Folder recommendations

Nealh

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 7, 2014
20,917
8,533
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West Sx RH
Hydraulic disc all day long on any bike, my pad bite just gets better all the time having bed in nicely . Cheap china pads at a £1 a go and no issues with their performance , only another dozen or so pairs to get thru so should last me for ever.
 
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saneagle

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 10, 2010
6,842
3,169
Telford
What a load of shite… instead of just stating your opinion as fact as usual, can you back this up with some reasoning and evidence?

There are millions of bikes with cable disk brakes and all the major brake manufacturers make them. Are you saying they’re negligent and the riders are going to suffer death unless they spend an hour a week maintaining their brakes?

…or actually are they just fine, and no better/worse than any other brakes.

Here is a balanced view, presented with reasoning and explanation rather than just stated as fact….
Quoting stuff from the Internet when you have zero or close to zero experience in these matters. If I were you, I'd stop trying to score points, which only makes yourself look silly. Instead, grab some spanners and start experimenting with stuff, then come back here and tell us what you found out, not what some guy on the Internet said,
 

mr_ed

Pedelecer
Feb 15, 2022
116
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Quoting stuff from the Internet when you have zero or close to zero experience in these matters. If I were you, I'd stop trying to score points, which only makes yourself look silly. Instead, grab some spanners and start experimenting with stuff, then come back here and tell us what you found out, not what some guy on the Internet said,
Haha, exactly like you! Every single topic on here you have to chime in and say ‘don’t do it like that, do it like this because I say so’ with no reasoning or explanation at all.

If anyone has anything different from what you have then it’s categorically wrong… torque sensing, mid-drive etc etc.

What you don’t realise is that you’re driving people away from the forum, every time someone asks a question or gives an opinion you state your own opinion as if it’s fact when it’s clear to all it’s not…. You’re think you’re the big fish and this is your forum… fair enough mate… enjoy your power!!

Meanwhile or your own projects are utter shite… fancy getting your chain line so wrong that your chain keeps falling off and you have to bodge it with a chain guide??
 

mr_ed

Pedelecer
Feb 15, 2022
116
18
Nowhere in that article does it mention E-bikes, which weigh more and have higher average speeds. Consider that mass going fast downhill.

Let me ask you a question, how would you fancy cable operated brakes on your car or motorbike?

Anyway, enjoy getting torn a new one by saneagle :D
The biggest factor to the weight of a bike is the rider. An e-bike is 10kgs at most more than a normal bike, whereas the rider can vary by 50kgs and yet when designing the bike this will be within the envelope for the brakes.

People were competing at the tour-de-France with rim brakes not that long ago… does a folder need hydraulic brakes to pop to the station and back??

On my car, do I need 6 pot pistons and carbon brake disks all round, change the fluid after every 1000 miles? No… single piston disks and drums at the rear is just fine.

Cable operated disks are just fine…the stopping distance will be the same with the same pads and disk size as hydraulic. You could see the maintenance as less than hydraulics and the failure mode as more progressive than getting air/water/dirt in hydraulics.

Thank you for the warning of san eagle tearing me a new one, I assume you’re one of his playground gang… next you’ll be telling everyone meet behind the bike sheds at 4pm!!
 

saneagle

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 10, 2010
6,842
3,169
Telford
Haha, exactly like you! Every single topic on here you have to chime in and say ‘don’t do it like that, do it like this because I say so’ with no reasoning or explanation at all.

If anyone has anything different from what you have then it’s categorically wrong… torque sensing, mid-drive etc etc.

What you don’t realise is that you’re driving people away from the forum, every time someone asks a question or gives an opinion you state your own opinion as if it’s fact when it’s clear to all it’s not…. You’re think you’re the big fish and this is your forum… fair enough mate… enjoy your power!!

Meanwhile or your own projects are utter shite… fancy getting your chain line so wrong that your chain keeps falling off and you have to bodge it with a chain guide??
I can't help it if crank-drives and torque sensors are shite and you haven't a clue what you're talking about.

