Avid Juicy 3 Brake Fade
owen908
Posts: 170
During a fast descent today i noticed that my front brakes were gradually losing power and i wasnt losing as much speed as i had wanted to. I was on gravel so wasnt to keen on using the back brake excessivley but had no choice , very nearly hit a tree ; very hard.
I never touch my disc's for obvious reasons but i touched the front with the back of my hand and it was absolutley boiling. I think one of the factors of the fade is becuase of the recent heat wave we have had here in the UK which has obviously increased the brake operating temps but was wondering if anyone else sufferes from brake fade like this? :roll: Its such a sinking feeling going down a mountain and your brakes failing.
Maybe i need bigger discs? I have 185's on the Front.
I never touch my disc's for obvious reasons but i touched the front with the back of my hand and it was absolutley boiling. I think one of the factors of the fade is becuase of the recent heat wave we have had here in the UK which has obviously increased the brake operating temps but was wondering if anyone else sufferes from brake fade like this? :roll: Its such a sinking feeling going down a mountain and your brakes failing.
Maybe i need bigger discs? I have 185's on the Front.
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Comments
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the heat wave has nothing to do with it.
look to you braking style dont drag your brakes."Do not follow where the path may lead, Go instead where there is no path, and Leave a Trail."
Parktools :?:SheldonBrown0 -
owen908 wrote:During a fast descent today i noticed that my front brakes were gradually losing power and i wasnt losing as much speed as i had wanted to. I was on gravel so wasnt to keen on using the back brake excessivley but had no choice , very nearly hit a tree ; very hard.
I never touch my disc's for obvious reasons but i touched the front with the back of my hand and it was absolutley boiling. I think one of the factors of the fade is becuase of the recent heat wave we have had here in the UK which has obviously increased the brake operating temps but was wondering if anyone else sufferes from brake fade like this? :roll: Its such a sinking feeling going down a mountain and your brakes failing.
Maybe i need bigger discs? I have 185's on the Front.
Lesson number one - don't touch your discs after a hard braking session!
Lesson number two - improve your braking technique. Use your front brake as little as possible. Keep your weight back as you descend and use your back brake to scrub off speed - your front brake should be just "feathered".
If you are hard on the front brake, all your weight will be being thrown forward - if you hit a major obstacle there's a good likelihood that your front wheel will stop dead and over the bars you will go.
Also, if you hit a loose surface your front wheel may lock and slide - an almost impossible situation to correct unless you are VERY skilful.
Practice cadence braking - this is where you pump the brake levers rapidly and smoothly rather than just grabbing a handful and hanging on. It allows you to maintain control over slides, reduces the likelihood of lock-ups and also allows your brakes to cool more efficiently - which is the source of your problems!
Essentially, the fade in your brakes is caused by the fluid boiling - this allows air into the system and causes the brakes to go spongy. Hot weather doesn't help, but even in the depths of winter you will find that your rotors will be hot enought to fry an egg on after a prolonged descent!0 -
thats for the advice Dave i will certanly try to improve my braking technique. I ehar DOT 5.1 is better for higher temps also if it becomes more of a problem. Currently got Dot 4 .0
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No need really unless you're planning on racing downhill!
DOT 4 is fine for most applications. DOT 5.1 has a higher temperature tolerance, but the trade off is that it also absorbs moisture more quickly than DOT 4.0
