Road Cycling - steep hills and brakes

Hi y'all. I lurk on this forum most of the time and use the search function religiously, so I usually find out what I want to know without posting a question.
I'm 45 years old, trying to get back in shape. I ride an old Viscount ten speed up and down the Vandalabene trail alongside the Mississippi river. It's about 25 miles long, mostly flat except for some fun little hills and curves at the north end.
But to get down to the trail from my house, I have to go down this really steep twisty hill about a half mile long. The hill is so steep, my front brakes smoke. I'm worried about my life depending on two tiny rubber pads. I guess I could just go really slow down it, but I was wondering what you guys who ride the big hills do. I've seen them guys screaming down hills on the Tour De France. Do their brakes last the entire race, or do they have to swap in some new ones during the race?
And what's everyone's opinion on which brake pads are the best?
Plus I'd like to know if changing from double chain rings to a triple would increase my chances of climbing back up that hill on my pedals (instead of my feet) after riding the trail.

I'm sure that TdF riders get most of the that type of component changed after every race (brakes, tires, innertubes) you should just take it easy and pulse the back brake so you dont overheat them (I have the same problem)
I have a triple and I can honestly tell you that it has gotten me out of trouble quite a few times. If I'm training in zone 3 and don't want my heart rate to go too high, my triple helps me out. I know there are purists out there who frown on triples and thats cool........my opinion.......if I need it, its there, if I dont...............I dont use it. (hey! even some TdF riders use triples)

Thanks aston. What I have been doing up until recently is taking the bike down the hill in my truck and riding the trail. Now that I'm in somewhat better shape, it's time for me to start climbing back up that hill. I've only ridden the bike down twice, and both times I found I would have to adjust my brakes at the bottom. So it looks like I should just stock up on pads and take your suggestion and slow down and pulse.
I'm definately not a purist. I'm a mechanic, with a firm belief in mechanical advantage, to a point. But I'll give myself a few more attempts with the double, at least until my hard head is overcome by my weak heart. Plus, I'm loving this riding stuff so much, I might just spring for a whole new bike instead of altering this one.
I just can't get enough of it!

The hill is so steep, my front brakes smoke. I'm worried about my life depending on two tiny rubber pads.
Smoke? seriously? check your pads, the rubber might be brittle due to age. When the rubber hardens, braking capacity is reduced so much, and the brake shoe may damage the brake surface of your rim.
I suggest getting Shimano or Koolstop brake shoes, these are inexpensive and perform very well in these conditions.


I've seen them guys screaming down hills on the Tour De France. Do their brakes last the entire race, or do they have to swap in some new ones during the race?

I don't specifically know about the TdF, but in our Pro Races here the brake shoes do last the entire race. The Pros don't use the brakes that much ;) , they want to go fast.



And what's everyone's opinion on which brake pads are the best?

I suggest getting Shimano or Coolstop brake shoes, they are inexpensive and perform very well in these conditions.

Your probably right Dexmax. I think the bike was built in the early seventies and bone stock, except for tires/tubes. The pads appeared thick enough, and the rubber seemed plyable, but I take from your post that smoking brake pads is not normal on down hills?
I'll stop by LBS today!
More questions. Do you guys ride in the rain? Do you wear rain suits or just get wet?Its supposed to rain tomorrow, but I wanna ride.

Your probably right Dexmax. I think the bike was built in the early seventies and bone stock, except for tires/tubes. The pads appeared thick enough, and the rubber seemed plyable, but I take from your post that smoking brake pads is not normal on down hills?
I'll stop by LBS today!
More questions. Do you guys ride in the rain? Do you wear rain suits or just get wet?Its supposed to rain tomorrow, but I wanna ride.

this may be obvious, but make sure the brake pad is close enough to the rim. right now my front wheel is out of true, so i had to open the brake all the way and even though the pads are in perfect condition my stopping power is reduced quite a bit.

regarding the rain... i can't stand riding in it (at least if it's cold rain), but sometimes i go nuts if i'm off the bike too much so i brave it. i have no special rain gear other than a hood to keep the rain out of my eyes.

Thanks timmhaan, the wheels are just a smidgeon out of true. Not enough to have to open the brakes up excessively though. I can still get a solid squeeze, just not much stopping and a lot of smoking. Kinda makes ya pucker up a little if ya know what I mean.
It's funny how forty mph down hill on a ten speed is so much more exiting than forty down the same road on a motorcycle.

Hi y'all. I lurk on this forum most of the time and use the search function religiously, so I usually find out what I want to know without posting a question.
I'm 45 years old, trying to get back in shape. I ride an old Viscount ten speed up and down the Vandalabene trail alongside the Mississippi river. It's about 25 miles long, mostly flat except for some fun little hills and curves at the north end.
But to get down to the trail from my house, I have to go down this really steep twisty hill about a half mile long. The hill is so steep, my front brakes smoke. I'm worried about my life depending on two tiny rubber pads. I guess I could just go really slow down it, but I was wondering what you guys who ride the big hills do. I've seen them guys screaming down hills on the Tour De France. Do their brakes last the entire race, or do they have to swap in some new ones during the race?
And what's everyone's opinion on which brake pads are the best?
Plus I'd like to know if changing from double chain rings to a triple would increase my chances of climbing back up that hill on my pedals (instead of my feet) after riding the trail.

