Tightening The Brakes - MINSK Repair Manual

Once the wheel is free to move, you force it backwards, thereby tightening the
chain, by turning the #13 nuts on the threads found on both sides of the back
wheel just behind the nuts mentioned above. Of the pair of #13 nuts on either side,
it is the ones furthest to the rear which you must screw clockwise to push the back
wheel backwards. But first you must loosen the two #13 nuts at the front of the
threads on both sides (they are locking nuts but can also be used to force the wheel
forward if you turn them anti-clockwise).
Start with the rear nut on the right-hand side as this is the side the chain is on.
Give this nut a few turns. The chain will begin to move up and tighten. Then copy
the same amount of turns on the left-hand side rear #13 nut. When the chain is
tightened correctly it will be possible to tap it with your fingers and wobble it a
bit, but not a lot – it must not be tight or taught. Or to be more exact, the chain
should have 2.5-3.5 centimetres of slack – that is how far it is from its maximum
height to its minimum height when you push up the chain and then let it fall back
down.
A word of advice – just tighten the chain a bit as it is easy to over do it. Never
tighten it too much.
When happy with the chain's tightness, give the wheel a spin to ensure that it
is straight. You can use your thumbs to make sure that both sides of the tyre are
equidistant from the frame. Then tighten up all the #13 nuts. Finally, don't forget
to loosen the back brake as tightening the chain also tightens the back brake. See
the next section for details on how to do this.
Tightening the Brakes
The brakes work when two adhesive pads are forced into the inside of the
wheel. Chinese brake pads are more sticky but wear down quicker than their
Russian counterparts which last longer but don't stick so much. Over time the
pads wear down until eventually you have metal on metal. The brakes then make a
loud vibration noise when applied. Then you know that the pads have either worn
out or contain too much dust. Replace or be prepared to clean them. Drilled into
the brake pads are a number of holes with metal at the bottom of them. You know
the brakes are finished when the pads have been worn down to the same height as
the metal.
As the pads wear down you compensate their thinness by tightening the front
brake cable or the back brake rod. When you can't make this adjustment any
more, it is time to replace the pads.
Some bikes have weak brakes because the metal surface inside the wheel
which touches the brake pads when applied is not perfectly round. In these cases
only a limited surface area on the brake pads actually touches the wheel and there
is less friction and braking effect.
If your front brake is weak then you can strengthen it by tightening the brake
cable. You do this by turning up (anti-clockwise) the thread through which the
brake cable emerges from its casing before connecting to the brake lever arm.
©Digby Greenhalgh 2000
Minsk Repair Manual
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