Nice idea both the fifth hand tool and retension. I think I have a hollow steel tube and shaft I could simulate this effect. thx for the lesson. My 1971 Schwinn Suburban and I thank you! :-) 😃
My pleasure Ken and thanks a lot for watching and commenting. Any small diameter hollow steel tube should do the trick. The Suburban was one of the nicest riding and most practical bikes in Schwinn's stable - I had one for getting around the city and loved it. It's nice you still have yours. Thanks again! 🙏
Appreciate you watching and all the support, Locks! When I was running The Bicycle Center in Santa Cruz, which was on Mission Street just down the road from you - a few good ideas came to me and the Langley Fifth Hand Tools was one of those. Like most inventions probably, it didn't pay much, but it came in handy in the shop for all our wrenches and it did reach lots of other mechanics who bought them from me or from the bike tool catalog The Third Hand when they were in business. So, it was a cool project overall and it was fun doing a video on them. I'm happy you enjoyed it!!
Thank you so much! I bought a mountain bike for city street riding from a homeless person and after a while got sick of those wide SLOW energy-draining tires. Then a neighbor threw out an old racing bike. I installed the front wheel and realized that the mountain bike brakes don't fit because the racing bike wheel is larger. So I had to install the racing bike brakes which are UNSOPHISTICATED with no tiny screws, as on the mountain bike brakes, to adjust even tension left and right pad . YOU taught me how to unclip the spring and spread it out evenly -- because that is the ONLY way to achieve even tension, left and right. I'm not sure I can get or manufacture myself the " Langley Fifth Hand Brake Tool," which makes this procedure so easy. btw. I cannot put the rear racing bike wheel on the mountain bike, because the cassette is 7 gears and the mountain bike's is 8 (or the reverse?). Anyways, the chain slips off left and right -- unworkable in city riding.
You're very welcome Wolfgang, thank you for watching and the great comment 🙏❤ You might see if you are able to adjust the limit screws on the rear derailleur so that the chain doesn't go past the smallest cog when shifting down and it doesn't go past the largest cog when shifting up. That sounds like the problem you're having and the limit screws are there to help with that. My friend Calvin at Park Tool has a nice short video about how to use those limit screws here: czcams.com/video/fdiRfYgHtx0/video.html Hope this helps you get that bike going. Thanks again!
Thanks a lot for watching and commenting Chris, glad you found the video helpful. I believe I still have a few pairs left. Please email me at my full name at gmail and I'll check. Thanks again!
Thanks for watching and the braking comparison idea, Detmer. I thought maybe I could find one, but the closest I found was one by GCN. Theirs is a modern disc versus modern rim brake which-stops-faster comparison czcams.com/video/uHFSSXOSnxs/video.html The only thing is they did it with carbon rims which put the rim brakes at a disadvantage especially in the wet test - but it's still fun to watch!
At the end of the video is see that te brake is only engaging on one side? I have this problem with a similar brake. Is this normal or how can i fix this plz?
Thanks for watching and the question Ruben. It's not normal. The brake should be centered so that it closes and opens evenly. The first thing to do when centering brakes is to make sure your wheels are centered in the frame. Sometimes if they've been taken off to put the bike in a car or to fix a flat they get mistakenly put on crooked. You want to make sure they're attached securely and that the wheel is centered in the middle of the fork and in the middle of the stays for the rear wheel. Now, to center a sidepull caliper brake like this, first loosen the nut that holds the brake on the frame. That will usually be a 10mm nut on the back of the fork crown (front brake) or the back of the brake bridge on the frame (rear). Once you have loosened the nut, push sideways on the brake to make sure the whole brake moves, swivels from the side to side. It might be a little stuck from being tight on there for awhile. You want it to move freely so push on it and make sure it's not stuck. Loosen the nut more and put a drop or two of lube between the brake and frame to get it free if it is still stuck. Now that the brake is loose on the frame, apply the brake by squeezing and holding its lever with your hand. Be sure that the brake is fully closed as if you are braking hard to stop quickly. Now hold the brake closed like this and while you keep it closed, with your other hand (or if you can't reach the brake ask a friend to do this), tighten the 10mm brake nut that you loosened to tighten the brake in place on the frame/fork again. You can then let go of the brake lever and try out the centering by operating the lever and watching how well the brake opens and closes. It should close evenly with both brake pads touching the rim at the same time and it should open evenly too with both pads moving away from the rim the same amount. Usually the brake will be nearly perfectly centered after this adjustment. But if it's not centered as well as you like, you can fine-tune the adjustment. To do this you use 2 wrenches. Usually it will be 2 10mm wrenches. You put one on the nut behind the fork crown. You put the other one on the very front nut on the brake. That front nut should be tightened against the nut underneath it or else this adjustment won't work. With the two wrenches on the two nuts you can move both wrenches simultaneously in the direction you need to move the brake to get it as centered as you want. The wrenches let you turn the brake's center/through bolt (the one that goes through the fork and frame) and that lets you rock the brake slightly to the right or left to fine-tune centering. Okay? I hope this explains and helps you adjust your brake. Thanks again for watching!
