All Questions
101
questions
2
votes
0
answers
46
views
Why have my rim brakes started making a scraping noise?
I bought a bike about 7 months ago, and I've noticed over the last few weeks that it's started making an unpleasant scraping noise when I brake. Does anyone know what might be causing this and how to ...
- 121
5
votes
5
answers
437
views
Comparing hub/disk brake vs rim brake. Power, reaction, and skidding
I'm not a bike enthusiast but I've commuted quite a lot with bikes. I don't always understand the physics but believe I can extract well what happens per experience. I could be mistaken though. I've ...
- 153
1
vote
1
answer
174
views
Height-adjustable V-brakes?
I'm converting my Surly LHT from 26" to 650B, requiring to adjust the height of the V-brake pads.
I have learned this can be done using a V-brake such as the Motolite by Paul Components 1. ...
- 227
2
votes
2
answers
360
views
700c to 26in V-brake conversion
I have search high and low and feel like I’m kinda close to the solution but..
does anyone know if there is some sort of adapter that facilitates my V-brakes to be lower, offering me the chance to put ...
- 141
5
votes
2
answers
690
views
Cantilever Brake Installation (can thick and thin cup washers be swapped?)
I'm reinstalling the rear cantilever brakes after taking them off for a thorough cleaning. I'm also upgrading the pads at the same time to a Kool Stop model with "extra material" (i.e. ...
- 4,249
1
vote
2
answers
325
views
Btwin tilt 120 brakes
I feel like the stock brakes of my hilt 120 are not strong enough, the rear one is the one giving me trouble, I thought about changing them, but is it worth it?
Does anyone have suggestion?
STOCK ...
- 11
6
votes
2
answers
266
views
New Alloy Rims, but can’t brake?
I rebuilt an old Peugeot and swapped out the old steel rims for new alloy rims. I then cleaned the existing caliper brakes and put on new brake pads and cables, but they just don’t stop the bike. So ...
- 61
5
votes
1
answer
297
views
What brakes are these? Could I upgrade them?
I've picked up a Pashley no.33 cargo trike which I plan to turn into a coffee bike. Are these single pivot or dual pivot caliper brakes? They aren't particularly effective and I wondered if anyone had ...
- 121
7
votes
5
answers
282
views
Braking system conversion for Pashley Cargo Bike
I've picked up a Pashley Classic No.33 cargo trike and am turning it into a coffee trike. Once I've got an extra 120kg + my weight on there I'm aware I'm going to need a pretty good braking system. It ...
- 121
1
vote
2
answers
98
views
brake calyper/bridge types and question- single screw to the frame
I need to replace a front brake for a city/folding bicycle. but I am not used to these "brake bridge" system; I am more into the MTB scene.
for some reason the calyper in the picture ...
- 375
0
votes
1
answer
91
views
Brake shoe looks good?
I am attaching an image of my cycle's brakeshoe. Is it worn and need to be replaced or did I get ripped off?
- 1
2
votes
2
answers
127
views
Rear v-brakes sticking after cable change
I got a cheap second hand bike to clean up and cycle around the city, and I changed the brake cables, housing and ferrule caps as they were frayed and damaged. My only problem is that the rear v-brake ...
- 31
2
votes
2
answers
1k
views
What are the differences between these Swissstop rim brake pads?
What are the differences between the Swissstop Flash Pro Power Black and BXP pads?
Also, which one is good for me? I only ride in dry weather unless it rains when it's dry.
- 318
17
votes
9
answers
5k
views
V-brake vs hydraulic disk-brake - which is more environmentally friendly
Let me start the question by saying that I have a pretty good impression of the advantages of disk brakes vs. V-brakes, so I'm not asking about performance comparisons.
I'm MTB-ing several thousand ...
- 287
9
votes
4
answers
2k
views
How do bicycle brake manufacturers balance their products' physical limitations?
This question is valid for both mechanical and hydraulic brake systems.
Premises:
The human hand has a threshold value for what a comfortable level of squeezing force is, which will decrease with ...