If you know so much, can you make a suggestion on how to improve the chainline on my bike?
 

Woosh

Trade Member
May 19, 2012
20,381
16,878
Southend on Sea
wooshbikes.co.uk
Cable operated disks are just fine…the stopping distance will be the same with the same pads and disk size as hydraulic.
not quite. Cable operated disc brakes have only one piston, pushing only one side against the rotor. The other side is static. Hydraulic brakes have at least two pistons and the pads are usually larger too.
 
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mr_ed

Pedelecer
Feb 15, 2022
116
18
I can't help it if crank-drives and torque sensors are shite and you haven't a clue what you're talking about.

If you know so much, can you make a suggestion on how to improve the chainline on my bike?
I’d be happy to help… post up some pictures of your frame and motor fitment? These things do need to be considered properly when selecting a frame and motor combination… if you just go with what you’ve got then it may be fundamentally wrong and only minor fettling possible.

With my project, the first thing I bought was a brand new frame, a 29’er from Evans Cycles that was only £90 in the sale. It has through axles and wide chainstays for a 1x cassette. So I had to do a lot of planning to select a motor and chain ring to optimise my chain line. Used a lot of cardboard cutouts to get it right. I went with a BBSHD because this was the one that fit the best but also kinda wanted that one too… I fettled the bottom bracket face and the motor casing and used an offset Leckie Bling Ring but achieved the results I wanted to, my chainring is bang on central to the 11 speed cassette.
 

Waspy

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 8, 2012
433
171
The biggest factor to the weight of a bike is the rider. An e-bike is 10kgs at most more than a normal bike, whereas the rider can vary by 50kgs and yet when designing the bike this will be within the envelope for the brakes.
Yes, but some envelopes are better than others.

People were competing at the tour-de-France with rim brakes not that long ago… does a folder need hydraulic brakes to pop to the station and back??
"Not that long ago" But not now of course.

On my car, do I need 6 pot pistons and carbon brake disks all round, change the fluid after every 1000 miles? No… single piston disks and drums at the rear is just fine.
But you'd still prefer it if your front brakes (at least) were hydraulic disks.

Cable operated disks are just fine…the stopping distance will be the same with the same pads and disk size as hydraulic. You could see the maintenance as less than hydraulics and the failure mode as more progressive than getting air/water/dirt in hydraulics.
I don't think any of that is true.

Thank you for the warning of san eagle tearing me a new one, I assume you’re one of his playground gang… next you’ll be telling everyone meet behind the bike sheds at 4pm!!
That's pretty funny, I'm pleased we can enjoy some friendly banter :D

In other news, you'll be pleased to hear I shortened my rear brake hose by following Youtube stuff. Piece of ****. Went out for a ride, marvellous, I'm never going back to rubbish brakes.
 
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mr_ed

Pedelecer
Feb 15, 2022
116
18
Yes, but some envelopes are better than others.



"Not that long ago" But not now of course.



But you'd still prefer it if your front brakes (at least) were hydraulic disks.



I don't think any of that is true.



That's pretty funny, I'm pleased we can enjoy some friendly banter :D

In other news, you'll be pleased to hear I shortened my rear brake hose by following Youtube stuff. Piece of ****. Went out for a ride, marvellous, I'm never going back to rubbish brakes.
In our house we have about 6 bikes… some have hydraulic brakes, some have rim brakes, some have cable operated disks. All of them work just fine and if squeezed hard enough can lock up the wheels… I don’t think any of them have ever needed any maintenance at all…

If any, it’s the hydraulics that I have the feeling I’m neglecting…probably supposed to bleed them again sometime or change the fluid.

