Brakes
#26
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The problem faced by tourists but not race or MTB riders is integration of the brake with all the other stuff: racks, fenders, lights etc.
Disc brakes can integrate well if they are placed correctly, ideally on the rear chainstay and at the front on the driveside, leading edge (ie opposite to a normal front disc). This gets stuff out of the way of fenders and reverses the forces on the axle so braking forces the axle into (not out of) the dropout.
Disc brake units are not designed for chainstay mounting so the cable run is at the wrong angle. As this mount becomes more common, I imagine that Avid will make a road version for this location.
Is there any debate regarding ISO vs post mount?
Forks need to be stiffer on a disc-equipped bike; how does that affect comfort?
I use Shimano centrelock disks but for travel, I think 6-bolt are better, you dont need a vice or long wrench to replace them.
Pads are easy to carry and can be quite cheap. In the UK we have a "no-brand" brand called Superstar who sell pads from the same Chinese factories as everyone else, at a fraction of the price of Shimano/Avid.
My canti setep drives me to distraction. Nothing plays well together and I cant buy the bits that I need to make it work. Cantis are going out of fashion and sooner or later, will drop out of the market altogether.
Disc brakes can integrate well if they are placed correctly, ideally on the rear chainstay and at the front on the driveside, leading edge (ie opposite to a normal front disc). This gets stuff out of the way of fenders and reverses the forces on the axle so braking forces the axle into (not out of) the dropout.
Disc brake units are not designed for chainstay mounting so the cable run is at the wrong angle. As this mount becomes more common, I imagine that Avid will make a road version for this location.
Is there any debate regarding ISO vs post mount?
Forks need to be stiffer on a disc-equipped bike; how does that affect comfort?
I use Shimano centrelock disks but for travel, I think 6-bolt are better, you dont need a vice or long wrench to replace them.
Pads are easy to carry and can be quite cheap. In the UK we have a "no-brand" brand called Superstar who sell pads from the same Chinese factories as everyone else, at a fraction of the price of Shimano/Avid.
My canti setep drives me to distraction. Nothing plays well together and I cant buy the bits that I need to make it work. Cantis are going out of fashion and sooner or later, will drop out of the market altogether.
#27
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The problem faced by tourists but not race or MTB riders is integration of the brake with all the other stuff: racks, fenders, lights etc.
Disc brakes can integrate well if they are placed correctly, ideally on the rear chainstay and at the front on the driveside, leading edge (ie opposite to a normal front disc). This gets stuff out of the way of fenders and reverses the forces on the axle so braking forces the axle into (not out of) the dropout.
Disc brake units are not designed for chainstay mounting so the cable run is at the wrong angle. As this mount becomes more common, I imagine that Avid will make a road version for this location.
Is there any debate regarding ISO vs post mount?
Forks need to be stiffer on a disc-equipped bike; how does that affect comfort?
I use Shimano centrelock disks but for travel, I think 6-bolt are better, you dont need a vice or long wrench to replace them.
Pads are easy to carry and can be quite cheap. In the UK we have a "no-brand" brand called Superstar who sell pads from the same Chinese factories as everyone else, at a fraction of the price of Shimano/Avid.
My canti setep drives me to distraction. Nothing plays well together and I cant buy the bits that I need to make it work. Cantis are going out of fashion and sooner or later, will drop out of the market altogether.
Disc brakes can integrate well if they are placed correctly, ideally on the rear chainstay and at the front on the driveside, leading edge (ie opposite to a normal front disc). This gets stuff out of the way of fenders and reverses the forces on the axle so braking forces the axle into (not out of) the dropout.
Disc brake units are not designed for chainstay mounting so the cable run is at the wrong angle. As this mount becomes more common, I imagine that Avid will make a road version for this location.
Is there any debate regarding ISO vs post mount?
Forks need to be stiffer on a disc-equipped bike; how does that affect comfort?
I use Shimano centrelock disks but for travel, I think 6-bolt are better, you dont need a vice or long wrench to replace them.
Pads are easy to carry and can be quite cheap. In the UK we have a "no-brand" brand called Superstar who sell pads from the same Chinese factories as everyone else, at a fraction of the price of Shimano/Avid.
