Hot answers tagged hydraulic-disc-brake
14
Look at any high end bike and you will find hydraulic disc brakes.
There will be people who argue the pros/cons of hydraulic vs mechanical disc brakes but it's hard to deny what the entire industry is putting on their most expensive rigs.
For ease of stoppage, minimal brake fade and ease of modulation - the hydraulic disc brake wins hands down. You can ...
14
Usually, singles need to have horizontal dropouts so you can take the chain slack by adjusting the rear axle position.
That means that any brake that is attached to the frame will "go out of position" when you adjust the rear axle position. That is, by the way, the reason why some horizontal dropouts are not quite horizontal, but diagonal: to be ...
13
I think the answer he was looking for was how they adjust as the pads get worn. There is a check valve in the master cylinder, that will allow enough fluid from the reservoir when the lever is pulled. If more fluid is needed because of pad degradation, it passes it into the active system. Therefore with more fluid in the system, the piston is pushed out ...
12
Since bikes are usually shipped to the dealer with the wheels disassembled from the frame, the disc calipers often each have a plastic separator pressed into them that serve to prevent lock-up during shipping. The Hayes company even puts their brand logo on theirs. Since these are removed during assembly, you might be able to ask a repair person at your ...
12
Hydraulics are used on higher end systems, cables are a certain sign of a cheap brake set, so your observations are correct regarding "professional" bikes.
Cables have the disadvantage of friction that hydraulics virtually eliminate. It is significantly easier to modulate hydraulic brakes, you get more force delivered to the pads, hence more stopping power ...
9
It's not for hand signals. "Left hand only" signals were originally designed for cars. You couldn't use your right hand out the window, so you could only use your left. Using both hands to properly signal on your bike is far more clear. It's used on motorcycles due to the fact that the throttle is on the right hand, so you want to keep that engaged at all ...
9
For a city commuter bike, don't bother with disk brakes - go for simple rim brakes. You'll want the reliability over all else. You don't need disks for most types of road cycling, as the limiting factor for grip is likely to be your tyre anyway.
As regards shifters, go with whatever is comfortable for you. I like the combination of brakes and gear levers in ...
7
There are 2 types of hydraulic brake systems, referred to as open systems and closed systems.
Open systems have a reservoir, with a cap, usually on the brake lever, above the master cylinder. These systems, when proper care is taken, can have fluid added, or hoses trimmed without rebleeding the brakes.
Closed system brakes, like most older Hayes brakes, ...
7
I have or have had bikes with mechanical rim brakes, mechanical disks (shimano deore), hydraulic discs (also shimano deore) and recently hydraulic rim brakes (Magura hs33).
The experience I had says that:
The force you have to apply depends on brake-system preload / elastic constant (lever spring + actuator spring), cable friction, and actual, braking, ...
6
Why would hydraulic disk-brakes become sluggish in cold winter? Just an incident or due to the cold?
Hydraulics are the same for car brakes, as for these style brakes, as anywhere else in the physical universe.
Liquids have an amusing property that they do not compress well, if at all. (They do of course compress, but not very much in the grand scheme of things, and it takes a lot of pressure to noticeably compress them).
Thus your hand started breaking ...
6
You need to bleed your hydros when they get a squishy feeling. They should be pretty close to the rotor, but if they are rubbing a lot, then you could try to recenter the pads around the rotor.
To do this loosen the bolts attaching the brakes to the fork (or the adapter). Then grab your corresponding brake lever and tighten up the bolts you just loosened ...
6
This document covers all your questions, and is from the manufacturer.
http://www.hayesdiscbrake.com/wp-content/themes/hdb/pdf/45-14550DEnglishForWeb.pdf
Looks like pad replacement/adjustment is easy enough, and you may need a kit for bleeding.
Good Luck
6
In addition to @mattnz's response; most cable disk brake systems work by operating one pad only - and squeezing the rotor onto a stationary pad. This means that as the pad wears down, you typically have to wind in the moving pad (usually the outside one) to keep the right bite point.
Hydraulic systems usually have opposing pads that self adjust for central ...
6
The advice I have seen for a stuck piston is a) hot soapy water, followed by Isopropyl Alcohol, followed by a small amount of brake fluid (Use the same that is in you brakes - mineral in your case) to lubricate the piston. If you google for "Stuck Bicycle Disc Brake piston" there is quite a lot of useful advise
Warm soapy water on it's own cannot hurt. ...
