brake surface freezing

[phantomcow2]

I hae some avid single digit brakes and i noticed today i went for a little ride in the snow. I am pulling into my driveway and i did not stop, despite the fact i pulled those levers hard. Then i realize that brake surfaces are frozen with ice! I suppose this is inevitable, but is there at least anything i can do to help this?

[bostontrevor]

Try cleaning your braking surface and pads with a degreaser. That'll help a little. Also a softer low-carbon pad like Kool Stop salmon will help.

[VermontRides]

Drum brakes or disc brakes solve the rim icing problem (I've also had my pads coat with ice). Otherwise, apply your brakes often throughout the ride to test for icing (and especially before and during any downhill), sometimes repeated hard application of the brakes will de-ice the rims.

[Michel Gagnon]

Brake after riding through puddles.

[supcom]

Fixed gear.

[Raiyn]

I hae some avid single digit brakes and i noticed today i went for a little ride in the snow. I am pulling into my driveway and i did not stop, despite the fact i pulled those levers hard. Then i realize that brake surfaces are frozen with ice! I suppose this is inevitable, but is there at least anything i can do to help this?
Regretting the switch from discs now eh?

[phantomcow2]

Regretting the switch from discs now eh?
Yes and no. Yes discs have awsome stopping power. But V's are fine for my area. Theres no downhill stuff here. and since 60% of what i do is road anyways, the first time i had a problem was through that snowy ride.

[royalflash]

I had my rear disc brake freeze last week. The brake pads were moving but they were having no effect it was so cold.

[slvoid]

Get a set of drum or disc brakes.
And when riding in extremely cold, wet, snowy weather, carry 2 water bottles. One with water, one with alcohol. Spray the brakes with alcohol, it'll help melt the snow.
Make sure you get the ethanol type instead of methanol or isopropyl, just in case you drink from the wrong bottle. :p
Second squeezing the brakes everyonce in a while to de-ice the rim.

[trekkie820]

I have noticed that giving your pads a slight toe-out helps to break the ice off the rim on initial contact.

[phantomcow2]

I think im gonna go for Kool stop brake pads, I believe they have a model that "scrapes" off your rims. I don't ride enough in the winter to justify disc brake's weight.

[Diggy18]

I think im gonna go for Kool stop brake pads, I believe they have a model that "scrapes" off your rims. I don't ride enough in the winter to justify disc brake's weight.
I have some Koolstops that are half black and half tan (whatever materials I forget). They're awesome dry, and pretty good in the rain, too. BUT,

1) Down in the teens it seems like the rubber gets too hard to grip the rim, and braking power suffers

2) Like any rim brake, ice can form on the rims and the brake pads. I have to avoid puddles when trail riding in sub-freezing temps. And once (just once though), ice formed on the crosswire of the brake, and the brake arms kust wouldn't close on the rim.

The good thing is it's usually the back brakes that get most of the road crud and so freeze first. You're fine with just the front brakes. Don't know what happens on a long ride if both brakes freeze. Guess that's when you need Slvoid's alcohol trick.