Emgee

Hello all, new to the forum and a returnee to the bike community after many years out of the saddle. I have bought a Giant hybrid - a Escape M8 which has 8-speed hub gears and the Shimano nexave disk brakes. Its a nice ride (although my backside needs to get used to the hard saddle!). Just wanted advice on general maintenance for a bike with these components - anything I should regularly do/look out for with hum gears and these type of brakes?

Also, if I lock the front brake on, I can still slightly rock the handlebars/forks by a few millimetres - is that normal or does something need tightening up?


Thanks all

Metzinger

Welcome to the forums.
Is this your bike?

Because those look like roller brakes to me. Equipped with cooling fins that look like discs. And I've noticed that those seem to have play like you described.

Try feeling with fingers at the junction of the parts of your headset with the other hand while rocking the bike with brake engaged.
If you sense movement there, try following the adjustment protocol on the Park Tool Website (you need to scroll way down to get to Headset Adjustment).
Good luck.

Emgee

Yes, that's the exact same bike. Have no idea what 'roller' brakes are - are they largely maintenance free?

TimeTravel_0

your headset needs to be adjusted correctly to eliminate play.

Metzinger

Yes they are. And an excellent design in my opinion. The working parts are hidden from the elements unlike a disc brake. But because of their design and diameter, they're less powerful than discs. One issue is the aforementioned play when doing the 'rocker' test to check the headset.

tatfiend 

The main maintenance required for the roller brakes is occasional greasing if you notice their getting grabby. Shimano sells a high temperature grease specifically for them I believe but any high temp grease will work. Per my understanding they have a grease port for greasing without disassembly.

Dan Burkhart 

As others have pointed out, those are roller brakes, not discs. It's a good idea to make sure they were greased from new. I sold a couple of bike models with roller brakes that were dry from new. (Shimano Roller brake grease only!)
The play you are experiencing in the front when you apply the brake and rock the bike is probably the slack where the brake reaction arm fits in the slot on the fork. Not unusual with these brakes and nothing to worry about. It does make detecting headset play a bit difficult though.

Emgee

Great advice all - I had someone look over the bike at the weekend and you are spot on - the 'play' is not in the headset but in the roller brake. There is similar play on the bake brake as well. Can this play be lessened at all or is it just a symptom of these type of brake? How do these brakes actually work - is there a pad that will need changing eventually and if so is it a bugger to change it?

Dan Burkhart 

The only way to lessen the play is to reduce the free movement in the reaction arm. If it is the type that fits into a slot on the fork, you could try wrapping a piece of old inner tube around the end before fitting it in the slot. Might help a bit.
Other than greasing, there is no serviceability on these brakes. If you live long enough to actually wear them out, you will need to replace the whole unit.