How to Adjust Your Child’s 1st Hand Brake
Adjust the brake lever reach and spring tension to work for small hands.
In this tutorial we’ll learn how to set up your child’s first hand brake. Often the excitement of getting a new bike with a hand brake quickly turns to disappointment when your child tries to use it, only to find the lever is too far from the handlebar and hard to pull. On most children’s bikes this is easy to fix.
Tools
For this job you’ll most often need a 10mm wrench to adjust the brake cable bolt, and a small metric allen key or phillips (+) screwdriver for the lever’s reach adjustment. When adjusting cables it also makes things a lot easier if you have a 4th hand cable puller. We’ll assume your brake pivot and pads are already adjusted as explained in the sidepull caliper tutorial. Search the site for “How to Adjust Sidepull Caliper Brakes” to learn more about this style of brakes.
Lever Adjustment
First you’ll need to loosen off your brake cable bolt. You don’t need to remove it completely. This will allow you to adjust the brake lever’s reach. On the lever you should see a screw or bolt on the inside close to the handlebar. This is the reach adjustment screw. As you turn this screw you’ll notice the lever move closer to the handlebar grip. Turn it just enough so you child can easily reach the lever, but not too far, as it still needs to be able to move enough to pull the brake.
Now re-adjust and tighten your brake cable. This is where the 4th hand tool comes in handy, as it will grip and pull the cable for you while you tighten the bolt.
Reach Adjustment
Once the reach is set up and the brakes are working, your child may find the lever is close enough but hard to pull. This is caused by high spring tension on the back of the brake caliper. To relieve some of this tension, you can push the spring in toward the wheel on both sides. I use an old screwdriver that I’ve ground down to a have a concave end just for this purpose, so it doesn’t slip and gouge my knuckles. Push just enough so it gives a tiny bit. You don’t want to push the springs too much as they still need some tension to pull the brakes back outward.
Related Links
Recommended Tools
- Hozan 4th Hand Cable Puller
- Park Tool HXS-1.2 Hex Wrench Set
- Park Tool Wrench Combo Set
- Park Tool SD-Set Shop Screwdrivers
- Park Tool SK-3 Starter Mechanic Tool Kit
- Park Tool PK-3 Professional Tool Kit
Categories
Discuss this topic in the Bicycle Repairs and Mechanics Forum
What jockey wheel Red 10 Speed
Latest post 15 hours agoCan anyone advise what type of replacement jockey wheel I need for a 10 speed Red rear mech (it's got 11 teeth)? Bonus points if it's a link to a cheap (ish) one! Thanks...
Read moreOperation of Santa Monica Ebike
Latest post 4 days agoHello - new owner with an How to Operate the bike question. Hopefully, this is easily answered I Bought this bike a few weeks ago - Tested many bikes and finally landed on this particular Santa Monica. However, got busy with Christmas shopping, Life, and not so great weather days distracted me from riding. I also test drove so many that I forgot how to operate it.... I "thought" I remembered, ...
Read moreGrip Shifters
Latest post 4 days agoCurrently renovating a child's bike. It has 24 inch wheels and is a suitable size for a 7-10 year old. Anyway it has grip shifters. it is a six speed with three chain rings on the front derailleur. On the rear derailleur the shifter does not appear to move the gear cable at all when shifting from 6 to 5 and 5 to 4. I am actually holding the cable with my finger and thumb against the cable cas...
Read more9 speed chain on 8 speed bike
Latest post 6 days agoAll of my bikes are 7 or 8 speed and sometime in the past I bought a 9 speed chain for some unremembered reason. is there any reason not to use it on an 8 speed bike?...
Read moreRemoving and refitting rear wheel on belt drive bike?
Latest post 3 weeks agoI have a Gazelle Esprit belt drive bike with hub gears which has a rear puncture. Can someone advise me on how to remove and refit the wheel? I'm aware that it can be quite complicated, but I have no option other than tackling it myself. The photos were taken with the bike upside down. IMG_20250122_105320.jpg (Size: 77.51 KB / Downloads: 16) IMG_20250122_105428.jpg (...
Read moreGears and derailleur misalignment
Latest post 1 month agoMy Trike.jpg (Size: 57.65 KB / Downloads: 29) Wife Trike.jpg (Size: 60.74 KB / Downloads: 29) Although I have ridden bikes on and off since a kid (75 years old now), I have very little experience with anything other than a single speed bike. I recently purchased a new 7-speed Gospel adult tike, which needed assembly. My wife has the same model trike but older and p...
Read moreHow often check or change mechanical disc brakes
Latest post 1 month agoI'm curious—how often or after how many miles do people typically check or change their mechanical disc brake pads? I've been bikepacking for a while but never really followed a maintenance schedule. A few weeks ago, I took my bike to a mechanic because I heard some noise. The mechanic did a quick overhaul, and I was sent on my way. However, a few weeks later, while descending steep hills, I s...
Read moreShifting is almost impossible
Latest post 2 months agoMy wife's road bike has Shimano Sora shifters with a triple front derailleur (stock). The thumb switch on the front shifter is VERY hard to use and she can't do it when she's riding. I did a full adjustment of the front derailleur but it didn't change anything. One thing that I noticed is that the shifter works smoothly when the shifter cable is unattached from the derailleur, suggesting that the ...
Read more7-speed bicycle with bent rim
Latest post 2 months agoI recently bought a 7-speed bicycle practically brand new it still has a little rubber nipples on the tires apparently it got backed into in the garage and it bent the rear rim sideways my question is can I go out and buy another just like single speed 20 inch bicycle and put the 7-speed cassette onto that rim?...
Read moreTrek domane tyre
Latest post 3 months agoHi I have a trek domane 2.3, and I have changed the rear tyre to 28 (it was 25 originally) The tyre rubs with the brake arm (v brake), I fear it doesn’t seem to be compatible Is there any way to adjust the position of the brake arm? I just need it to ne around 2mm higher Thanks...
Read moreSchwinn meridian rear drive axle
Latest post 3 months agoRecently bought a slightly used 26" meridian trike. While replacing wider tires on the rear, I noticed an issue with the rear drive side wheel hub. The wheel is held on with a nut and single washer. The hub is not held firmly in a location on the axle and is able to slide back and forth on the axle a good half inch even though the nut is tightened all the way down to its bottom threads on the axle...
Read moreBianchi Oltre Pro Garmin Mount
Latest post 3 months agoI am wondering if anyone can help me with the garmin mount that came with my recently purchased Bianchi Oltre Pro. I was on a ride descending and the mount flew off, landing in the middle of the road with my garmin head unit. Luckily the head unit still works with a few minor scratches and cracks. From the picture you can see that it was not that the screws came loose, it was in fact the part of ...
Read moreShimano Deore cassette with SRAM Apex mech
Latest post 3 months agoHello, I'm running an Apex setup on my gravel bike, 40T front to 11-42T back. Could I swap in an 11-46T Shimano cassette (11-speed all round)? Just considering options, as my Apex 11 speed cranks don't go lower than 40T...
Read moreBearing grease
Latest post 4 months agofound. please del! sorry...
Read moreBroken Bottom Bracket
Latest post 4 months agoAfter 6,000 or so touring miles, the bottom bracket on my Trek 920 broke. Does anyone know what is compatible for a replacement? If I were to choose to replace the entire drive train, what would be compatible? Finally, if I were to replace the drive train, should I go with a 1x for gravel?...
Read more