Are cable disc brakes really this bad?
Discussion
My wife got me a hybrid bike to cycle to work on for Christmas. (http://www.wiggle.co.uk/verenti-division-2-2016/) It's got Shimano Altus with 160mm rotors cable disc brakes. Today is the first proper ride I've had on it, 8 miles to work and the brakes are shocking, far worse than my road bike with standard caliper brakes and a mile behind my MTB with hydraulic discs.
The pads just don't seem to grab the discs. Is this because the bike is new and the pads and discs need to bed in, or am I stuck with it like this?
Cheers
The pads just don't seem to grab the discs. Is this because the bike is new and the pads and discs need to bed in, or am I stuck with it like this?
Cheers
I've not used the brakes in question, but my years experience with the TRP Spyres (which are generally considered as the best cable discs) is that they seem to be hugely susceptible to setup issues. Far worse than the hydraulic brakes on my mountain bike. I'm not sure if it is user error, but I regularly have to adjust the pads, clean the discs, sand the pads, adjust the cable tensions in order to get them working as I would like.
Annoying, as when they work they work really really well. When they don't, they are noisy, spongey and generally a bit crap. Probably still better than the rim brake equivalent in the wet/grime, but certainly not the big win that I was hoping for. I'm saving up for a hydraulic set.
Annoying, as when they work they work really really well. When they don't, they are noisy, spongey and generally a bit crap. Probably still better than the rim brake equivalent in the wet/grime, but certainly not the big win that I was hoping for. I'm saving up for a hydraulic set.
I assume you have to bed the pads and discs in as you would for a MTB hydraulic brake set otherwise they will be pretty useless.
Do half a dozen good stops from a decent speed to get the pad compound onto the disc.
Wash down the disc and pad with clean water.
Try not to go OTB on the next stop.
Do half a dozen good stops from a decent speed to get the pad compound onto the disc.
Wash down the disc and pad with clean water.
Try not to go OTB on the next stop.
Depending on the brand, setting the cable up properly can be a massive PITA. I had many problems with Tektro branded cable disc brakes, mainly with the 'hammer' that the cable is secured to on the caliper actually hitting the body of the caliper before the brakes had chance to be fully applied. The only thing to do then is to release the cable clamp and start all over again. I got 'em pretty good in the end, but swapped to Shimano hydraulic calipers and levers (straight swap using same disc rotors and mounting brackets) in the end.
I frequently stripped the calipers on my Tektro IO brakes to service and clean them. There are three ball bearings on the Tektro brakes which are in a sort of shaped-recess "cam" system to push the outboard pad onto the disc. These bearings are where I had most of my problems as crap would get into them and prevent the ball bearings from moving properly. Cleaned and freshly greased, they were fine, but keeping them so was the problem. That, and learning to adjust the inboard pad toward the disc to compensate for wear. By comparison, hydraulic systems feel almost 'maintenance free'.
I frequently stripped the calipers on my Tektro IO brakes to service and clean them. There are three ball bearings on the Tektro brakes which are in a sort of shaped-recess "cam" system to push the outboard pad onto the disc. These bearings are where I had most of my problems as crap would get into them and prevent the ball bearings from moving properly. Cleaned and freshly greased, they were fine, but keeping them so was the problem. That, and learning to adjust the inboard pad toward the disc to compensate for wear. By comparison, hydraulic systems feel almost 'maintenance free'.
Cheers for the info.
I've got to say it's pretty disappointing that a bike built and set-up by the manufacturer requires further tinkering to make something as important as the brakes work effectively. I've had my MTB 10 years and in that time I've never touched the brakes other than getting the pads changed at the LBS a couple of years ago.
I'm now in 2 minds as to whether to have a go at tinkering with it to get them working or just send it back. The whole purpose of getting the bike was to have something totally focussed on getting me to work with little fuss - full mudguards, rack, and solid brakes were the selling points. I was switching tyres on my MTB and putting mudguards on and off when switching between the commute and weekend duties and I just wanted to cut all that out. The thought that to get the brakes on the new bike working effectively I'll have to constantly tinker with them makes the whole exercise pointless.
I've got to say it's pretty disappointing that a bike built and set-up by the manufacturer requires further tinkering to make something as important as the brakes work effectively. I've had my MTB 10 years and in that time I've never touched the brakes other than getting the pads changed at the LBS a couple of years ago.
