Originally Posted by
azzzaoo6
Success, guys! I managed to sort it. I did some hard riding yesterday — constant braking; hard, you call it bedding in. It has made a big difference. How long does it take to fully bed in new pads? Another issue: when I shift into the easiest gear, it slips off the centre chain rings. Does the back wheel need pulling back, or are the teeth wearing out on it? One thing I noticed: the front handlebars I think are too low how high should they be As of now, they are at the lowest level, as is the seat. I'm reaching down when riding straining my back slightly...
That's a problem of your leg and core strength, it will improve with time as you get used to riding the bike, the important thing is to get your saddle height something near correct for pedaling efficiency. Generally sport bikes will have the bar set a couple inches lower than the saddle, racers can have a drop of six inches, some more sedate riders like zero drop. Having the bar higher than the saddle is "comfort bike" territory for the old and infirm who like to sit too low for pedal efficiency, on huge squishy saddles. Even I manage two or three inches of drop, despite being old and overweight with a bad back and generally unfit.
Chain drop: probably a front derailleur adjustment thing, possibly exacerbated by bent chainring teeth. Worn chainrings usually slip rather than dropping the chain.
Bedding in: just a few hard steady applications of the brake, easing off and not stopping while it cools down. Basically you're just transferring a thin even layer of friction material from the pads to the rotor - it's the rotor that you're conditioning, not the pads.