My canti setep drives me to distraction. Nothing plays well together and I cant buy the bits that I need to make it work. Cantis are going out of fashion and sooner or later, will drop out of the market altogether.
OTOH canti setup can have problems as you mention. My 2008 Randonee has Shimano cantis with STI levers where shifting cables stick out laterally getting in the way of handlebar bags or say a sleeping bag lashed to top of front rack. After the fall Blue Ridge Parkway ride where I had to scoot up a gravel runaway truck ramp to slow down I started to look out for tourers with discs, next week I saw a local guy riding an Independent Fabricators titanium tourer. Chatted for a moment, he said he loved the discs...OTOH AFAIK he had the stock frame which didn't allow for fat tires.
Which brings me to your comfort note: some anti-disc tourers note that stiff disc-designed forks would cause a harsher ride. Might be true if not considering that touring bike makers often don't make bikes with a particularly comfortable ride. Many production tourers (& even customs) have frames that both have limited room for wide tires & unnecessarily tight frames. IMO they're wedded to the past of French-style randonneurs which were sort of detuned race bikes. My first really nice bike was a Gitane Tour de France (very similar to Peugeot PX-10) which had nearly similar angles/tolerances to some current tourers. Those bikes scored TDF wins despite relaxed angles/clearances...so IMHO current touring frames should offer more comfort since performance is not really an issue. Should be possible to have comfy ride & excellent brakes if they retool things.
Have ridden a friend's aluminum-framed Trek city bike & while it's aimed at recreational rider the front polymer-pad suspension with straight fork gave a very comfy ride. Weight of suspension negated by alu frame. Yet suspension is verboten on production tourers. Perhaps minimal front suspension & a sprung saddle/seatpost could help obviate rough road fatigue on tourers yet allow for stiff frame & higher-pressure tires?
#28
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Have ridden a friend's aluminum-framed Trek city bike & while it's aimed at recreational rider the front polymer-pad suspension with straight fork gave a very comfy ride. Weight of suspension negated by alu frame. Yet suspension is verboten on production tourers. Perhaps minimal front suspension & a sprung saddle/seatpost could help obviate rough road fatigue on tourers yet allow for stiff frame & higher-pressure tires?
Back on the brake theme, her ST700 also has V-brakes with travel agents, which are not very attractive, but are very effective.
#29
-
...Disc brake units are not designed for chainstay mounting so the cable run is at the wrong angle. As this mount becomes more common, I imagine that Avid will make a road version for this location
...Is there any debate regarding ISO vs post mount?...
...Pads are easy to carry and can be quite cheap. In the UK we have a "no-brand" brand called Superstar who sell pads from the same Chinese factories as everyone else, at a fraction of the price of Shimano/Avid.
...Cantis are going out of fashion and sooner or later, will drop out of the market altogether.
...Is there any debate regarding ISO vs post mount?...
...Pads are easy to carry and can be quite cheap. In the UK we have a "no-brand" brand called Superstar who sell pads from the same Chinese factories as everyone else, at a fraction of the price of Shimano/Avid.
...Cantis are going out of fashion and sooner or later, will drop out of the market altogether.
Post-mounting looks nicer than ISO and eliminates a few parts and a little weight. It does so at the expense of a loss of adjustment and greater chance that something may require corrective fiddling. Posts need to be perpendicular to the axle for the brake to mount properly. The 2 post-mount forks I own were fine and required no fiddling. Obviously all the good Taiwanese shops use a fixture to attach the disc mount to the fork leg. The worst-case scenario means a visit to the LBS with a post facing tool to perform a bit of corrective grinding.
I've used non-Avid brand disc brake pads too, mine seem to work as well as Avid.
Canti brakes are unlikely to disappear. They can work pretty good for their weight, they are compatible with standard drop bar levers and brifters, they have good fender clearance and are one of the least expensive brakes to manufacture.
