I love my Schwinn Gateway (Target bike, also called Wayfarer to Schwinn or Kmart, or Admiral in Walmart).

Recently, I've discovered yet another reason why, when I tried to repair a flat tire on a freebie mountain bike.


Zoomie's brakes

Zoomie has V-brakes, or linear pull, where there is a little metal elbow sitting into a bracket. All I have to do is squeeze the brake arms together and the noodle comes out of it's little holder and the brakes open wider to let the wheel come off.


brakes on Foreman (left) and Chainless (right)

All the other bikes we have now (blue one, Foreman, Chainless, and even the brand new Next Parowan) have side-pull brakes. I can't see an easy way to release them to remove the wheel.

Is there a trick I'm not noticing to them? If not, can I buy something to install to make these brakes easier to deal with? If it's as easy as possible to fix a flat (or anything else that goes wrong), the other people in the household might warm up to riding with me more.

Those are some unfortunate brake systems -- better sidepulls have had quick releases for decades.

One thing you could do is to adjust the cable length so that the barrel adjuster is as far out on the threads as prudent in use, then you could screw it in to open the pads when you need to install/remove the wheel. I have a feeling you'll still have to let some air out of the tire to install/remove it though. Might have to get used to that.

1. See if there is a release in the brake lever as this is sometimes where it is located.
2. Set the brakes up so the cable adjuster is screwed all the way out when the brakes are adjusted properly. Then you thread it in to gain clearance to remove a wheel.
3. Install the wheel with the tire deflated and inflate it in place.
4. There are in-line cable adjusters you can install to supliment the built in ones and gain even more slack.
5. Carry a wrench to loosen the cable clamping bolt when the wheel need to be removed or installed. Use the same wrench to tighten the cable after the flat is fixed.

+1 on Hillrider's suggestions. I tend to use #3 the most with those types of brakes. I deflate and inflate. Yes, it's inconvient, and there is the cost of pumping it up, especially in the field, but you gotta do what you gotta do. If you try to do Hillrider's #2 suggestion, that might work, but most of the brake levers on a bike of that quality have such a bad cable adjuster or brake lever body that it strips and does NOT stably hold the brake cable with much extension. So usually, I just stick with #3.

You can try #5, but the galvanized brake cable and the poor pinch bolt/nut combination is designed to not survive too much re-adjustments. So if you need to keep loosening and tightening the cable, it's likely to fray/break where the pinch bolt clamps the cable and then the short strands that start to unravel can be a painful reminder of why you should just revert to #3 and deflate the tires when you jab your fingers on the next wheel service.

Remember to bring a cone wrench with 13-14-15-16 mm variable slots and a flat screwdriver. Why? Because if you remove the wheel, chances are you will knock the brake center off and the design of most of these cheap calipers is to be unstable to centering. You need the cone wrench to stick it in the flats where the caliper springs attach to recenter. Count yourself lucky if you have flats. There is an even cheaper caliper brake looking thing that has no flats to re-center. Instead, you take a screwdriver, reach from behind and under the rear stay bridge or under the fork, poke the end into one of the spring coil loops and pivot that side down to push the arch back in place.

And still it may not stay centered. That adjustable crescent wrench is also handy because you can usually use it to bend caliper where the brake shoe mounts so there is a natural toe-in toward the front (helps reduce squeal).

+1 on #3,
Let the air out of the tire , if you are not mending a puncture ..
and its done for you..
put the repaired punctured tire back in, first, then Pump up the tire.

Thank you for this simple, to the point, sensible advice.
Seems logical once you know.
Tube is punctured but not quite fully flat, knobbly tyres stopped wheel from dropping out, after coming onto forum ( not before consulting 3 books) and reading this post I went out and released the last bit of air then just squashed tyre in at sides and out came the wheel.
I had worked out where I would have to undo the brakes if it came to it but didn't want to.
My favourite brakes are cantilever, next are these side pull, worst are V brakes but I don't see cantilever these days. I've never had cantilever or side pull squeal like V brakes do matter what pads are used. Am glad I'm not forced into undoing the side pull.
Cheers

BTW, Your Top one , the V brake Noodle comes out, if the cable is not too tight like it is for a very close pad to rim gap adjustment ..

none of these are any thing but lowest cost components, still its the brake pads that can change things.

best brakes cost more than your whole bike, so you need to be realistic.. just make them stop the bike ..






....

You can also remove one of the brake pads to allow removal or installation of a fully inflated tire if your brakes lack a cable release device. Just remember to put the pad back before you ride off!

V-brakes use spherical washers that let you set toe-in (setting the trailing edge of the pad to hit the rim slightly before the leading edge) without having to bend the caliper itself, which is what we had to do BITD to stop brake squeal. Many modern cantilevers also use spherical washers for this.

Upgrade to Campagnolo brake levers that have the release at the lever?

Also at least drop bar versions of Tektro levers.

We could probably keep talking about this. I do take on board any advice but I hoped I had made mention of the fact that a professional bike mechanic had tried to fix the problem. Different brake pads were repeatedly tried without much success, at least not enough. I judged it by the reaction of people on the street and if they got they fright and I was embarrassed by the extremely loud squeal and was trying to stop without braking or by using the better of the two brakes then I knew there was a problem. I cannot imagine a professional bike mechanic with his own business for so many years not thinking of re adjusting the brakes, even I could think of that. I gave up only after absolutely everything had been tried several times over. I can accept the bike might have been unusually difficult. It was an unusual style with wide tyres and rims. However the other bike I had with similar problem had standard width rims and the problem was fixed by what they did with the rims.
As for cost of brakes versuses cost of bike, I don't expect top of line brakes and have been happy with side pull on my other bikes. I think something may have been missed in this thread which started from my thanking someone for their advice about side pull. The rest was a side issue. It might have been I could learn something along the way.
The cantilever brakes I previously had were on a Giant Rincon which I bought about 30 years ago and rode for over 20 years. It was a moderately priced mountain bike of it's time so I don't think the good brakes on it were worth more than the bike but they would be more expensive now. I just lament not having them.
At 68 years old and having ridden since childhood I like to think I'm realistic but just stopping the bike isn't enough when the squeal is shattering. When there are alternatives I will choose them.

There is hardly anything that can't be made a little bit cheaper and a little bit worse.

I love your comment as depressing it may be ! If i knew how to reply with a Smilie I would do so. Something for me to learn.

Just found out how......