I’m sure cable operated brakes are just fine on a folder! Shimano know their ****… Sure if building a bike from scratch I’d opt for hydraulics but if buying an existing bike I’d be happy with cable, there is nothing wrong with it.
 

guerney

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 7, 2021
11,424
3,247
I’m sure cable operated brakes are just fine on a folder!
My v-brakes certainly are. They stop me sharpish and I am going to stick with them. Totally given up on the idea of disc conversion. There are at least a zillion 20" wheeled bikes out there, and a market of a zillion is hard for manufacturers to ignore - I'll continue buying new rims and brake pads.
 

guerney

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 7, 2021
11,424
3,247
If nothing else, I get through a small fortune in brake pads and need to adjust for wear every few outings. My hill is steep, single track, covered in loose gravel, high hedges and sharp bends. It’s the sort of hill you descend at 10mph in case you meet an idiot in a car coming up that refuses to stop. And I’ve met a few
I'm always having to go slow downhill myself, but I don't get why you need to adjust your brakes so often. Are you not tightening the brake pads in position enough? Small drop of 3 in 1 on the thread, holding the pad stationary at the right angle, and making fast short and sharp hard turns with the allen key works for me. Slow turns turn the brake pad. Then the only adjustment needed is tightening the brake cable every so often, as the pads wear down. When positioned tightly enough, they won't change angle when you brake.
 
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StuartsProjects

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 9, 2021
1,787
1,010
My v-brakes certainly are. They stop me sharpish and I am going to stick with them.
Same with the brakes on my Bromptons, they work just fine, not much maintenance really.

The rim wear is a pain though, I have never needed to replace one, but the front wheel rim on my sons Brompton failed after only 9 years of regular use.
 

guerney

Esteemed Pedelecer
Sep 7, 2021
11,424
3,247
The rim wear is a pain though, I have never needed to replace one, but the front wheel rim on my sons Brompton failed after only 9 years.
9 years?!? Is his not electric? Are Brompton rims steel? Before I converted my bike, it was still on it's original rims from 2006... now I get through them every year or so. When I can't quickly find the right rims, I buy entire wheels. Fortunately my latest rear wheel was a sweet deal from Banruptbikeparts. Haven't installed it yet, hope it isn't squeaky.
 

Bogmonster666

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 6, 2022
343
176
No, 6 speed manual, standard alloy rims.

But only 9 years !!! clearly rim wear is a serious issue.

The rims on my non-electric folder are wearing badly and hardly use it. On my electric mtb conversion I think the rims also won’t last too long. A lot really depends on the hills and speed one can safely descend said hills. I’m down to 10mph on very steep hills because single track, bends, high hedges, gravel. If my brakes stopped me better I might go a bit faster, but not much. The rims take a lot of wear like this… It’s not like stopping at a few traffic lights.

I can just about live with the poor stopping, the constant adjustment is a real bore.
 

Ghost1951

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 2, 2024
1,590
627
Just ordered some new pads for my Tekrto Auriga disk brakes. Rear ones are pretty worn down and handlebar lever movement is unacceptably long. I never had hydraulic brakes on a bicycle before, but they are very nice - even these entry level sort.
 

Ghost1951

Esteemed Pedelecer
Jun 2, 2024
1,590
627
Hydraulic disc all day long on any bike, my pad bite just gets better all the time having bed in nicely . Cheap china pads at a £1 a go and no issues with their performance , only another dozen or so pairs to get thru so should last me for ever.
£1 a set??? I just paid £15 for two Tektro Auriga ones. Hope you are not going to tell me I could have had the same sort as you have...... :)
 

Nealh

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 7, 2014
20,917
8,533
61
West Sx RH
£1 a set??? I just paid £15 for two Tektro Auriga ones. Hope you are not going to tell me I could have had the same sort as you have...... :)
I bought a job lot on aliexpress well before brexit so they were dirt cheap, BS01 Shimano type which are pretty much foundon alot of bikes that use obviously entry shimano line brakes as well as some tektro and clarkes brakes
. Can't complain at the braking performance and have no issues with last minute braking, they lock up a treat if one want's them to.
 
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