disc brakes .

[neptune]

The main thing I have to say is that I am against them ,. As an old guy I find it harder to accept new ideas , and disc brakes probably have a place on off road bikes used for downhill racing . But IMO they have no place on road bikes , as they are just an unnecessary complication . Vee brakes , I love . They are the only real advance in bicycle design in the last half century . And so simple . too . Hydraulic discs ? Let`s not even go there . A family friend brought his mountain bike round for me to look at , as , among other things , the rear brake is inefficient . I told him that I had never worked on discs , but he insisted . Looking on youtube , most callipers seem to have a separate adjuster for each pad . Not this one . The calliper seems to be rigidly mounted on the frame , and the mechanism only moves the outer pad . So the only way the inner pad can contact the disc is if the outer pad distorts the disc . You can actually see the disc bend as the brake is applied . I took our the pads , and took them to the LBS . He says that in his opinion , they are not badly worn . I thought about replacing them anyway , but although he stocks about 20 types , he could not match them . Is`nt modern technology wonderful . The brand name on the calliper is Artek .

 

[Scottyf]

I can understand your fustration.
However they reduce rim wear and are much better all weather performers if like mr you ride in all sorts of horrible weather.

Some car if not alot of car disc brakes only use one piston that actuates while the other pad is free floating the trick is on mechanical brakes is to adjust them correctly

 

[neptune]

Hi Scotty . I ride in all weathers , and find vee brakes adequate , and much better than the brakes we had when i was young . I have worked on car disc brakes having only one piston . The common problem was corrosion defeating the " floating" mechanism . My main complaint about this bike is that there does not seem to be any floating mechanism . The floating is achieved by bending the disc . What I would call a "Mickey Mouse " design .

 

[eTim]

You've obviously never taken a mountain bike down a steep slope at speed, an electric mountain bike weighing around 20Kg with a 90Kg rider needs alot of energy to slow down and stop, hydraulic disc brakes are the only option when your rims are caked in mud or are wet. Another benefit is the fingertip control and power than can be obtained that V-brakes just don't provide.

For the road, the heels of your shoes would do, for the mountain, discs are the only way to go. I've never heard of the Artek brand and have no experience of mechanical disc brakes, but I'm guessing they are cheap components, therein lies your problem, probably

 

[danfoto]

Well, FWIW I was brought up on rod brakes which were essentially neither use nor ornament, particularly in the wet. Having owned several good-quality bikes with various caliper brakes and with both 1980's and modern vee-brakes, I can truthfuly say that you can keep them. Give me the Magura hydraulic brakes on our Agattus any day. At least the axis of pad movement is perpendicular to the rim!

Ref mechanical discs, we have them on the front wheels of our Christiania cargo trike, and as long as they're set up properly, they're excellent.

 

[neptune]

Ok , Ok . I will concede that disc brakes , even hydraulic ones have their uses . But not for grandads like me , doing 10 mph on flat roads . It is as inappropriate as using a 4x4 chelsea tractor to take the kids to school .It is not so long ago that I happily used a hydraulic disc brake on the front of my bike . My bike at the time was a Yamaha with a 535cc engine . The trouble starts with people who commute on bargain basement mountain bikes , and expect me to fix them , when the brake pads are made of Unobtainium .

 

[amigafan2003]

I think what you have a problem with is cheap disc brakes, no disc brakes per se.

Good quality disc brakes don't have the issues you are describing. I actually find my Deore M-525 disc brakes easier to set up than my Avid SD-3 v-brakes.

 

[mxer125]

I have Artec calipars (They are proper cheap) but work fantastic when aligned (No disk bend/warp here), It takes a bit of work but all adjustments are there (pitch and tilt), I find the best way is to push the back pad (non moving) against the disk, so it's square to the face, then nip em up and adjust the cable, Check etc if you still have disk bend/warp then do it again till they are square...The key is "square to the face pads" and "almost touching gap"

as a tip, the back pad adjusts in and out with the ally bolt at the back of the calipar....

As for Pad replacment i havn't had to get any yet, but for sure there will be some on the bay, The price i paid for my calipars with pads, will proberly outway the price of some new pads....I wish you luck.

 

[neptune]

@mxer125. Although they are the same brand , I think your callipers are different to these . The only adjusters I can see are as follows . There is a small allen screw concentric with the cable arm pivot , which has a locking nut . This moves the outer pad closer or further away from the disc . There is a knurled nut[ finger adjustable] on the outer side of the calliper , which does not seem to do any thing . To remove the pads , you remove two screws from the back of the calliper , and the calliper splits in half . The pads are retained by magnets . There is no adjuster for the rear pad . The calliper is rigidly mounted on the bike frame by two screws parallel to the wheel axle . There is no float or adjustment .Any ideas please ?