Tekforums

Er... no idea with regards to this, but after adjusting brakes I noticed it before I came off, the adjustment was bang on, nothing had slipped but after the first few pulls everything seemed er... slack.

Spongy feeling brakes, its not a case of incorrect levers as they are stamped with "V BRAKES ONLY", but they are all resin affairs. Could replacing the levers improve the action?

My friends bike with metal tektro levers has an unchanging reach, they engage with about 5mm of pull, and stretch to about half way engaged, no more.

Mine can touch the handlebars after a few pulls at full stretch, and it still doesnt feel nice and stopped... but "spooonnngggggeee".

So is it the levers? or would I need to replace the whole shebang? or is it a case of just getting decent blocks on it.

My bike is still out of action but this was bothering me before the accident happened, and as im faffing with it now to fix it, thought Id just check.

Sounds like sh*tty cables that are compressing a bit, or housing ends that are ragged, which get compressed inside the brake arms ferrule, insead of the energy being used to pull cable.

/genius

So cables and levers replaced should sort them out?

It stops.. it just takes more effort and longer after a few pulls.

Quote from: M3ta7h3adSo cables and levers replaced should sort them out?

It stops.. it just takes more effort and longer after a few pulls.

If the levers arent damaged, there is no need to replace them. Just get some good housing. The regular lined stoff is fine, dont let the bastards upsell you to anything called a "brake cable system". :lol: After you cut the cable housing to length, grind it to make it perfectly flat, like the cable on the right:

1) change the cables... as fishstick face suggested.

2) grease the brake bosses.

3) make sure everything is nipped up in terms of bolts and screws.

4) dont bother changing the brakes on that bike... its not worth the money or hassle.

It depends. Often you can find a blowout on off branded Tektros for the price of replacement carts. Thats how I ended up upgrading my brakes on the keep-it-cheap SS. But really, most caliper/canti brakes are fine these days, cable and setup being key. Mushiness is cables 99% of the time.

Cool. cables it will be then, when you say "replace the outer" you mean the rubbery bit yeah? so you think that the steel inner cable is alright??

See I was saying this to a mate of mine whos more of a "I have bike, I pedal because its less effort than bloody walking everywhere" kinda guy, as opposed to you lot of the "I know stuff about bikes!" kinda group, who said "ahh its the levers, yeah stupid plastic sh*t theyre all bendy, ugh get em changed man."

Do you see the levers bending? No? Then don t worry bout it. Yes? Then get a set of Tektro cheapies, or see if the LBS has some in their bucket you can get for cheap.

Might as well get a cable set, btw, some of the discount bikes come with rather gimpy inner and outer stuff. $5.

Quote from: maximusotterDo you see the levers bending? No? Then don t worry bout it. Yes? Then get a set of Tektro cheapies, or see if the LBS has some in their bucket you can get for cheap.

Might as well get a cable set, btw, some of the discount bikes come with rather gimpy inner and outer stuff. $5.

Chuff it mate, already decided to try and put aside a little a month to buy something a little special to ride :) so will make do with a cable set. Ive got the ol Haynes manual of bike maintenance here pretty sure thatll get me through changing cables.

Quote from: M3ta7h3ad

Quote from: maximusotterDo you see the levers bending? No? Then don t worry bout it. Yes? Then get a set of Tektro cheapies, or see if the LBS has some in their bucket you can get for cheap.

Might as well get a cable set, btw, some of the discount bikes come with rather gimpy inner and outer stuff. $5.

Chuff it mate, already decided to try and put aside a little a month to buy something a little special to ride :)

[Insert sleazy joke about hooker: HERE]

Ive never ground the cable outers, but Lynzs box fresh Kona Blast has mushy brakes, so I might give it a go.

As for cables, as soon as I start at Stif, im going to treat my bike to some goretex sealed cables :D

May be a waste of money, but g*Damn, they look pimp.

