Bicycle Mechanics - Adjusting LX V-brakes

My new bike has these Shimano LX brakes. The left brake pad is closer to the rim than the right, and I want to center them. On my old bike I could move the pads separately, but these are different. Before I start messing things up, could someone please advice me? Is it the small philips screws at the bottom that take care of this?

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Images/Models/Full/1080.jpg


Thanks in advance,
Erling.

yes, the small screws on either side control spring tension. if you want one side to spring out further, tighten the screw. be careful not to strip it.

yes, the small screws on either side control spring tension. if you want one side to spring out further, tighten the screw. be careful not to strip it.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/ozstubacca/Cycling/V_centering.jpg

That was fast! Thanks, guys!
Erling.

And when you put new pads on, be sure you put all those funny little washers on the same way they came off.

On this topic my wifes bike has the same brakes and her back one does not stop as fast as her front does. What could be the cause of this. I have told her not to use the front ones as much as she does the back one since we all know what will happen when people that are going down a hill and decided to use the front brake and leaning forward does. I don't want to have to pick her off the ground while she is using me as a punching bag bleeding:) So I have told her use her back as much as she can.

Sorry 240GL for adding my question to yours but I love the pictures:)

On this topic my wifes bike has the same brakes and her back one does not stop as fast as her front does. What could be the cause of this. I have told her not to use the front ones as much as she does the back one since we all know what will happen when people that are going down a hill and decided to use the front brake and leaning forward does. I don't want to have to pick her off the ground while she is using me as a punching bag bleeding:) So I have told her use her back as much as she can.

Sorry 240GL for adding my question to yours but I love the pictures:)
Bad advice.

The back brake will never slow you down as fast as the front brake. When braking, the majority of you braking force should be through the front, and your weight moved over the rear of the bike for heavy braking or when going downhill. Learn how to use the front brake properly and you'll never go over the bars.

Read http://sheldonbrown.com/brakturn.html for more than you needed to know about braking. Lots of other good stuff on Sheldon Brown's website too.

Ok well since this is my wife that I am talking about first time mountain biker. Very new at this I relly don't want her to go flying off the front of the bike. She is new I understand she will get use to this and she will start to learn everything in time but right now I am telling her this so I don't have to pick her up off the rocks. Can you please tell me how to adjust the back brakes since they aren't the best right now?

Ok well since this is my wife that I am talking about first time mountain biker. Very new at this I relly don't want her to go flying off the front of the bike. She is new I understand she will get use to this and she will start to learn everything in time but right now I am telling her this so I don't have to pick her up off the rocks. Can you please tell me how to adjust the back brakes since they aren't the best right now?
How to adjust V-brakes - http://www.parktool.com/repair_help/howfix_linearbrakes.shtml.

Be warned - there's probably little to nothing wrong with them. Back brakes just don't pull you up anywhere near as fast. Less weight = less traction = less braking ability.

Frankly, better for her to learn proper braking than to not be able to stop in time for an obstacle, panic, and either hit whatever it is and hurt herself, or grab the front brake too hard, fly over the bars, hurt herself and prove you right.

Your call, but teaching someone how to do things the wrong way can be far more dangerous than taking the extra time and practice to teach them the right way.