Thank you for this detailed explanation! I’m about ready to attempt to adjust the brakes on a 1967 Schwinn Racer. One of the rear brake pads is dragging on the rim without the brake being pulled.
Actually it seems to me that the brakes were non performing evenly: in the closing frames, the left brake (from the viewer’s viewpoint) remained inactive.
Thanks for watching and commenting Piero, appreciate it. Yes, I did not finish adjusting that last brake. Once you increase the spring tension you fully adjust the brake and center it. I only adjusted the spring tension. That brake needs a complete overhaul not just spring tension adjustment. I might do a full video on sidepull brake adjustment at some point, they're fun to work on and there are some interesting and different designs. Thanks again for watching!
@@JimLangley1 I look forward to that video. I didn’t complete my repairs either, after tensioning the spring, because I didn’t have spare brake pads and I also suspect I would need a new washer to separate the two brakes working directly against each other.
@@pieromattirolo5430 if you can find a bicycle shop that's been around for a while you might find they have a stash of old parts and might also have the small brake parts you need. You can also find used parts on eBay or anyplace used bikes are sold like swap meets, yard sales, flea markets. So it shouldn't be too difficult to find those parts Piero. Good luck!
@@JimLangley1 Sure, it’s not as bad as that: I even have some spares at home in Italy and these pads can still be found. But I am in Chamonix right now and everything here costs three times as much😅
★ WATCH this video next about a cool and rare vintage tool for fixing broken spokes czcams.com/video/qEXvu-Bc6dc/video.html
Great idea. Always looking for unusual but highly usable bike tools. Thanks. I have plenty of old bikes to service.
Thanks for watching and commenting, Oscar! Glad you like it and can use the idea!
Brilliant Jm - thank you! I don’t have the tool but at least I know how to tension the spring!
My pleasure Gordon! Thanks for watching and commenting!🙏
Nice idea both the fifth hand tool and retension. I think I have a hollow steel tube and shaft I could simulate this effect. thx for the lesson. My 1971 Schwinn Suburban and I thank you! :-)
😃
My pleasure Ken and thanks a lot for watching and commenting. Any small diameter hollow steel tube should do the trick. The Suburban was one of the nicest riding and most practical bikes in Schwinn's stable - I had one for getting around the city and loved it. It's nice you still have yours. Thanks again! 🙏
Merry Christmas from the UK Jim…⛄️
Thanks a lot, Bill. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year's to you!
This is awesome! That's so cool Jim! You're a real legend with so much experience and thanks for sharing it!
Appreciate you watching and all the support, Locks! When I was running The Bicycle Center in Santa Cruz, which was on Mission Street just down the road from you - a few good ideas came to me and the Langley Fifth Hand Tools was one of those. Like most inventions probably, it didn't pay much, but it came in handy in the shop for all our wrenches and it did reach lots of other mechanics who bought them from me or from the bike tool catalog The Third Hand when they were in business. So, it was a cool project overall and it was fun doing a video on them. I'm happy you enjoyed it!!
Thank you so much! I bought a mountain bike for city street riding from a homeless person and after a while got sick of those wide SLOW energy-draining tires. Then a neighbor threw out an old racing bike. I installed the front wheel and realized that the mountain bike brakes don't fit because the racing bike wheel is larger. So I had to install the racing bike brakes which are UNSOPHISTICATED with no tiny screws, as on the mountain bike brakes, to adjust even tension left and right pad . YOU taught me how to unclip the spring and spread it out evenly -- because that is the ONLY way to achieve even tension, left and right. I'm not sure I can get or manufacture myself the " Langley Fifth Hand Brake Tool," which makes this procedure so easy. btw. I cannot put the rear racing bike wheel on the mountain bike, because the cassette is 7 gears and the mountain bike's is 8 (or the reverse?). Anyways, the chain slips off left and right -- unworkable in city riding.
You're very welcome Wolfgang, thank you for watching and the great comment 🙏❤ You might see if you are able to adjust the limit screws on the rear derailleur so that the chain doesn't go past the smallest cog when shifting down and it doesn't go past the largest cog when shifting up. That sounds like the problem you're having and the limit screws are there to help with that. My friend Calvin at Park Tool has a nice short video about how to use those limit screws here: czcams.com/video/fdiRfYgHtx0/video.html Hope this helps you get that bike going. Thanks again!
