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Post by Humph on Sept 10, 2018 6:55:03 GMT
I find hydraulics much better than cables. For what it's worth.
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Post by tyrednexited on Sept 10, 2018 8:56:37 GMT
I find hydraulics much better than cables. For what it's worth. Except when they fail on Urlaub. 9am at bike shop. Hopefully pick up before lunch. Nice guy agreed to fit me in, but swore I'd switched the brake levers over! (You who have hired bikes abroad will no doubt know, but I was surprised that f/b brake levers are reversed here) |
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Sept 10, 2018 9:18:02 GMT
Or here. My stolen bike was bought in the US, so had the ‘LHD’ layout. My in-town runabout is UK-spec, with the front brake on the right. I don’t think I ever consciously noticed either when riding.
Hope you’re up and stopping again soon.
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Post by tyrednexited on Sept 10, 2018 11:41:42 GMT
Or here. My stolen bike was bought in the US, so had the ‘LHD’ layout. My in-town runabout is UK-spec, with the front brake on the right. I don’t think I ever consciously noticed either when riding. Hope you’re up and stopping again soon. I'm reliably informed that the 'handing' is so you can use the rear brake whilst signalling turning across approaching traffic. German motorbikes are handed like British cycles, which I'm told can be confusing if you ride both. €24 lighter I am hopefully now braked, but having just checked, the jury may be out. We've just pitched up along the Main, so a day out tomorrow will be the test! |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 10, 2018 12:37:30 GMT
This would explain why some children's bikes in Decathlon have the brake levers the wrong way round. I had wondered what was going on.
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Post by Humph on Sept 10, 2018 14:06:09 GMT
I swapped bikes ( just for the craik ) with a French friend on a trip this year. It was kind of funny when he was bowling along and decided to swing the back round on a locked back wheel, which was in fact a locked front one...
😈
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Post by tyrednexited on Sept 10, 2018 19:42:37 GMT
This is the only pic I have on my phone, just before I lost the brakes. The Donau/Danube, but not as we know it Jim. It really was a stunning ride  |
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Post by bromptonaut on Sept 10, 2018 20:08:52 GMT
Oh. Everything I'm looking at seems to have hydraulics - apart from the odd cable-operated disc that seems to be neither one thing nor t'other. Not sure about discs either. OK, I'm impressed by their effectiveness but there's only so much retardation before rear wheel leaves the ground with fronts or skids with rear. I've had two rides, one with family another with a work team on London to Brighton, where out of balance caliper action has left one pad worn to it's backings. Guy on L2B was lucky in that one of the many roadside 'pit stops' had right pads and fitted them before we tackled Ditchling Beacon but it was fourth place we've tried and probably delayed us an hour, and that was before another team member got cramp at Ditchling. |
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Post by Humph on Sept 10, 2018 21:03:44 GMT
Have to disagree Bromp. When you need to fine tune your braking, especially in the wet or on a loose surface, hydraulic discs are far more controllable and predictable. Far less effort for more stopping power too.
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Post by tyrednexited on Sept 11, 2018 13:31:00 GMT
... well, 35 miles out and back on opposite sides of the Main today, and I still have brakes 🤗
They're still feel a bit more spongey than I would like, but they work, and should last the holiday out.
'tis bl**dy hot here, good job the Germans do beer. (actually, it's ok for a week or two on holiday, but not my taste full-time)
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 11, 2018 13:59:27 GMT
The beer or the weather?
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Post by tyrednexited on Sept 11, 2018 14:21:29 GMT
One is hot, and one is cold.
It's the way round most people would prefer, but it's quite obvious from posts on here that some people can be perverse, so I'll leave the choice up to you. 🤔
I think I may have misunderstood your drift.
Actually, I don't think extended exposure to either hot humid weather or German beer is entirely to my taste, but the latter temporarily at least ameliorates the former.
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Post by Humph on Sept 11, 2018 16:20:39 GMT
... well, 35 miles out and back on opposite sides of the Main today, and I still have brakes 🤗 They're still feel a bit more spongey than I would like, but they work, and should last the holiday out. 'tis bl**dy hot here, good job the Germans do beer. (actually, it's ok for a week or two on holiday, but not my taste full-time) Couple of things to try, pump the brakes on and off a few times next time you're on the bike and try to get the pads hot. It might be (maybe) that if you've had a fluid leak, that the pads have become contaminated. If they have, they're knackered I'm afraid, but a bit of heat in them will temporarily help. They're very sensitive to oil contamination. Also, try to avoid leaving the bike upside down ( if you ever do ) hydraulic brakes don't like that. |
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Post by tyrednexited on Sept 11, 2018 16:46:53 GMT
Absolutely no leaks, and the pads are fine (I'd already checked them, but the bike shop gave them the all clear anyway)
They've certainly added fluid (I've had to clean round some of the handlebar fittings that had trapped it) but I'm not sure how thorough they've been at bleeding, after all I set a time challenge.
I think they've done both brakes, actually, and the front is more or less as I would expect, but the back is subjectively less 'positive'.
Longer fluid run, of course, and maybe my expectations are too high.
Whatever, it is entirely operable, will keep me cycling this holiday, and give me a chance to tinker when I get home. 🔧
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Post by Humph on Sept 11, 2018 17:24:18 GMT
I like a tinker. I was actually thinking of taking a bike with me to Italy, but it'd have to go on the roof as the car will be full, and I'll probably not have any time to use one. Might have been nice to have an evening hurl around Milan city though. I'll ponder it, but probably won't take one. Now that WDB has set the French, or were they Belgians come to think, similar coves anyway, to thinking it's easy to nick them and get away with it, it's all rather spoiled it for the rest of us I'm afraid...
😉
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