Bicycle Mechanics - brake cable adjustment

I know there is a simple answer to this one. I have an OCR2. The front brakes have gotten mushy from the cable stretch. I just want to tighten up the cable. The LBS showed me something about the barrel connector down close to the brakes but I missed it. There is the barrel, then below that a round lock washer.

Thanks,

Sheldon

Twist the barrel counter-clockwise as you look down on it. This in effect, elongates the housing, which tightens the cable.

Twist the barrel counter-clockwise as you look down on it. This in effect, elongates the housing, which tightens the cable.

Thanks!

Sheldon

Mushy brakes may be due to dirt (oil/rubber etc) on the rims or polished pads. If the pads are polished you can restore the surface with sandpaper.

I was tempted to adjust my brakes (Shimano 105) to the minimum clearance.. I thought "the less clearance, the better braking".. which is true, but: I did it just before a 60 mile ride with a long steep decent where I had to be on the brakes all the time. It was so steep that even letting go for a few seconds will get me to speeds which I will not be able to recover from.

Now, when the brakes are set up with a small clearance, your fingers grabbing the lever are stretched out and you don't have the opportunity to wrap them around the leaver properly cause there is very little free travel in the leaver. After a few minutes of using the brakes my hand started to cramp, and I wish I didn't set up the clearance so low..

So, now my brakes are set up with a compromise (optimized?), where there is enough play in the levers for me to get a good and comfortable grip around them, and enough room to squeeze them tight for effective stopping..

I basically adjust the clearance to the point that I can squeeze the lever as hard as I can and have only little travel left.. I'm sure this adjustment will be different from person to person, based on your riding position, hand size, and personal taste..

Twist the barrel counter-clockwise as you look down on it. This in effect, elongates the housing, which tightens the cable. Then, twist the lock nut clockwise (as you look down) until it seats on the body of the brake caliper. This prevents the barrel from "settling" back down to its previous position.