IF you do change your brakes as fishstick face is waffling on about... (not that i recommend it, mind), the ONLY rim brakes i would recommend are these:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=1805

more stopping power than a hippo with a parachute attached to its ears.

FACT.

FISHSTICK FACE.

Equal power to budget hydro discs in the dry, when properly set up.

Meh, any linear pull brake thats not an awful Chinese knockoff, set up right, will stop a hybrid bike well enough to face plant. Same goes for dual-pivots. Only reason to go higher end on those is to get better finish, or some adjustment features. Really, they all stop just fine.

Brakes and derailleur systems peaked in quality a decade ago. Perhaps theyve gotten a hair better, and weve now standardized so that most road bikes come with a 11-26 instead of a 14-25, like in 1987. Yay! Two-three really high gears well rarely use. :fakesmile:

Quote from: maximusotterMeh, any linear pull brake thats not an awful Chinese knockoff, set up right, will stop a hybrid bike well enough to face plant. Same goes for dual-pivots. Only reason to go higher end on those is to get better finish, or some adjustment features. Really, they all stop just fine.

 

Non-sense.

HAVE YOU ever used the sh*te plastic v brakes, then compared them to the avid or shimano efforts, have you sh*te, fishstick face...

for 10quid, they are absolutely rock on tommy, end of story... theyll out-brake my old hope hydros in the dry and that is no lie....

I wouldnt ever touch XTRs or XT vs, as 25-45 quid for cable rim brakes is a joke but how anyone can say those AVIDs at 10 quid a throw are over kill or too expensive is beyond me... next youll be telling people to use their wellington boots on the back wheel to stop themselves.

FISH

STICKS

ON

A

WEASELS

NOSE.

Nah, Im not advocating plastic calipers. Those resin cantis that showed up a few years ago on bargain bikes were indeed heinous. The Avids are a fine deal, as are any of the Tektro models, as they pretty much just rip Avid design off like the Ural motorcycle company ripped off BMW.

That said, Ive set up a set of the most awefullest resin cantis, on a bike I got as a loaner in Sweden, to stop like true madness. Now the feel was like the rim was made of spongecake, but the dang thing stopped. Bear will vouch for the quality of the hills in the Masthugget district of Gothenburg. :lol:

Well a wee bit of an update. I managed to catch an earlier train home than normal today so went straight out the back to the bike.

Got the buckled wheel off, bloody hell... tacod doesnt cover it, im amazed the spokes didnt go "PING!" with just the weight of the bike on it, its actually deformed most of the spokes in the wheel the wheel actually has an S bend in it, couldnt see it with the tyre on, and I think the tyre is stiff enough that it actually helped the rim keep its shape, as soon as the tube was let down... it just creaked and went crazy.

Popped into Halfords, mainly because I wasnt aware of it but my local one has pretty much an entire store dedicated to bike gear and we drove past it on the way to the LBS cornershop thing :)

Wouldnt have trusted the kids there to give me any advice but the selection of kit there is pretty good, all bikehut (halfords own brand) and shimano however so not top end gear, but they have all the bits and pieces youd need to fix the little stuff.

So yeah went there once, to buy some wheel skewers, bought... went back.. fitted them.. brilliant! wheel on the bike. (Ã,£9.99)

Fixed my speedo cable with ample use of insulation tape and some twistage.

Then looked at the front brake cable, wasnt as bad as I thought damage wise itd basically pulled through the caliper when the bars went all the way around, so stripped the nipple off of the end, and by some miracle, the bolt that holds the cable was still in the caliper held in by a bit of nipple left in there.

So popped back to halfords, picked up a bag of cable ends (99p), a new V brake noodle thing with rubber bit! :) (1.99), and a bag of mudguard bolts as the crash had basically ripped two out of the front mudguard (another 99p)

Before we left, I had fixed the front brake to work, it just needed a nipple, but even with me and my dad sorting it out, we just couldnt get it to brake properly, it either bound the wheel up... or didnt stop a freewheeling wheel when I was pulling on the lever it looked buggered. The reason I bought a V brake noodle thing was because my dad noticed that the cable had torn two great holes in the side of the rubbery concertina bit of rubber, and it was all deformed when we pulled the lever, and had also gone rock hard (wasnt springing back or concertinering, just getting crushed when brakes were applied), so I bought a new v brake noodle thing to get the rubber bit, replaced the noodle, refitted the brakes, and adjusted them, crimped a end cover to the cable.

