We have a half decent bmx (Haro), but the u-brake is awful (No name job).
I have an avid sd v-brake lever – can I use this for the lever?
Please suggest a source of a cheap but working u-brake (and maybe a lever…)

Cheers

A v brake lever will work
Brake wise
second hand – maybe pinkbike bmxtalk ebay
new – maybe source or winstanleys etc

V brake levers pull too much cable, so your brakes would be worse still.

DiaTech 990 or 996 (Hombre) are decent brakes. Try Billy’s for them as they are the retail arm of Ison Distribution who bring them in.

Brakes on a bmx, you won’t fit in with the cool kids

Squeaky pads apparently give the best stopping power as they are a soft compound. Annoying as hell but mine work pretty well for a bmx brake. I get the impression bmx brakes never work well. You do get used to them not working though. Bit of a shock after coming from disks.

No reason for them not to work.

Decent parts with a well lubed quality cable, and a well set up brake will lock the wheel. Soft pads do help too though, as do chrome plated rims.

Soft pads screech like freak though. Kool Stops (the brick red ones) worked for me and keep the cable as short as possible (no bar spins for me anytime soon 😆 ), oh, and ditch the gyro if you have one.

My Haro (a Nyquist) had useless brakes- you could see the calipers bending and I think the rims were pretty slidy. I left the front on just as a basic arrestor but it was good for nothing even with koolstops. I was going to try trials pads next.

Quality brake / lever with good pads and setup properly (oiled linear cable, light spring tension, careful pad adjustment relative to rim, use a mavic rim rubber on the rim)

I rode bmx – race, DJ, park, street for years – no issues with stopping power or modulation. Saw many bmx with bad brake setup, it requires some technique to get right, many mechanics who did not ride bmx will not know how to get it right

What he says^^^

Thanks all….off to find a better brake – this one does flex.