up

 

Ok the post is old but there is some bad information.
And BTW the price for a tune up in the late '70s was 14.95 in my shop.

CAUTION on adjusting front brakes !.......If you make the front shoes too close to the rim like 1/16 or even 1/8 all you need is the rider to accidently spin the bars around while in storage or in the garage then the next time they make a right turn the front brake applies hard automaticly and a header accours throwing the the rider over the handle bars. I speek from experience.
I was lucky the customer didn't sue my pants off !
The front brake cable wrapped around the head tube tightening the close adjustment I had allready made then the rider unknowingly turned the bars around 360 degrees making vertualy a paper thin clearance between the rim and shoes. I was SHOCKED at the customer's scabs on her face and arms when she brought back the bike to be checked out.
So I NEVER make tight front brake adjustments anymore.
I allways leave enough slack for the bars to go 360 degrees and NOT lock up the front brakes.

Oh yea, our tune ups also included adjusting the headset, bottom bracket, and both hubs. You can't get a wheel true if the axles are loose in the hubs just the same you can't adjust the front gears with a loose bottom bracket.
Check pedals, handle bars, and seat for good and tight hold. Safety first.