...I was under impression the BB7 rotors (as well as all disc rotors) were easy to remove/install. Googling that now it's not clear, apparently one needs a Torx wrench & also specifically a Torx torque wrench? I usually carry a good helping of small tools, probably more than I need...but tools are kind of heavy...seems like a long and/or torque wrench would be sort of heavy. Had no idea that some rotors required a vise, that's no fun on the road!
Which brings me to your comfort note: some anti-disc tourers note that stiff disc-designed forks would cause a harsher ride.
Which brings me to your comfort note: some anti-disc tourers note that stiff disc-designed forks would cause a harsher ride.
https://www.sram.com/service/avid/283
https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-...isc-adjustment
If you have to use/carry a torque wrench, this one is ideal for size and weight:
https://www.parktool.com/product/ratc...ue-wrench-tw-5
Straight steel forks transmit more road shock to the bicyclist than more traditional steel forks with a bend. You'll notice this if you swap bikes back and forth, even with large tires.
#30
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Based on my experience the less expensive polymer-sprung suspension forks have a problem with seal stiction and fork flex. The better suspension solution came with Cannondale's Headshok in-headtube suspension system which steers with precision. Some models have the optional lock out for climbing. My wife's ST700 has such suspension and it's a Godsend on rough roads.
Back on the brake theme, her ST700 also has V-brakes with travel agents, which are not very attractive, but are very effective.
Back on the brake theme, her ST700 also has V-brakes with travel agents, which are not very attractive, but are very effective.
#31
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BB7s are simple to install, setup and maintain - it's as easy as any brake, and for many owners easier than rim brakes. The Torx wrench required for install is included in the retail package, or you could buy a size T25 torx wrench/driver/bit set at any Lowes/Home Depot/hardware store (everyone needs a set of Torx wrenches nowadays). A torque wrench is not required for installation, and I've never needed a vice for disc brakes. Here's all you need to know about BB7 brakes:
Straight steel forks transmit more road shock to the bicyclist than more traditional steel forks with a bend. You'll notice this if you swap bikes back and forth, even with large tires.
Even for bikes with straight forks that "rake" forward? Comparing straight vs curved is dicey since it usually involves different frames. Lots of MTB & road racing frames with straight forks. Straight-fork MTB's usually have suspension though & road racing frames not of course optimized for comfort anyway. But apples vs apples, ie a curved-fork steel frame vs a steel straight-fork frame with same overall fork rake (or trail?), wheelbase etc? Not that I'm disputing you but I never quite accepted that the fork curve was what provided the flex. In the "old days" it was simply easier for frame builders/tube makers to bend forks than to use fork crowns with special angles.
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I'd go further and say that all high quality brakes work well (there are some exceptions but, thankfully, they aren't made anymore) as long as you have proper braking technique. I'd even go further and say that poor braking performance is (usually) the fault of the operator and not the brake. Knowing how to use the brakes is far more important than what kind of brakes they are.
That said, good quality brakes are more effective regardless of the experience level of the rider. Well designed brakes are safer and instill more confidence in any rider regardless of experience because that they have more sensitivity, better regulation of braking force, and if well set up feel as smooth as silk which results in better 'feel'. This doesn't result from technique but from the quality of the brakes, cables, and pads themselves.
#33
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I ran caliper brakes forever on my old touring bike,the new ride got disks.While I had no problems really with the old brakes,got me to alot of places just fine,I'll never go back to rim brakes again.
Disks did the same for bicycles as they did for cars,there just better.It's like going from manual brakes to power disk brakes on a car.Disks can be noisy at times,but that noise can be put to good use at times during commuting....
Disks did the same for bicycles as they did for cars,there just better.It's like going from manual brakes to power disk brakes on a car.Disks can be noisy at times,but that noise can be put to good use at times during commuting....
#34
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...knowing how to pull the levers? I've never had issues with brakes. I use brakes sparingly (avoid stop and go) and have seldom worn out pads and have never worn out rims or had problems stopping even in wet conditions (except on my old Raleigh which has 45+ yr old brake pads which are almost useless in the rain). And that includes long daily commutes, fast day rides, bike tours across Europe and N.A.
