Brakes - failing on first 60 mile ride ( London to Brighton)
Comments
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Ah questions. Good.merak wrote:
You obviously have a severe problem with reading comprehension.dennisn wrote:
So, your advise to her is go buy new stuff instead of having a qualifed mechanic look at what's going on? Just get new levers? It's the only solution??? Spend a ton of money you may not need to??? And I'm not at all buying your women are weaker and have smaller hands and need SPECIAL things. It's a set of reasonably new brakes gone out of adjustment. Have someone look at it, who knows what he or she is looking at. Grippier pads :roll: :roll: :roll:
Here's my advice which was the third post in this thread:
"There are some brakes that are better for small hands - in fact, I think there are female-specific brake-shifters. Shimano are not the best in this regard - Campag tend to be better for smaller hands.
On the other hand if you're a bloke with gorilla-like mitts, a change of brake pads might help. I use Campag, but I've heard good thinsg about Koolstop.
Perhaps a visit to your LBS is in order."
How do road brakes go out of adjustment to this extent, short of pulling both front and rear cables through their clamps so both levers go to the bars? How does "going out of adjustment" prevent her from operating the brakes from the drops? Are you saying that there is no difference in braking performance of different brake pads? It's not for you to buy whether the OP needs female-specific brake levers or shims to help with smaller hands but for her - are you saying that there should be no female-specific items in cycling including female-specific bicycles?
And explain again just how your first post was helpful in any way?
Answers- How does anything go out of adjustment? Sorry, that was a question but it seemed to convey the idea.
I have no clue why she can't operate the brakes from the drops and neither do you.
Different brake pads? I'd bet money this is not a poorly performing brake pad problem, unless they are out of adjustment.
Give it rest with the woman specific stuff. Even the cheapest brakes, with the cheapest pads, on the cheapest bikes, will bring anyone to a halt as long as they are "in correct adjustment". This is no more of a FIT problem than "Jaws" was a boating accident.0 -
Change the pads I had a bike with sora brakes and it wasn't until I got a new bike with higher spec 105 and ultegra on my other that I realised how bad the sora brakes where at transferring power to the wheel. Now this could be other things like pivot points etc but deffinately worth a set of new brake blocks with a higher bite / friction and see how you get on.
Maybe a quick wipe of the rim as well with a degreeser before fitting new blocks.Felt AR4
Planet X Pro Carbon 105
MTB Kona Kikapu Deluxe with a few upgrades!!0 -
Haven't ridden Jacob's ladder, but I have ridden technical routes in Moab with similar or tougher descents with V-brakes. Once the wheels are locked, they are locked. So, no, I see no reason for choosing the extra weight and complexity of hydraulic discs over V-brakes. YMMV.mcp73 wrote:merak wrote:V-brakes are fine on mtbs...
Really? Would you care to descend Jacob's Ladder off Kinder Scout with V-brakes on a MTB? Without the hydraulics, you'd be very- what's the word? - dead.
I'm being a little flippant here, apologies.
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It failed to convey any idea whatsoever.dennisn wrote:Answers- How does anything go out of adjustment? Sorry, that was a question but it seemed to convey the idea.
She explained her difficulty up the thread but you obviously have trouble reading,.I have no clue why she can't operate the brakes from the drops and neither do you.
If you don't know that different pads give different levels of grip on the rims then you don't know very much at all.Different brake pads? I'd bet money this is not a poorly performing brake pad problem, unless they are out of adjustment.
You're simply wrong again - she explained she has very small hands and her fingers are slipping off the levers - but, hey, why bother actually trying to understand the issue and help when you can pontificate from the depths of your ignorance.[Give it rest with the woman specific stuff. Even the cheapest brakes, with the cheapest pads, on the cheapest bikes, will bring anyone to a halt as long as they are "in correct adjustment".0 -
merak wrote:
It failed to convey any idea whatsoever.dennisn wrote:Answers- How does anything go out of adjustment? Sorry, that was a question but it seemed to convey the idea.
She explained her difficulty up the thread but you obviously have trouble reading,.I have no clue why she can't operate the brakes from the drops and neither do you.
If you don't know that different pads give different levels of grip on the rims then you don't know very much at all.Different brake pads? I'd bet money this is not a poorly performing brake pad problem, unless they are out of adjustment.
You're simply wrong again - she explained she has very small hands and her fingers are slipping off the levers - but, hey, why bother actually trying to understand the issue and help when you can pontificate from the depths of your ignorance.[Give it rest with the woman specific stuff. Even the cheapest brakes, with the cheapest pads, on the cheapest bikes, will bring anyone to a halt as long as they are "in correct adjustment".
Alrighty then0 -
What are you an english teacher or just a muppet? I was typing on a phone keypad with very small letters so sorry if my reply did not meet your standards. Try and get a life.merak wrote:@oldwelshman - you can brake (note spelling) well on the hoods; so can many people. The question is, how does that help the OP to sort out her obviously very real problem? She has told us she can't apply enough braking force from the hoods and can't easily reach the levers from the drops. Various people are making detailed and sensible suggestions about what she might do to sort this out and you are regaling us with tales of your carbon rims. Thanks for the help, guy.