Then tried them. NO SQUISHYNESS!!!!!

The squishyness was down to the rubber concertina cover. Couldnt believe it!.. something so small completely fouling up a brake system.

New rubber concertina cover is now really squidgy and springy, it crushes when brakes are applied and springs back to shape when you let them go, and response is instant, tried it a good few times to make sure it wasnt like the last time, instant stoppage, then nothing after a few braking goes.

Back brake we noticed that the rubber bit is also getting hard like its aging... so shall aim to replace that noodle too in future, for Ã,£1.99 you cant fault it!! :)

So yeah, no need for new brakes, or new cables, or new cable sheaths... just a Ã,£1.99 v brake noodle, and 5 minutes to sort it out.

Total cost to repair my bike after the accident, and fix the brakes...

Ã,£5 for a wheel (Formula Hub, and Vuelta Vision II Rim :) no idea if thats good or bad)
Ã,£1.99 for a v brake noodle
99p for a packet of cable ends
99p for some mudguard bolts
Ã,£9.99 for quick release skewers, and I have 2 of them (one for a rear wheel left)

Ã,£18.96 and 2 hours faffing around.

Sorted!!! :)

Needed to do some alignment stuff too but that was about it (saddle was facing sideways, and handlebars were completely off center with the right bar end and brake lever pointing at the sky).

That front wheel is fine. Formula hubs are cheap and cheerful, nuthin wrong with em. Decent enough rim. Killer price. Would have run you $50 over here for such a front.

Wish I had a local joint for stoopit little stuff like that. Even the usually friendly Bike Pedlar, gives me the squinty eye when I waste their time buying ball bearings. :P

yeah, plus im one of these guys who hates having to explain stuff to a shop guy.

My LBS is a tiny corner shop affair, you dont browse in there, you have to talk to the man and he finds the stuff you want.

I like to browse, and have a look around. Took my complete front brake cable into the place, walked straight up to the parts wall, and started browsing. Musta spent 10 or 20 minutes just looking at the wall matching things to the cable, it was so nice just not to get hassle when browsing, big shops definately have that going for them.

Shifting may have peaked about 10 years ago, but kick started back into life when Sram came in with its X- Range.

X9, Strong, Fast, quieter and less all over movement than shimano. And 1:1 ratioed too.

Quote from: M3ta7h3adyeah, plus im one of these guys who hates having to explain stuff to a shop guy.

I love it.  Especially when said shop guy tries to tell you that what your asking for doesnt exist anywhere on earth, as was the case when I asked the bike man in the market for shimano-splined single sprockets :D

MY redneck alternate LBS stocks the DX cogs, but they are also a big bmx shop. ;)

I cant see how the rubber boot was hindering your braking.  The rubber sheath inside the noodle maybe, but the boot?  Thats just to stop mud getting dragged inside the noodel.

Id say it was probably the noodle itself.  Not the boot.

Quote from: soopahflyI cant see how the rubber boot was hindering your braking.  The rubber sheath inside the noodle maybe, but the boot?  Thats just to stop mud getting dragged inside the noodel.

Id say it was probably the noodle itself.  Not the boot.

The rubber boot didnt compress when the brake lever was pulled, so most of my braking energy was in fact being used to crush an extraordinarily hard bit of plastic, for my brake pads to actually touch the rim.

I was pulling the lever back to the handlebars basically to get just a moderate braking force applied, no amount of adjusting helped. Replace the rubber bit, and tada!!! the calipers can move freely as the rubber compresses when squeezed relatively easily.