I notice the left brake lever is softer than the right brake lever on my bike. It that normal?

It depends.

If both cables are new, and were properly adjusted at the start, and you use the left (usually front) brake more, that cable will stretch faster than the less used cable. All brake cables need adjustment for a slight stretch until they settle in.

rear brake?

some riders swap them around


if it's the rear, they tend to not perform as good as the front coz of the length of the cable
not to worry... that can be serviced
if it's a full length housing - you might need to change it, or if it's a 2 piece housing..change the rear part, works for me

just make sure it's the right thickness, brake housings tend to be thicker than shifter housing and cables

Left and right is meaningless here.

But, if you mean that your rear brake lever feels softer or spongier than the front, then yes it's normal. The longer cable run of a rear brake means that the cable itself has more stretch under tension than the shorter front one.

But unless the stretch is enough to allow the lever to bottom out, it's not an issue since stretching doesn't affect the tension or force transmitted lever to brake.

It isn't normal to be able to squeeze the lever so that it touches the handlebars. If you can, the brakes need adjustment.

Everything is meaningless here, we don't even know what type of brakes you have, cable/hydraulic/rim/disc etc, much more info is essential, otherwise all suggestions are pure guess work

My mtb has v-brakes. Just bought mtb several weeks ago.

Assuming 'normal' caliper rim brakes; make sure the pads are meeting the rim squarely when the brake is applied. If the top or bottom of the pad meets the rim first, the brake will feel mushy or soft. Loosening the pad holder bolt and readjusting the pads so they meet the rim 'square' will make the brakes feel much crisper.

Edit: just read the OP reply that his brakes are v-brakes but my above advise still holds true.

No, that's not normal, just need to adjust it some. I personally like my right (rear) lever softer

A: fourty two: Life, the universe and everything..

Ohhhh, I found out the cable housing slipped off from the little cylinder.

If it's just a little bit softer, you can just unscrew the barrel adjuster on your left lever a bit.

If it's way softer, you'll want to pull more cable through the anchor. It's pretty easy. Hold brake arms with left hand, unscrew cable anchor bolt a bit with right hand, then pull some more cable through with right hand (use pliers if needed), then tighten cable anchor. Check for youtube or Parktool videos on brake cable adjustment.

Hmm, so it popped out of the barrel adjuster on the lever? Sometimes people setup the brakes with the housing not in all the way and that will leave the cable way too loose.

Sometimes the housing can get pulled out of the adjuster when loading into a car, or after a crash, etc. Typically if the brakes are adjusted properly and THEN the housing gets pulled out of adjuster, that'll have the brakes locked up, however.

The other cause of "soft" braking and my first thought - broken strands in the wire, usually inside the brake lever. Since that can be the cause and leads inevitably to more, then all the strands breaking, finding the cause of "soft" brakes is one of those really important matters. Front brake? Ignoring that feeling could have you in the back seat of some stranger's car. (Breaking and entering through the rear window isn't pretty, even if the owner doesn't press charges.)

Ben

Not from the barrel adjuster on the lever. It popped out from the frame. I think yanked the cable for some reasons.