That said, good quality brakes are more effective regardless of the experience level of the rider. Well designed brakes are safer and instill more confidence in any rider regardless of experience because that they have more sensitivity, better regulation of braking force, and if well set up feel as smooth as silk which results in better 'feel'. This doesn't result from technique but from the quality of the brakes, cables, and pads themselves.
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#35
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[Partial QUOTE=positron;14578462]Disks win because you don't wear out your rims. Dishing and spoke breakage will not be an issue if your wheels are built properly. ...... disks- the best because you dont have to rebuild your wheels when your rims dont wear out. /thread[/QUOTE]
Mostly agree. Wanted to probe the larger audience regarding; Are a lot of folks really wearing out rims due to contact with brake pads? If so, what kind of riding are they doing, such as extreme downhill mountain trails, riding through sand, etc. Are they using super thin walled rims, etc. Are they folks who do not keep their pads clean, trimmed, and adjusted on a regular basis...?
Mostly agree. Wanted to probe the larger audience regarding; Are a lot of folks really wearing out rims due to contact with brake pads? If so, what kind of riding are they doing, such as extreme downhill mountain trails, riding through sand, etc. Are they using super thin walled rims, etc. Are they folks who do not keep their pads clean, trimmed, and adjusted on a regular basis...?
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Mostly agree. Wanted to probe the larger audience regarding; Are a lot of folks really wearing out rims due to contact with brake pads? If so, what kind of riding are they doing, such as extreme downhill mountain trails, riding through sand, etc. Are they using super thin walled rims, etc. Are they folks who do not keep their pads clean, trimmed, and adjusted on a regular basis...?
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There is more involved in knowing how to use the brakes than pulling the lever. Therein lies the problem with most brake issues. People think that all you have to do is "pull the lever". But effective braking involves weight shifts, when to use them, how much pressure to apply, awareness of surface conditions, etc. From what you say, I think you understand more about braking and the subtleties involved than most people do. But most people don't know all that much about how to effectively stop a bike in all conditions...hint: it's not simply pulling the levers.
I don't disagree but most all brakes are well designed. They just may not be adjusted properly but most all of them are well designed.
I don't disagree but most all brakes are well designed. They just may not be adjusted properly but most all of them are well designed.
I guess in my mind things like weight shifts, balancing between the use of the front vs. rear brake etc. are all a given. But I started out as a BMX kid doing trick riding where the finessing of brakes is essential for everything, and what a difference good brakes makes.
And I have to disagree that all brakes are well designed - some are mushy, some seem to have too much friction in the mechanisms, some are too sensitive, some unresponsive, some are crunchy ...and then there are those that can really be finessed. But admittedly this has as much to do with install and maintenance as the brakes themselves.
Last edited by neubilder; 11-07-12 at 10:03 PM.
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[Partial QUOTE=positron;14578462]Disks win because you don't wear out your rims. Dishing and spoke breakage will not be an issue if your wheels are built properly. ...... disks- the best because you dont have to rebuild your wheels when your rims dont wear out. /thread[/QUOTE]
I have a friend that goes through rims like underwear. After a few seasons the bead of his aluminum rim peels off like the safety tab of a juice bottle. But he also drives a car like hell - always accelerating and then braking heavily. I've put thousands of miles on a pair of open-pros that are still as good as new and going on 10 years old. But that's my fast bike so it doesn't see much rain. My commuting bike (which I ride year round) is a Ti cyclocross with rims that also have tens of thousands of Km's on them - some of it trail riding but never anything with big drops. I guess I'm just easy on my gear, which is strange because I'm a very aggressive rider.
Mostly agree. Wanted to probe the larger audience regarding; Are a lot of folks really wearing out rims due to contact with brake pads? If so, what kind of riding are they doing, such as extreme downhill mountain trails, riding through sand, etc. Are they using super thin walled rims, etc. Are they folks who do not keep their pads clean, trimmed, and adjusted on a regular basis...?
I have a friend that goes through rims like underwear. After a few seasons the bead of his aluminum rim peels off like the safety tab of a juice bottle. But he also drives a car like hell - always accelerating and then braking heavily. I've put thousands of miles on a pair of open-pros that are still as good as new and going on 10 years old. But that's my fast bike so it doesn't see much rain. My commuting bike (which I ride year round) is a Ti cyclocross with rims that also have tens of thousands of Km's on them - some of it trail riding but never anything with big drops. I guess I'm just easy on my gear, which is strange because I'm a very aggressive rider.