I'm now in 2 minds as to whether to have a go at tinkering with it to get them working or just send it back. The whole purpose of getting the bike was to have something totally focussed on getting me to work with little fuss - full mudguards, rack, and solid brakes were the selling points. I was switching tyres on my MTB and putting mudguards on and off when switching between the commute and weekend duties and I just wanted to cut all that out. The thought that to get the brakes on the new bike working effectively I'll have to constantly tinker with them makes the whole exercise pointless.
Not what you want to hear but I'be always found cable disc brakes to lack power and feel. Bought a marin in the late 90s with cable discs and was made up when marin offered a hydraulic upgrade a few months after I bought it.
Have tried various cable operated disc brake set ups over the years on test rides and while they will stop the bike the just don't give peace of mind. I'd even go as far to say I'd go for v brakes over cable discs. I really don't know why manufacturers persist with them, just for the bling factor of discs?
When I bought my wife a budget (sub £370) MTB I went for a bike with Hydraulic brakes. Not had to do any maintenance on them at all in five years of light use
If the rest of the bike is fine see if you can upgrade to hydraulic.
Wingo
Have tried various cable operated disc brake set ups over the years on test rides and while they will stop the bike the just don't give peace of mind. I'd even go as far to say I'd go for v brakes over cable discs. I really don't know why manufacturers persist with them, just for the bling factor of discs?
When I bought my wife a budget (sub £370) MTB I went for a bike with Hydraulic brakes. Not had to do any maintenance on them at all in five years of light use
If the rest of the bike is fine see if you can upgrade to hydraulic.
Wingo
My Cx bike came with Avid BB5s. I have to say they were alright. They were crap to start but after a ride around Swinley they bedded in a treat. I got fed up with them though, every 30 ish miles I had to adjust the static pad to stop them squeaking and decent pad wear. After 2 sets of pads wore really badly, basically on the slant, I fitted TRP Hyds. They are spot on!
Give yours a bit of time and maybe a bit of sandpaper and hope for the best.
Give yours a bit of time and maybe a bit of sandpaper and hope for the best.
Fluffsri said:
My Cx bike came with Avid BB5s. I have to say they were alright. They were crap to start but after a ride around Swinley they bedded in a treat. I got fed up with them though, every 30 ish miles I had to adjust the static pad to stop them squeaking and decent pad wear. After 2 sets of pads wore really badly, basically on the slant, I fitted TRP Hyds. They are spot on!
Give yours a bit of time and maybe a bit of sandpaper and hope for the best.
Every 30 miles - I do that every 2 days! There's no way I'm adjusting the brakes every 2 days.Give yours a bit of time and maybe a bit of sandpaper and hope for the best.
I'll see how they perform on the way home, maybe fire off a warning email to Wiggle tonight and see if they improve over the week.
JQ said:
Fluffsri said:
My Cx bike came with Avid BB5s. I have to say they were alright. They were crap to start but after a ride around Swinley they bedded in a treat. I got fed up with them though, every 30 ish miles I had to adjust the static pad to stop them squeaking and decent pad wear. After 2 sets of pads wore really badly, basically on the slant, I fitted TRP Hyds. They are spot on!
Give yours a bit of time and maybe a bit of sandpaper and hope for the best.
Every 30 miles - I do that every 2 days! There's no way I'm adjusting the brakes every 2 days.Give yours a bit of time and maybe a bit of sandpaper and hope for the best.
I'll see how they perform on the way home, maybe fire off a warning email to Wiggle tonight and see if they improve over the week.
JQ said:
Vantagemech said:
can you lock the wheels making it skid?
Nope.I'll try a few hard stops on the way home tonight and see if things improve, their current performance is significantly worse than the rim brakes on my road bike.
The Shimano cable discs on my hybrid are vastly superior on steep descents than the rim brakes on one of my road bikes. I can actually stop on a 20% gradient with the discs in a reasonable distance. The same cannot be said of the rim brakes.
Did lots of hard stops on the way home last night and they seemed to improve a little bit. Washed the discs and pads when I got home. Then rode in again this morning and they just seemed s
t again, although it was sub-zero so I was quite focused on the fact my ears and nose felt like they wanted to fall off my head. I'll see how I get on this evening on my way home.
t again, although it was sub-zero so I was quite focused on the fact my ears and nose felt like they wanted to fall off my head. I'll see how I get on this evening on my way home.Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff