Mountain Biking - Avid Single Digit 7s....

Hey Guys

These days I've been noticing that however hard I squeeze on the front brake lever, and whatever speed and with as little space between the rims and the pads as possible, when my brake pads hit the rim, my bike won't endo, even if I try! Or maybe I m doing something wrong. Anyways, the front wheel NEVER skids or stops, leaving me going forward and not getting enough momentum to endo. Do yall think I should spend a bit on a set of Avid Single Digit 7's? I've heard they're great!

What?

Try sanding the glaze off your pads with a emory board or medium sand paper. Then with soapy water and a scotch brite sponge clean the residue off of your rims. This should make a difference in braking performance.

Are you leaning/shifting your weight forward when you try?

try toeing in the brake pads. THey give you more stopping power

yeah I try to do that, but Im also a newbie. I put too much weight on the rear part of the front wheel, lifted my feet off my pedals and fell down, but yeah, this really sucks. I've shifted my weight forward, but that puts enough force to cause my front brakes to keep on going. Either way, the front brakes just won't skid or even come close to sending me over the bars.
Anyways, are Single Digit 7's good as v-brakes for a 45kg , about 95 pound grade 8? I've seen good reviews, but I trust people in this forum more... Also, would these be better?

http://www.pricepoint.com/detail.htm?stylepkey=12384&style_id=115%20PROMD3&dept_id=3&deptName=Parts&sub_id=46&subName=Brakes/Accessories%20&lprice=34.98&hprice=34.98&detailName=Promax%20XC%203.0%20Mechanical%20Disc%20Brakes

They cost more, but include an extra lever. I can afford both easily, but I just want to know which would be more reliable for light xc/trail riding and endoing.

And how can I tell if my hubs are disc compatible. Can anyone post a pic?

And how can I tell if my hubs are disc compatible. Can anyone post a pic?

Disc hubs should have rotor mounting flanges and holes like these hubs.

http://www.chrisking.com/hubs/ISO_disc_images/230W/pewterisosetA.jpg

If you're looking to upgrade to discs, you'll need to make sure your forks and chainstay/swingarm have the proper mounting tabs too.

I've shifted my weight forward, but that puts enough force to cause my front brakes to keep on going. Either way, the front brakes just won't skid or even come close to sending me over the bars.
Anyways, are Single Digit 7's good as v-brakes for a 45kg , about 95 pound grade 8? I've seen good reviews, but I trust people in this forum more...

SD7 brakes are very good V-brakes but I think your problem might be with your setup. Any decent brakeset should be able to perform a wheel lockup. Are you bottoming out your lever? Perhaps you need to adjust the brakes so that they're hitting the rims squarely. also make sure the rim is true and that the brakes are making good even contact throughout the rotation. Make sure that both pads are contacting simultaneously too. And as others have said, try toeing them in, sanding the pads and cleaning the braking surface. If all else fails then maybe try a different pad compound before dropping cash on new brake arms.

Hmm...WEll I'll tell you this. You do remember this is a department store bike right? With the crappiest Promax pads and noname arms you will ever have. Yes, they are hitting the rims squarly and I barely even bottom out HALF the lever b4 I make full contact with rims, but I'll try adjusting them. Other wise, I will get the Single Digit 7's or maybe 5's OR 3!!! dEpends on what you all htink of em. Let's just say, no matter what, my brakes won't lock the front wheel. Can anyone tell me, from experince, how their Single digit 3's, 5's and 7's were?

Hmm...WEll I'll tell you this. You do remember this is a department store bike right? With the crappiest Promax pads and noname arms you will ever have. Yes, they are hitting the rims squarly and I barely even bottom out HALF the lever b4 I make full contact with rims, but I'll try adjusting them. Other wise, I will get the Single Digit 7's or maybe 5's OR 3!!! dEpends on what you all htink of em. Let's just say, no matter what, my brakes won't lock the front wheel. Can anyone tell me, from experince, how their Single digit 3's, 5's and 7's were?

I have the SD 3 and i find they work best with avid levers. Easy to set up and adjust. If you can get new levers go wiht the Avid Speed Dial 5. You won't regret it.