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Cantis for me are mostly a road lever thing. Just slap the brakes on, and wire them so the straddle cable is about 90 degrees when the rubber hits the rim. There are some issues of geometry, but if you buy a bike from a reputable maker, they will have sorted these out for you. If you are rigging your own, at least find a picture of the factory set-up, and copy the geometry (mostly the brake form).
#40
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[QUOTE=ksisler;14924899]
I ride 52 weeks/year in the PNW. I wear out about 1 rim/year on my tandem. When I only rode singles, I wore out about 1 rim every other year until I bought Mavic Open Pro Ceramics, the last wet weather single rims I hope I ever buy. Unfortunately, they don't make them any more. If I'd known they'd stop, I'd have put a couple by. It's not uncommon for people who ride in our group to wear out a pair of Open Pros in one season.
I run Koolstop Salmon pads on aluminum, green pads on Ceramic. I'm an aggressive rider, but mostly it's that I do a lot of hills and paceline work in the rain in an area that sands its roads in the winter time. Brakes on rims sounds like grinding paste, which it is. I've tried a few different rims. MA2s were a thick-walled rim, not made anymore. Most rim brake tracks seem about the same thickness now. Everyone I ride with has about the same experience. Yes, I wash my bike between rides or at least wipe the rims down with alcohol. In any case, I spend much more money on tires than I do on rims. $100/rim/year even for the tandem is not an intolerable expense, amortized over ~4000 miles, or about 2.5 cents per mile. Heck, I spend several times that on coffee stops for the two of us.
For the thread, I run Avid V-brakes on Deep-V rims on the tandem. They work fine for sport riding in the mountains for our 305 lb. team. If you need more brakes than that, you might think about leaving some gear at home. For loaded touring in hilly or mountainous regions, we switch to our rear wheel with the Arai drum brake, but then we're about 400 lbs. all up.
Thinking about all this stuff, on a tandem group ride descent of Mt. Ventoux, the only tandems which made it down with brakes still working were either running rim brakes or rim brakes plus an Arai drum. The discs all failed. Those running just rims had the sense to stop and let them cool. This was about a year ago. Discs have gotten a little better since then. On group tandem rides, disc failures about match the tires blown off rim brake bikes, fortunately after the bikes had stopped. I haven't had a tire blown off a Deep-V rim, presumably because of the greater thermal mass. Something to keep in mind when specing a rim brake touring bike. Great rims, too.
Cyclocross bikes, MTBs, and road race bikes don't have much in common with touring bikes other than two wheels. Tandems are more similar.
Mostly agree. Wanted to probe the larger audience regarding; Are a lot of folks really wearing out rims due to contact with brake pads? If so, what kind of riding are they doing, such as extreme downhill mountain trails, riding through sand, etc. Are they using super thin walled rims, etc. Are they folks who do not keep their pads clean, trimmed, and adjusted on a regular basis...?
I run Koolstop Salmon pads on aluminum, green pads on Ceramic. I'm an aggressive rider, but mostly it's that I do a lot of hills and paceline work in the rain in an area that sands its roads in the winter time. Brakes on rims sounds like grinding paste, which it is. I've tried a few different rims. MA2s were a thick-walled rim, not made anymore. Most rim brake tracks seem about the same thickness now. Everyone I ride with has about the same experience. Yes, I wash my bike between rides or at least wipe the rims down with alcohol. In any case, I spend much more money on tires than I do on rims. $100/rim/year even for the tandem is not an intolerable expense, amortized over ~4000 miles, or about 2.5 cents per mile. Heck, I spend several times that on coffee stops for the two of us.
For the thread, I run Avid V-brakes on Deep-V rims on the tandem. They work fine for sport riding in the mountains for our 305 lb. team. If you need more brakes than that, you might think about leaving some gear at home. For loaded touring in hilly or mountainous regions, we switch to our rear wheel with the Arai drum brake, but then we're about 400 lbs. all up.
