Safe to ride with only rear disc brake? (snapped my front brake cable)
11-02-12, 01:27 PM
#26
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Yup. There really is no reason not to replace both. Same when it comes to pads. Just as easy (though a little slower) to replace both at the same time. Then you know how many miles you have on each.
11-04-12, 07:09 AM
#27
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doug5150 +1
When I saw this thread the first thing that came to my mind is your very logical post. When almost all of us were younger, and billions of people ride bikes with only a rear brake.
When I saw this thread the first thing that came to my mind is your very logical post. When almost all of us were younger, and billions of people ride bikes with only a rear brake.
11-04-12, 08:55 AM
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Just something to think about.
I'll bet the front and rear brake cables were put on at about the same time. So the remaining good cable is likely as old as the one that broke.
Now it would still take being a bit unlucky for them to go within a week of eachother. But I sure as heck would not let it slide past the weekend. And as already mentioned I'd aviod steep or long downhills.
I'll bet the front and rear brake cables were put on at about the same time. So the remaining good cable is likely as old as the one that broke.
Now it would still take being a bit unlucky for them to go within a week of eachother. But I sure as heck would not let it slide past the weekend. And as already mentioned I'd aviod steep or long downhills.
That's what I was getting from reading all these posts. I'd be fine with one brake for a week, front or rear, but if the front brake cable failed, how far along is the rear to also fail? That's what would freak me out the most, I wouldn't ride it. Less about the safety of riding with one brake...more along the lines of riding a bike with worn safety components that are ready to fail when I need them most.
11-04-12, 09:22 AM
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+1
That's what I was getting from reading all these posts. I'd be fine with one brake for a week, front or rear, but if the front brake cable failed, how far along is the rear to also fail? That's what would freak me out the most, I wouldn't ride it. Less about the safety of riding with one brake...more along the lines of riding a bike with worn safety components that are ready to fail when I need them most.
That's what I was getting from reading all these posts. I'd be fine with one brake for a week, front or rear, but if the front brake cable failed, how far along is the rear to also fail? That's what would freak me out the most, I wouldn't ride it. Less about the safety of riding with one brake...more along the lines of riding a bike with worn safety components that are ready to fail when I need them most.
Brake cables very seldom break. Unless someone has been monkeying with the brakes and has damaged the cables (which is how the OPs cable broke), it would be highly highly unlikely to have two cables fail. Simple age or normal wear are not the cause of broken cables - there is always some other event that has damaged the cable previously.
11-04-12, 09:46 AM
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Did your front and rear brake cables have equal use? What makes you think that the rear cable isn't about to snap?
If you're comfortable fiddling with your brake cables, replacing the front cable isn't a big project. That's what I would do.
If you're comfortable fiddling with your brake cables, replacing the front cable isn't a big project. That's what I would do.
11-05-12, 01:10 AM
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While on a tour in Indonesia, my bike crashed into a ditch and bent the rims to the extent that I have to unhook the v-brakes to continue riding. So I was riding only with my rear brakes. It had started to rain lightly and the road was wet. Going down the hill, I braked to slow down the bike. The rear wheel locked up and the bike started doing the Tokyo Drift...One foot on the ground and the bike sliding down the road, handlebar turned at an angle ... Lucky this was a country road where there was no vehicles.... That was scary because over the side of the hill drop a few hundred feet down to the valley below.
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krobinson103
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04-06-12 12:25 AM