Keep in mind the inevitable purchase of new hubs, which have to be re-laced to the rims, and possible new fork with disc hangers, if not equiped, and the possibility of not being able to put discs on the back, plus new controls, plus paying an LBS to do it all, unless you can install all of the said parts yourself. Most likely your department store bike will not have a fork with disc hangers, and almost absolutely not have hangers on the back. My Trek 820 only has the hangers on the crappy RST front fork, and none on the back. BTW, what brand is your bike, i.e, what does it say on the downtube?

I got a CCM bike with the model name of Revenge. The only things on this which are sort of brand name-ish are are Innova tires, crappy Promax brake pads, and the rest is unknown. BTW it has disk hangers on both, but not disc hubs. Most department store bikes come with hangers.

Anyways, I put my eagle 2s on the front and the promax ones (the kind which came with the bike) on the rear. Both worked well, but I wish I had the pads in the back, but they are sort of expensive. Of course, I couldn't gget anyone to take a pic of my 30 stall endo cuz I was alon, but I definetly got the brakes to work. Now...if only I could cut off the excesss cable on my rear derailler, which put 4 holes in my skin at once when I touched it.

By the way, here's a pic in case you didn't see my bike.

By the way, here's a pic in case you didn't see my bike.

Can you post a closeup of the left rear chainstay? I don't spot a disc brake tab anywhere on it.

theres not one, just some eyelets for a rack, or something. The fork looks like it has one, as most OEM forks do.

I don't understand the economics of this situation. Converting to disc brakes is going to cost more than twice the original purchase price of that bike and more than three times what it's actually worth. If you've got the money to convert to discs, why not just get a new decent quality bike that has working brakes with that money? You might even find one with discs (probably mechs).

You try to tell them, but some just have to learn the hard way!

L8R

I could babble about the psychology of a 13 year old, but i'll save it. In short, we all went through the time of being 13, and these options never occur until adult guidence steps in...i remeber the times when i didn't really think that way. Its all a part of growing up.

adjust/maintain your brakes. are you riding trials? why would you want the bike to throw you off anyways?

im 40 and still do not understand why i must buy a bike at a lbs and STILL change to components i want/need to take care of my beefy butt. i need a freeride capable frame but not big shocks for big drops just something to take the edge off the roots and rocks on the trail and all my lbs has is xc or fr not a combo of both. ill just stick to starting witha frame and building 1 piece at a time.ahh to be 13 again and spend my parents money instead of 40 and spending my kids college money(kidding of course).rubbing alcohol on the rims with steel wool to clean them(fine or extra fine) should make them VERY grippy if the pads are correct as you say.

quote=kuon]I don't understand the economics of this situation. Converting to disc brakes is going to cost more than twice the original purchase price of that bike and more than three times what it's actually worth. If you've got the money to convert to discs, why not just get a new decent quality bike that has working brakes with that money? You might even find one with discs (probably mechs).[/quote]
exactly.

either:
1) find a really good deal on some Avids (i have the 5s and they're great although i ordered 7s for my new bike and the 3s are good enough for your bike)
2) adjust the brakes you have as best as you can and save up for a quality bike - used you can get semething decent for a few hundred dollars (for example my girlfriend's old 11.2kg hardtail with mostly XT components is for sale for less than €500 but you're prbably not in Germany)

Avids are really great, but i'm not sure that it's worth it on the bike -- if you get a good deal then maybe...

You want to know WHY I didn't get a hardrock or something around 400? YOu want to know why?! Because I was originally going to pay everything, but my parents were to pay 100. So then I thought, I could have gotten a specialized hardrock or a trek 820. But then my DAD forces me to get something under 200 or something with a good deal. So I get this bike which was on sale. But he now allows me to spend liberally on parts. My parents are so strange and confusing. And the things which I think are disc brake hangers are basically 2 holes lined up like the front disc brake tabs, only on the fork, the holes are mounted on the side and the tabs stick to the back, while the back hangers stick UP.

Also, how do you do a continuos endo?