Thinking about all this stuff, on a tandem group ride descent of Mt. Ventoux, the only tandems which made it down with brakes still working were either running rim brakes or rim brakes plus an Arai drum. The discs all failed. Those running just rims had the sense to stop and let them cool. This was about a year ago. Discs have gotten a little better since then. On group tandem rides, disc failures about match the tires blown off rim brake bikes, fortunately after the bikes had stopped. I haven't had a tire blown off a Deep-V rim, presumably because of the greater thermal mass. Something to keep in mind when specing a rim brake touring bike. Great rims, too.
Cyclocross bikes, MTBs, and road race bikes don't have much in common with touring bikes other than two wheels. Tandems are more similar.
Last edited by Carbonfiberboy; 11-07-12 at 11:49 PM.
#41
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I guess in my mind things like weight shifts, balancing between the use of the front vs. rear brake etc. are all a given. But I started out as a BMX kid doing trick riding where the finessing of brakes is essential for everything, and what a difference good brakes makes.
And I have to disagree that all brakes are well designed - some are mushy, some seem to have too much friction in the mechanisms, some are too sensitive, some unresponsive, some are crunchy ...and then there are those that can really be finessed. But admittedly this has as much to do with install and maintenance as the brakes themselves.
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Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
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Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
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Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
#42
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I have a set of Tektro mechanical disc brakes and they are by no means high end and even they have loads of stopping power and are super easy to adjust.
#44
Senior Member
Just me, but I think that in general folks get way too hung up on "the best". On all but really cheap bikes all of the components typically work reasonably well and once you get to the mid price level they typically are excellent. For brakes in particular it seems to me as if most of the brakes on the market work great given proper adjustment and decent pads. That was not always the case, but I have to go all the way back to the steel rim and really wimpy flexible long reach brake days to remember really inadequate brakes.
I guess I can see disk brakes for folks who actually wear out rims frequently, but I suspect that most folks are like me in that rims probably last them a very long time. I did wear out a rim recently, but it probably had over 100,000 miles on it and most likely a lot more. Also it is pretty easy to lace on a new rim to an already built wheel. Last time I did it I think it took about 20 minutes.
Oh and BTW I like cantis just fine, but have been touring on dual pivot 1990-ish 105 road brakes lately and have found them quite adequate on my recent southern tier which did include a few mountain passes. Granted that was with a light gear load, but I am not a lightweight myself so the load probably was as much as some folks who pack a lot heavier than I do.
I guess I can see disk brakes for folks who actually wear out rims frequently, but I suspect that most folks are like me in that rims probably last them a very long time. I did wear out a rim recently, but it probably had over 100,000 miles on it and most likely a lot more. Also it is pretty easy to lace on a new rim to an already built wheel. Last time I did it I think it took about 20 minutes.
Oh and BTW I like cantis just fine, but have been touring on dual pivot 1990-ish 105 road brakes lately and have found them quite adequate on my recent southern tier which did include a few mountain passes. Granted that was with a light gear load, but I am not a lightweight myself so the load probably was as much as some folks who pack a lot heavier than I do.
#45
just another gosling
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Everett, WA
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Bikes: CoMo Speedster 2003, Trek 5200, CAAD 9, Fred 2004
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SJS Cycles has 700c Rigida Grizzly CSS (carbide) rims here:
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/rigida-gr...ack-prod18886/
This is a 610g, 622 X 19 rim, but lacks the ability of the 520g Deep-V to carry the heat away from the brake track. Obviously any rim generates the same amount of heat for the same amount of stopping force. These rims won't wear like standard rims, but they may not keep your tires on any better, either. Still, they look to be heavy enough for a tandem or touring rim.
https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/rigida-gr...ack-prod18886/
This is a 610g, 622 X 19 rim, but lacks the ability of the 520g Deep-V to carry the heat away from the brake track. Obviously any rim generates the same amount of heat for the same amount of stopping force. These rims won't wear like standard rims, but they may not keep your tires on any better, either. Still, they look to be heavy enough for a tandem or touring rim.
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