Bicycle Thread

[mad082]

yeah cable disc suck the big one. hydro are much better, but they still vary in quality. hayes suck the big one, avid and shimano are good, but each have their good and bad models. in the newer stuff, the mid to upper models are pretty darn good in both camps. the shimano xt and xtr are stupidly strong. and the new avid/SRAM XO trail brakes are just insane. my boss put some on his carbon trek remedy (upgraded from XX brakes) and they actually cause the steerer tube of the forks to creak in the crown of the forks. excellent for doing endos though......

[xALmoN]

i'm of the shitmano camp when it comes to hydro discs, mineral oil is a little hard to boil on a pushbike, and dot4 tends to absorb moisture from the air even through the seals, though my phobia against dot4 brake systems are due to shithouse hayes brakes that used to come on them kona bikes.

[mad082]

hayes brakes are shit. no 2 ways about it.

the older shimano are ok, but not that powerful (unlike the new stuff). the new stuff has a few issues though. they suffer from getting a long lever as the pads wear (doesn't keep adjusting as the pads wear). a few of our sponsored riders we have to keep pumping them up every few weeks (pumping up is when you take the wheel out and squeeze the brakes to get the pads to move in a bit closer together).

and yeah, dot fluid brakes suffer a bit from moisture and locking up when it gets hot, but it's easy enough to fix. you just have to undo the bleed screw on the lever a few turns until it releases the pressure in the line.

[Down_Shift]

So I just bought the Thule Proride 591.
Should be so much better than having my bike in the back, was always scared of damaging the bike laying in the back.

[mad082]

i prefer having my bike in the car. as long as it's laying drive side up then there's little chance of damage, and it's out of the weather.

just remember not to drive into the garage or into an undercover carpark with the bike on the roof. put a note on the cluster when carrying the bike if need be. i see people tearing bikes off the roof a few times a year. usually results in the bike being written off, and if you're unlucky also some serious damage to the roof of the car.

[Down_Shift]

What do you mean by laying the bike drive side up? I can only leave mine laying on it's side flat.... apparently the fork can get damaged?
My front disc was slightly misaligned with it laying flat in the back.

Will definitely remember not to drive into the garage or undercover with bike on the roof! I only go straight to where to ride and straight back home pretty much, don't travel around with the bike.

[mad082]

drive side up means laying on it's left hand side (non drive side), so that the derailleurs aren't being squashed. and i've never had any issues with bikes being damaged being laid flat, even carbon bikes. maybe the odd scratch if they aren't on a carpet, but no structural damage. i've also never had any issues with disc brakes being damaged, as they are kept off the floor by the frame.

but there is the issue of the carpet getting dirty. doesn't bother me though as i have a commodore wagon, lol.

[Down_Shift]

opps, so I've been laying it flat on the right hand side then... thought it didn't matter since the pedals would stop the derailleurs from hitting the car floor/carpet/whatever you want to call it lol
I pretty much got tired with having to bend over and awkwardly put the back in the back while seeing my friends easily put their bikes it on the bike racks and just waiting for me. Tired legs don't help either!

I've got an old curtain in the back to stop dirt into my car, but then again I too have a wagon but not a commodore.

[mad082]

I leave the passenger side rear seat down all the time and when I want to put the bike in I just simply slide/roll it in back wheel first, lay it down, shut door and go. Makes getting it out easy too. Open boot, slide/roll bike out, shut boot.

But yeah, laying the bike down on it's drive side increases the risk of bending the derailleur hanger, which can result in the derailleur ending up in the spokes when you shift into first gear, or just cause shifting issues.

[gtr jet]

I run the base model Hayes hydro's on the front of my Norco atm and they seem to have died in the last year. It's almost as if the pads are glazed over and don't grip anymore.

I've put new pads in but still have the same issue. Rears are fine.

Anyone have any tips for me?

[Nee-san]

What should I clean my bike with ?

[Birds]

WD40

Tyres too

[mad082]

Lol birds. You'd be surprised how many people do that.

You can get some degreaser and put it in a spray bottle to carefully spray around the cranks and cassette (without getting any on the brakes), then scrub with an old paintbrush (or something similar), then just wash with carwash. Some people use truck wash and don't use degreaser. It can be damaging to paintwork though.

There is also a product called muc off. You just spray it on, let it soak then hose it off. It it's safe for disc brakes, etc.

[mad082]

I run the base model Hayes hydro's on the front of my Norco atm and they seem to have died in the last year. It's almost as if the pads are glazed over and don't grip anymore.

I've put new pads in but still have the same issue. Rears are fine.

Anyone have any tips for me?

2 things. First, take the new pads out and give them a light scuff on concrete. Then get some ispropyl alcohol or brake cleaner and give the rotor a clean. Then get some medium grit sandpaper and give the rotor a sand. You can start with a finer paper to take a layer off the rotor, then a more coarse paper to leave the rotor with a rough, gripy surface. Then just give it another quick clean.

Then you need to bed the pads in. To do this, put it all back together and go for a ride. Get up to a reasonable speed then brake hard pretty much to a stop. Do this a handful of times. You should feel the brakes getting slightly better each time.

There is also the chance that the brake fluid may benefit from being bled.

Of course all of the above assumes that the brakes haven't been contaminated at all. In which case you need to clean the rotor as well as get some new pads. If you put new pads on a contaminated rotor they will just get contaminated as well and rarely can they be cleaned

[gtr jet]

I've tried all of the above and still have issues. I never did them all at the same time though so I'm guessing my pads are most likely contaminated.

I'll have a crack at doing it all properly and see how they come up. Cheers for the help.

[Nee-san]

Good, I'm buying some aero wheels soon because my bike dick just isn't big enough yet.

Gonna get me some degreaser.

GONNA PAINT A WAGON, GONNA PAINT IT GOOD!

[GOD12A]

Heya guys

Just found this thread!

I've been racing mountain bikes for ~20yrs and started working in my local bike shop when I was 12yo.

Next to cars, bikes have been my longest 'life consistency'!

I currently ride a Specialized Epic Expert for marathon and enduro work with a carbon/alloy Azzurri roadie for training duties (that hasn't seen any real training for aaages!)

I've had a few bikes in my time and have competed at a reasonably high level for a bit. Now I'm just happy bashing around the dirt with mates and maybe the odd 100km/24hr team enduro for shitsngigglez.

Any western sydney mtb riders?

I CBF reading all 53 pages of thread

Mark

[Trozzle]

Lost balance trying to get to my drink bottle yesterday and fell into the handrail of the footbridge I was crossing...very minor buckle in front wheel, brake/shifter lever bashed (only mount moved), and slight tear in grip tape. Sigh. At least I didn't go over the railing onto the road...very close though. Got a horrible friction burn/graze on my chest though lol. Feel like a retard, haven't done this since primary school haha

[Birds]

I was picturing this