I wish I could've gotten a good bike, I really did, but I just had to get this bike thanks to my parents. I mean I think it's okay for me, but with my money I could've afforded something a lot better. And HOW LONG will I have to wait to get a new bike. I've friends which have dpt. store bikes that lasted YEARS and YEARS with hard riding and barely any replacement of parts. I want to try a hardtail found at an lbs and see the difference but my parents never let me sped so much. Ugh...I really get annyed at times like this

Very good. Also, know that they are supposed to stick up, even if there are hangers in the back for discs. You DO NOT have hangers though. As far as your parents go, throw logic into the mix: tell them that they spend so much on parts, that you could have a better bike by now.

So how do you do continous endos? I couldn't find places which taught me how to do wheelies either...bunnyhops, I knnow where to learn them but...Im too small, my bike is about 1/2 my weight.

And also, what do disc hangers look like, my rear has 2 small tabs with holes in them, what would they be used for?

racks, I guess, but since it is a Full suspension...I'm a bit stumped...fenders maybe?

I think I have disk tabs in the rear and front just not any hubs, becuase even the housing stopper piece (the piece of circular metal inwish the housing goies into and cannot continue, while the wire keeps on going) is there and WHAT else would the 2 holes be use for? RACKS GO ON THE AXLE DONT THEY?!!?

I think I have disk tabs in the rear and front just not any hubs, becuase even the housing stopper piece (the piece of circular metal inwish the housing goies into and cannot continue, while the wire keeps on going) is there and WHAT else would the 2 holes be use for? RACKS GO ON THE AXLE DONT THEY?!!?

sorry you do not have disc tabs. Those are for fenders i think.

I think I have disk tabs in the rear and front just not any hubs, becuase even the housing stopper piece (the piece of circular metal inwish the housing goies into and cannot continue, while the wire keeps on going) is there and WHAT else would the 2 holes be use for? RACKS GO ON THE AXLE DONT THEY?!!?

As I suggested in a previous post, take some closeup shots of the non-driveside seatstays/swingarm... especially near the dropout and post them here. Plenty of people will be able to tell you for certain if you have disc brake tabs or not. This technical diagram (http://www.hayesdiscbrake.com/drw9815030.html) shows how disc brakes mount to IS disc tabs on the seatstay of a bike.

Here's a frame with Universal disc brake tabs on the swingarm. Notice the two mounting holes just forward of the left side dropout.

http://www.go-ride.com/frames/azonic/az_recoil.jpg

If your seatstay/swingarm doesn't have tabs, you might be able to retrofit some on. Several people have made disc brake adapters but they are of course specific to a brand of bike. Given the right drawings such as the one I mentioned above, you can fabricate and locate some tabs yourself but you will need access to some machining tools. Here's a picture of the Hammerhead disc brake adapter for the swingarm of the ProFlex 4500C/5500C/K2 OzM series of bikes.

Without disc brake adapter...
http://www.neebu.net/~khuon/cycling/bikes/K2/1999-OzM/images/10620620/PICT0024.JPG

With Hammerhead disc brake adapter...
http://idriders.com/proflex/galleries/Hammerhead/Hhoz20.jpg

Another option would be to use a floating brake adapter. This not only converts your rear swingarm to disc brakes but also keeps it from jacking up when the brakes are applied. It is however a very expensive conversion. Brake Therapy (http://www.therapycomponents.com/BRAKETHERAPY.htm) makes such a conversion. You will need to check for compatibility with your bike, hubs, brakes, etc...

Mine do seem to go like that....oh well, if they don't , I wont get em. So....can anyone suggest any sties for learning tircks like wheelies and tstuff like that? I tried bmxtrix but their videos are down.

Okay, to wheelie: Put your bike in the lowest combination of gears(1-1), shift your weight back, pedal, pull up on the bars, all in one smooth motion. You WILL fall backwards once or twice or more, but you'll soon find the sweet spot and be able to ride the wheelie for a long time. i have ridden one for about 1000 feet, with careful weighting/pedaling.

1000 feet?! HOLY CRAP HOW MUCH TIME DID IT TAKE TO LEARN THAT?!?! :o!

if your parents got a better bike for you they would be admitting they were wrong

I have an idea. Just start racking up those expensive new parts on your parent's dime if they're willing to pay for that. This way, when you've saved up enough money for a new bike, you'll be all set for a frame-up build with some swank components. ;)