- 16.4k
4
votes
1
answer
248
views
How to lower a road bike caliper
I have a beautiful titanium frame made by Van Nicholas.
Unfortunately it uses long reach rim brake calipers front and rear (branded Van Nicholas, but I would say tektro made). They are pretty ugly and ...
- 606
1
vote
1
answer
1k
views
V-Brakes squeal very loud when braking
I've been having this issue for about 3 months. The front V-Brakes squeal extremely loud when i fully engage them.
This problem randomly started one day when i took my bike for a ride. At first it ...
13
votes
3
answers
10k
views
Brakes not stopping my bike
I am new to cycling. I just brought a new single speed fixie, Takara Sugiyama. It's for commuting (commute include hills). When I went down a hill, the rim brakes couldn't stop the bike at all. It was ...
- 131
3
votes
1
answer
790
views
Is thru axle with rim brake okay?
so I have converted my disc brake Road Bike to rim brake. My road bike frame is thru axle but it has a slot for rim brake so i decided to go for rim brake and I removed the rotors from the hub and ...
- 31
2
votes
3
answers
1k
views
Front brake lacks 2mm in reach. Can it be ironed out?
I have been having some trouble with my 6 years old Tektro R539 brakes, see Tektro rear brake does not stay closed and Road rim bike brakes don't open when using the release . So I am now looking ...
2
votes
1
answer
529
views
Road rim bike brakes don't open when using the release
My Tektro R539 brakes do work on the road: they obey to the brake levers at squeezing and releasing times. They do not behave to the mechanism to open them (for wheel removal for instance), they do ...
3
votes
1
answer
738
views
Missing bolt in my brakes, how can I find a replacement?
I was braking in a downhill, the gradient was steep so I was using both brakes mostly the rear. When suddenly the rear brake shifter went totally soft. I did a full-stop using my front brake only and ...
4
votes
1
answer
375
views
How should exactly the brake cable be fixed to V-brake caliper?
Regarding the V-brake calipers, where the cable is tightened with a screw:
Should the cable go between the head of the screw and the washer (1), or should it go between the screw head and the body of ...
- 563
1
vote
2
answers
1k
views
Chemically roughening rim braking surface to improve performance
For trial bicycles there is a technique to improve braking performance by roughening the rim surface using a grinder.
How-to video
Apparently, this technique is not widely seen outside the trials ...
- 14.3k
10
votes
5
answers
6k
views
Most effective way to improve cantilever brakes
I have a Dawes Super Galaxy touring bike with cantilever brakes, and I'm a bit worried about the stopping power of the brakes when I start loading the bike up with kit to go touring. But I don't know ...
- 510
3
votes
4
answers
767
views
Why dual pivot brakes, not longer brake arms?
Dual pivot brakes are marketed as having "more braking power", which in technical terms means higher mechanical advantage. Exactly the same effect can be achieved by longer brake arms (ones ...
- 1,635
0
votes
2
answers
170
views
diamondback cobra 24 rear brakes squeal horribly what can I do to at least tone it down
diamondback cobra 24 rear brakes are squealing loudly all the time it doesn't matter if it's wet or dry and the brakes are lined up perfectly and appear to be new. The brakes are not marking the rim.
...
- 1
2
votes
5
answers
4k
views
What are the typical range of maximum braking friction forces?
There are many non-bike applications which benefit from using bicycle hardware. Case in point, there is a long and rich tradition of using bike parts in aviation. One particular area of interest is ...
- 136
6
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Tool/proceedure to remove Shimano direct mount rim brake bearings (Ultegra in this case)
Looking for some advice on what tool I need/the process to remove the pivot bearings from the Shimano Ultegra direct mount rim brakes. It looks like I'll need a hook wrench(?) to get at the rear ...
- 161
15
votes
5
answers
11k
views
How to clean rim brake track efficiently?
What are the most efficient and effective ways to clean brake tracks on rims?
It is generally understood that rim brakes work better and pads last longer on clean brake tracks. Dirt on brake tracks ...
- 9,808