Just as we said at the adjusting brakes article “With some brakes you can just replace the brake pad and leave the shoe in place, on a mountain bike if you do this, make sure the shoe is adjusted properly so that the pad presses flatly against the rim, blocks can “toe in” a little, this means the front of the block will touch the rim first, this makes for squeak free and progressive braking.”

The only tool you need is a 5mm Allen key; Sometimes, and just in older bikes, you may need 8 or 10mm nut.  First, unscrew the old brake pads, and throw them away.

Then put the new ones to the brake bridge. (You’ll notice that this task a a lot easier on road bikes).  Make sure that pads don’t touch the tire and they are parallel on the wheel rim.

It’s the same with a mountain bike, but they are more adjustable, you have to place the washers on the bolt so that the pad is level with the rim and not touching the tire.