6
1- Disc brakes perform better in wet weather. If you choose rim brakes, aluminum rims offer a better braking surface than carbon rims. Hidraulic brakes adjust for pad wear and both pads move inwards to press against the disc surface. Mechanical brakes push one pad (usually the outer one) onto the disc, and the disc has to flex to touch the other pad.
2.- ...
5
Mineral oil based Hydraulic fluid will build up water condensation in the hoses over time. How much time depends on a lot of factors, like humidity, temperature, bike storage conditions, and similar things.
After 5 years, I would expect that the level of contamination would be high enough to be noticeable, and that the fluid should be replaced. The specific ...
5
From my experience racing USAC Collegiate xc and short track, disc brakes are the way to go, and I prefer hydraulic to mechanical, as long as they're the right model. You can find a lot of reviews on the mtbr.com forum about disc brakes to find one that would work for you. The Avid Elixir R SLs I use on my full-suspension mtb have never let me down and are ...
5
There are plenty of advantages to disc brakes while mountain biking.
In my opinion, disc brakes give much better feedback to the lever with almost no fiddling with them. Rim brakes can be set up to work as well, but it has been a long process every time I've tried it. Rim breaks also can cause problems by heating up the rim itself, and as a result the air ...
5
Many high end hydraulic systems on bikes are very much the same design as the car & motorcycle variety. However there are cheaper cable/hydraulic type brakes for cycles avalable.
What happens in the fully hydraulic system is that the fluid within the system is put under pressure by you pulling on the lever, but the fluid and the system itself will not ...
5
Generally speaking you should just be able to take off your wheel and grab them with some needle nose pliers. I just grab onto the tab (see picture) and slowly ease them out. Mine are just held in with magnets. More info is probably needed for a better answer.
5
My mechanic claims that the brakes cannot be switched.
You route the cable/hose to the lever on one side of your bars instead of the other. Maybe you have to swap mismatched levers from one side of the bars to the other. Either way, it's a trivial change. Get a new mechanic.
So should I get used to it?
Even though I'm American, I wire all my ...
4
Answer to part one:
Yes, within reason, it's true.
Answer to part two:
It works in a very simple fashion. Each time the lever is pulled, enough fluid to move the pistons, and therefore the brake pads, is pushed out of the caliper far enough to contact the brake rotor.
As they move out of the piston, they push past the caliper seal. The flex in the ...
4
From Wikipedia:
Part of the difference is boiling points:
Dry boiling point Wet boiling point
DOT 3 205 °C (401 °F) 140 °C (284 °F)
DOT 4 230 °C (446 °F) 155 °C (311 °F)
DOT 5 260 °C (500 °F) 180 °C (356 °F)
DOT 5.1 270 °C (518 °F) 190 °C (374 °F)
3, 4, and 5.1 are glycol-based, and must be changed ...
4
Get a brand new razor blade, the type that you would use in a boxcutter or the type you would use in a scraper, as long as it's rigid. Lay the hose against a hard, flat, and clean surface and while holding the hose as close to where you want to make the cut as possible (without cutting your fingers off) push straight down on the blade while sliding it ...
4
I'd recommend giving your current brake installation a good service before considering spending money on an expensive upgrade.
Hydros are great (I have them on my bike and enjoy riding with them), but a well-maintained braking system should be more than adequate in all reasonable riding conditions. Hydros would have advantages if you're into mountain ...
3
Searching on Amazon (for "Hydraulic Hose Cutter"), I found a few under $20. But, the replacement blades look just like common utility knife razor blades.
Maybe you can rig of something to hold the cable square so you might be able to use a utility knife. I'd clamp, lightly so you don't crush, the hose to a scrap piece of wood and use edge as a visual guide ...
3
From your install manual, the "Burnish" period is only 30-40 stops, so you should be beyond that. If the bike is still within a month or two of purchase, I would suggest taking the bike back to the shop and playing dumb. They sold you the bike, they should fix the brakes that aren't working properly. If they say, "they're supposed to do that", I'd suggest ...
3
What you need to know is the type of mounting you have on your fork and on your brakes to know what adaptor you need to get. There are IS (so-called international standard, used by Hope and Formula, among others), Post (used by Rockshox, Marzocchi for forks and Avid, Hayes for brakes, among others) and some manufacturer and/or fork specific mounts.
...
3
To answer the "Which one should I choose for average mountain biking?" part,
You don't really "choose" your brake oil, it's specified by the manufacturer. The oil is chosen depending on the heat output of the brake and the general construction of the system. A different oil than what the manufacturer recommends might affect/break the cables, seals or some ...
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