Thanks. Will hit that video in a jiffy.@@JimLangley1
That is trick! Thanks for posting. Merry Christmas......
Merry Christmas, London. Thanks for watching and the nice comments!
Cool, I will try with a metal straw, hope it works...
Glad you liked the video, thanks for watching and commenting! A metal straw could work, great idea - let me know how it works!
Please tell me you are willing to sell a pair of those! After working on mine, I can definitely see the benefits of your creation.
Thanks a lot for watching and commenting Chris, glad you found the video helpful. I believe I still have a few pairs left. Please email me at my full name at gmail and I'll check. Thanks again!
@@JimLangley1 will do Jim! Thank you so much!
Let's do a emergency braking comparison between a vintage bike, a modern road bike and a modern road bike with disc brakes.
Thanks for watching and the braking comparison idea, Detmer. I thought maybe I could find one, but the closest I found was one by GCN. Theirs is a modern disc versus modern rim brake which-stops-faster comparison czcams.com/video/uHFSSXOSnxs/video.html The only thing is they did it with carbon rims which put the rim brakes at a disadvantage especially in the wet test - but it's still fun to watch!
At the end of the video is see that te brake is only engaging on one side?
I have this problem with a similar brake.
Is this normal or how can i fix this plz?
Thanks for watching and the question Ruben. It's not normal. The brake should be centered so that it closes and opens evenly. The first thing to do when centering brakes is to make sure your wheels are centered in the frame. Sometimes if they've been taken off to put the bike in a car or to fix a flat they get mistakenly put on crooked. You want to make sure they're attached securely and that the wheel is centered in the middle of the fork and in the middle of the stays for the rear wheel.
Now, to center a sidepull caliper brake like this, first loosen the nut that holds the brake on the frame. That will usually be a 10mm nut on the back of the fork crown (front brake) or the back of the brake bridge on the frame (rear). Once you have loosened the nut, push sideways on the brake to make sure the whole brake moves, swivels from the side to side. It might be a little stuck from being tight on there for awhile. You want it to move freely so push on it and make sure it's not stuck. Loosen the nut more and put a drop or two of lube between the brake and frame to get it free if it is still stuck.
Now that the brake is loose on the frame, apply the brake by squeezing and holding its lever with your hand. Be sure that the brake is fully closed as if you are braking hard to stop quickly. Now hold the brake closed like this and while you keep it closed, with your other hand (or if you can't reach the brake ask a friend to do this), tighten the 10mm brake nut that you loosened to tighten the brake in place on the frame/fork again. You can then let go of the brake lever and try out the centering by operating the lever and watching how well the brake opens and closes. It should close evenly with both brake pads touching the rim at the same time and it should open evenly too with both pads moving away from the rim the same amount.
Usually the brake will be nearly perfectly centered after this adjustment. But if it's not centered as well as you like, you can fine-tune the adjustment. To do this you use 2 wrenches. Usually it will be 2 10mm wrenches. You put one on the nut behind the fork crown. You put the other one on the very front nut on the brake. That front nut should be tightened against the nut underneath it or else this adjustment won't work. With the two wrenches on the two nuts you can move both wrenches simultaneously in the direction you need to move the brake to get it as centered as you want. The wrenches let you turn the brake's center/through bolt (the one that goes through the fork and frame) and that lets you rock the brake slightly to the right or left to fine-tune centering.
Okay? I hope this explains and helps you adjust your brake. Thanks again for watching!
Thank you for this detailed explanation! I’m about ready to attempt to adjust the brakes on a 1967 Schwinn Racer. One of the rear brake pads is dragging on the rim without the brake being pulled.
Actually it seems to me that the brakes were non performing evenly: in the closing frames, the left brake (from the viewer’s viewpoint) remained inactive.
Thanks for watching and commenting Piero, appreciate it. Yes, I did not finish adjusting that last brake. Once you increase the spring tension you fully adjust the brake and center it. I only adjusted the spring tension. That brake needs a complete overhaul not just spring tension adjustment. I might do a full video on sidepull brake adjustment at some point, they're fun to work on and there are some interesting and different designs. Thanks again for watching!
@@JimLangley1 I look forward to that video. I didn’t complete my repairs either, after tensioning the spring, because I didn’t have spare brake pads and I also suspect I would need a new washer to separate the two brakes working directly against each other.
@@pieromattirolo5430 if you can find a bicycle shop that's been around for a while you might find they have a stash of old parts and might also have the small brake parts you need. You can also find used parts on eBay or anyplace used bikes are sold like swap meets, yard sales, flea markets. So it shouldn't be too difficult to find those parts Piero. Good luck!
@@JimLangley1 Sure, it’s not as bad as that: I even have some spares at home in Italy and these pads can still be found. But I am in Chamonix right now and everything here costs three times as much😅