If you read my post you will see I did reply that there may be an issue with poor technique being a beginner, or mis adjusted brakes but you chose to ignore that.
There are a few posters on here who constantly criticise others responses for incorrect grammar, spelling etc seems like we found a new one.0 -
a new troll ?merak wrote:
You obviously have a severe problem with reading comprehension.dennisn wrote:
So, your advise to her is go buy new stuff instead of having a qualifed mechanic look at what's going on? Just get new levers? It's the only solution??? Spend a ton of money you may not need to??? And I'm not at all buying your women are weaker and have smaller hands and need SPECIAL things. It's a set of reasonably new brakes gone out of adjustment. Have someone look at it, who knows what he or she is looking at. Grippier pads :roll: :roll: :roll:
Here's my advice which was the third post in this thread:
"There are some brakes that are better for small hands - in fact, I think there are female-specific brake-shifters. Shimano are not the best in this regard - Campag tend to be better for smaller hands.
On the other hand if you're a bloke with gorilla-like mitts, a change of brake pads might help. I use Campag, but I've heard good thinsg about Koolstop.
Perhaps a visit to your LBS is in order."
How do road brakes go out of adjustment to this extent, short of pulling both front and rear cables through their clamps so both levers go to the bars? How does "going out of adjustment" prevent her from operating the brakes from the drops? Are you saying that there is no difference in braking performance of different brake pads? It's not for you to buy whether the OP needs female-specific brake levers or shims to help with smaller hands but for her - are you saying that there should be no female-specific items in cycling including female-specific bicycles?
And explain again just how your first post was helpful in any way?0 -
It's amazing how much power can be obtained from standard canti road bike brakes by resetting the angle they hit the rim at from time to time. Also cleaning the rims and pads. Swisstop pads can make a good bit of difference, particularly in poor weather.
From what I understand from the OP, she isn't experiencing subtle set up problems like size of bars, reach to levers etc, there is something fundamentally wrong. My guess would be that the pads haven't been lined up properly with the rim, it's a 2 minute job if you know what you're doing. I'd be happy to take a look but doubt if I'm anywhere near!0 -
dodgy wrote:
From what I understand from the OP, she isn't experiencing subtle set up problems like size of bars, reach to levers etc, there is something fundamentally wrong. My guess would be that the pads haven't been lined up properly with the rim, it's a 2 minute job if you know what you're doing. I'd be happy to take a look but doubt if I'm anywhere near!
I'm with you. Whatever is wrong is "a two minute job if you know what.....". She stated that she trained and this leads me to believe that her brakes must have worked well enough, at one time, to keep her from getting killed. Otherwise she wouldn't have ridden the bike(who rides a bike without brakes?). Obviously she can work the brakes or was able to at one time. Until WHATEVER went out of adjustment, went out. And like I said before "even the cheapest brakes,....., on the cheapest bikes" work well enough to stop you. Plus I have NEVER met anyone who couldn't work bike brakes. If you couldn't you sure wouldn't be out riding. Squeezing a brake lever isn't all that technical.0 -
Now now dennis be careful or the forum policeman merak will be in to scold you again if you brake, or is that break, the forum rules he wishes you to adhere to
I would take a look at the brakes for her also if close enough.0 -
i was on the same ride, and trust me -- i wasn't braking either on that descent into brighton. it was just too steep and fast and, in those conditions, even feathering the brakes would have sent me tumbling over my handlebars (already done that once this year, not looking to do it again).
that said, it took me a long time to gain confidence braking. am repeating a lot you heard here but
-- as a girl, getting short reach levers / putting in shims is key
-- ride in the drops .... can not emphasize that enough. it will also make you feel more stable.
-- learn to feather your brakes to 'control' your speed but be careful of constantly applying the brakes (you can heat up your rim, burst the tire)
-- lots of practice, as can take awhile to gain confidence (i was really unhappy on that descent too).0 -
It's not nice when you've had a "downhill experience". I'm just getting back to par after my last one.
Purveyor of "up"
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From reading this it sounds as though the 2 essential things you should do are (1. Get the brake lever shims to position the levers closer to the bar and (2. Install some new, better quality pads. Swisstop Green or Koolstop Salmon pads will improve the stopping power guaranteed. Both are available at most discount web sites. You will probably need the versions with the metal carriers included as I believe your Sora brakes come with a solid one-piece pad. See Dura Road Pad Salmon- http://www.koolstop.com/english/road_pad.html and Full Flash Pro GHP2- http://www.swissstop.ch/road.aspx0
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oldwelshman wrote:Now now dennis be careful or the forum policeman merak will be in to scold you again if you brake, or is that break, the forum rules he wishes you to adhere to
Sorry, ignorance of his rules is no excuse for me. I apoligize. :oops: :oops:0 -
Right ... bike is now in shop.. getting new pads...( they were faulty phew!) and adding shims for free, and once done .. will have a test then will begin reviewing the drops/angle and also get someone with experience to show me techniques in good/safe braking. Not only on hills.. traffic lights were a little hairy riding after the event!
Thanks all so much for the advice, really learnt some things! At least i wont be bamboozled when speaking to the bike man!0
