tighten brakes?

What type of calipers do you have?

They probably need re-balancing.

http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=21

wnowak06 said:

my brake pads are rubbing, so i shift the brakes so they dont rub, but the brakes revert back to the prevous position and start rubbing again........is there some way to tighten the position of the brakes so they stay where i put them?

If they are v-brakes (linear pull calipers), then there is a screw at the bottom of each arm. Tightening makes the arm move away from the rim, loosening does the opposite. moving the arms without changing the screws will only change their position until you compress the brakes.

wnowak06 said:

my brake pads are rubbing, so i shift the brakes so they dont rub, but the brakes revert back to the prevous position and start rubbing again........is there some way to tighten the position of the brakes so they stay where i put them?

You should check that the center bolt that bolts the brake to the frame is tight.

wnowak06 said:

my brake pads are rubbing, so i shift the brakes so they dont rub, but the brakes revert back to the prevous position and start rubbing again........is there some way to tighten the position of the brakes so they stay where i put them?

If you want an accurate answer you're going to have to give us some more specific information about what kind of brakes you have. There's several different kinds and the way that you center the brakes varies. Some are quite easy to fix and some utterly defy fixing.

wnowak06 said:

my brake pads are rubbing, so i shift the brakes so they dont rub, but the brakes revert back to the prevous position and start rubbing again........is there some way to tighten the position of the brakes so they stay where i put them?

I presume you are talking about the brakes on a road bike ...

You should go to your hardware store and buy TWO (one for the front & one for the rear) STAR WASHERS ... the star washers will prevent the brakes from rotating -- they will probably cost between $0.05US & $0.10US each OR you can go to your LBS and pay 10x that much. Bring a caliper to the hardware store so you get the right size!