Hmmm, I think your brake pads are old my friend. Plus, since you bike is so old, does it have aluminum rims or steel rims? Use a magnet to find out if your not sure (if magnet sticks, its steal).

If steal rims, your braking power is drastically reduced, combined with the old pads means you have to grip hard on the brake lever to get some stopping power. Hence, you pretty much have to keep the brakes on to slow down at all and could be why your pads are smoking (I have never seen this and is causing me much concern about you cycling on that thing).

Get some koolstops to see if that helps. If not, or not much improvement, you may have to get new wheels. But new wheels will open up another can of worms for you to deal with.

Brake pads on a road bike do not wear fast. My road bike is a 1998 and has the orginal pads on it. You just never use them (hardly) and I live in a hilly area also (NE Canada). MTB bikes are a differant story, I have to get new pads every summer.

Wether or not a triple will help you get back up the hill depends on how fit you are and just how damn steep that hill is. But that's what triples are made for, steep hills. Should work ok for you.

Digger

Thanks Digger, the wheels are aluminum, and I've decided on some of them Koolstops this afternoon. I think that will solve the smoking problem.
That hill is really steep, and curvy with loose gravel in all the wrong places, and empties onto a highway. Otherwise, if it was fairly straight and smooth, I'd just let 'er rip.
I want to get a new bike with a triple and all the good stuff, but I realize I want at least a thousand dollars worth, and that'll take me a little time. In the mean time the Viscount is a vast improvement over the xmart bike I used to ride, so I'll just keep on huffin and puffin, (IthinkIcanIthinkIcan...IthinkI'lldieIthinkI'lldie...).

I think that those new pads will help. I have had my rims so hot you can't touch them and still didn't have any smoke. One suggestion. Roadies often seem to forget that they have a rear brake. Use both to control speed while going downhill. I would also keep those wheels as true as possible. A $5 spoke wrench and 10 minutes will tune them up.

As far as the triple goes. I am a big fan of them if you are a hilly area.

If you let the bike go as fast as it can between corners, while sitting up and with your elbows and knees out, then suddenly brake hard to reduce speed for the corner, a lot of the potential energy you had at the top of the hill will be dissipated by the wind drag, rather than in your brake pads.

You are actually reducing the kinetic energy. The energy due to motion.

You are actually reducing the kinetic energy. The energy due to motion.

Sorry, but I think andrew P is right. Lets say at the top of the hill you have 1000 units of potential energy.

If you go down the hill with no wind resistance, you will use up that 1000 and go back to zero potential energy in the valley.

However, any energy not turned into speed is turned into something else. Its only kinetic if it moves, but other things on the downhill take energy.

So, realistically, maybe 600 will go to kinetic (motion) 200 will go to thermal (heat from brakes) and 200 to wind resistance (sitting up between corners). If you didn't sit up, all 400 would go to the brakes. I think that is what andrewp meant.

Basically, the energy dissipated cannot be kinetic if it is burned off *before* it has a chance to be motion. I think, I didn't do so well in Physics.

take care,

Jester

Andrew makes an excellent point about increasing your wind resistance. I often have a jacket on I can zip down and catch the wind with, but sitting up straight with elbows out can go a long way towards slowing you down too. It's one of a couple of suggestions for dealing with loss of braking power on down hills, along with (never been brave or desperate enough to try this one) placing your shoe on the wheel to slow down. I have found my down-hill comfort level to be about 30-34 mph, anything more than that I start thinking about my kids growing up without a father :-)....

I would also like to second, third and fourth the kool-stop brake pads. After taking a bike out of retirement last fall, the brake pads were pliable enough but just didn't seem to be stopping right. LBS said there are many factors that effect rubber over the years and even though pliable they were just not effective any longer, sanding, filing and scraping wasn't going to make them work any better.

And to reiterate again, the rear brake may not stop you completely on a down hill, but if you shift your weight a little toward the rear and modulate a bit, it can go a long way toward relieving the work load on the front brakes.

BTW try to limit the "puckering" effect. It's wasted energy that could be put towards braking!! LOL

Thanks for the aerobraking suggestion guys, but flaring out and scrubbing off speed in a curve with loose gravel is a little more exitment than I care for. I'm 45 now, and I finally realized it will more than likely hurt when I fall down.
Anyways, I installed some of the Kool stops on it and that completely solved my problem. When I inspected the old pads I found some kind of hard, clear, glaze on them. I haven't identified it, but it sure is slick. It almost looks like varnish or something. I have no idea how it got there (maybe that's what caused the smoke).
I went down the hill Sunday with the new brakes. Made a world of difference. Its nice to actually decrease speed when I squeeze the handles. NO MORE PUCKERING!
I rode a full thirty miles Sunday, but I still had to walk some of the hill on the way back.
Thanks for the help all!