Orang Utan
Psychick Worrier Ov Geyoor
I've replaced them twice and found it quite easy, but I can't be arsed, so I'm taking it to the shop.
How was your cycle commute?
- Thread starter ChrisFilter
- Start date
gentlegreen
I hummus, therefore I am ...
Brake pads are a fiddly job to get them even.
gentlegreen why do you need a spare set on a long journey?
Some sort of megahill?
Just my usual paranoia.
I will eventually have two disc brakes on my bike, but I intend to keep one set of vee brakes fitted but disconnected - just in case ...
I'm better than I was. I've finally stopped myself carrying all my spares the 4 miles to work and back.
Decided to set up the turbo trainer to get some sort of fitness before getting back into the swing of the cycle commute in the new year.
First I had to get my new tires on my new wheels, but I'm fucked if they'll go on. So that's another trip to...erm.... somewhere tomorrow.
First I had to get my new tires on my new wheels, but I'm fucked if they'll go on. So that's another trip to...erm.... somewhere tomorrow.
a_chap
When the world came apart, where were you?
When the brakes run out then... don't brake. They only waste energy after all!
I recall a (frankly terrifying) ride to the "local" (20 miles away) bike shop on a tandem recumbent trike who's hydraulic brakes had failed completely.
It left me psychologically scarred for life but grateful to be alive.
I recall a (frankly terrifying) ride to the "local" (20 miles away) bike shop on a tandem recumbent trike who's hydraulic brakes had failed completely.
It left me psychologically scarred for life but grateful to be alive.
gentlegreen
I hummus, therefore I am ...
In the bad old days I used to have holes in the soles of my shoes.
Ironically I was riding bikes with dropped handlebars back then, whereas with my current bike that's much better suited to scratching, I'm anal about my brakes.
Ironically I was riding bikes with dropped handlebars back then, whereas with my current bike that's much better suited to scratching, I'm anal about my brakes.
fredfelt
Mostly unknown member
and when the rubber is worn away, what is there then?
You are right about this!
Brake pads are often metal with rubber moulded around the metal. Wear down all the rubber and you can get down to metal. Then when you brake you hear a grinding noise, metal against metal, and before you know it your rims are fucked.
Years ago I destroyed a very nice wheel because of this. For this reason I often have a spare pair of brake pads in my saddle bag. Once you've changed a few pairs it's only a few minutes to put the new set on.
Are you travelling by bike now?
fredfelt
Mostly unknown member
Why not, I'll talk to myself this morning. A little while ago I heard the grinding noise of metal blocks against alloy rims from another cyclist - it's a horrible noise, especially if you get more pleasure than you probably should from a purring bicycle. Anyway I just had to stop to let them know and I had a nice chat with the other person.
I love the way that when you cycle, and walk I guess, you are open to the places you find yourself. It gives you a different relationship to the world than when you are driving.
weepiper
I fix the machines that fight climate change
Cautionary pictures (both these bikes must have been making a shocking racket for weeks)
I don't want to think what the rims looked like!
gentlegreen
I hummus, therefore I am ...
*hides behind sofa*
weepiper
I fix the machines that fight climate change
Pickman's model
Starry Wisdom
infrequently.
Orang Utan
Psychick Worrier Ov Geyoor
Nah, I'm pretty sure the only metal is the bolt.
Look:
The rubber has almost worn down but there is more black plastic that the brake pad is set in IYKWIM
gentlegreen
I hummus, therefore I am ...
It looks like an economical design in terms of metal content, but I suspect there will be somewhat more than just a nut set in the plastic.
weepiper
I fix the machines that fight climate change
They have a metal bit inside the rubber to give the block some rigidity.Nah, I'm pretty sure the only metal is the bolt.
Look:
The rubber has almost worn down but there is more black plastic that the brake pad is set in IYKWIM
Orang Utan
Psychick Worrier Ov Geyoor
Sure, but the rubber but has worn down and it's time to replace it - it would be foolish to wait til it's worn down to the metal!
Onket
Je suis [CONTENT REMOVED]
You're going to have to x-ray it, Orang Utan.
gentlegreen
I hummus, therefore I am ...
Here in your old town it looks moderately challenging over the next few days - wind, rain, and then a cold snap - with 4 degrees of wind chill . 
It was all going quite well on a long 28 miler. There were a few splatters of rain early on, and some pretty cold wind, but I was going well. However, in the final couple of miles the heavens open and lashed down with fecking hail. Bloody painful on my bare thighs, and it took a good while once I got home to get the feeling back in my toes.
One of the best feelings though is coming home after getting a soaking on your bike, peeling off your wet clothes, towelling yourself down, putting fresh clothes on and thinking "Oh yes, it's great to be dry again". Unless your best trainers got ruined in the rain. That tends to take the shine off things.
The wind seemed to have dropped a bit today. Or it might just've been behind me.
Dogsauce
I’ve got Skol but I’m not a Scholar
Made it safely down to my folks for Christmas riding part of the way with others. Fosse Way is a horrible road (with more than its fair share of horrible drivers - Clarkson territory I guess). Headwind and the weight I was carrying made this the toughest ride I've ever done, absolutely ruined when I turned up at 10:50 last night, really drained by the last few miles on the track along the gorge that is currently a churned-up swamp, sliding about a bit which isn't much fun with a pack on (similarly on the shitty bridleway in Chipping Sodbury that is marked as a convenient way onto Gentle Green's railway path - it isn't!). Bike is understandably a bit grubby.
My lodger was a jinxing twat for suggesting I take a chain breaking tool with me (which tbh I was going to do if I could've found it quickly on Saturday morning). Replied that I'd be as well taking a spare axle since I'd broken three of them and only ever one chain (the very corroded one my Pashley came with). Sure enough, when my gears jammed after a stop near the end of day one and I pushed on it I suddenly found my chain strung along the floor. Fortunately one of the other guys had a tool, but trying to join it back up at night with cold hands and cramp kicking in was no fun, especially as I accidentally popped the pin right through when taking out the broken link.
Hoping my friend Ben is doing alright on his third day of riding (he's heading for Poole carrying about twice the weight I was, and the forecast isn't too clever).
My lodger was a jinxing twat for suggesting I take a chain breaking tool with me (which tbh I was going to do if I could've found it quickly on Saturday morning). Replied that I'd be as well taking a spare axle since I'd broken three of them and only ever one chain (the very corroded one my Pashley came with). Sure enough, when my gears jammed after a stop near the end of day one and I pushed on it I suddenly found my chain strung along the floor. Fortunately one of the other guys had a tool, but trying to join it back up at night with cold hands and cramp kicking in was no fun, especially as I accidentally popped the pin right through when taking out the broken link.
Hoping my friend Ben is doing alright on his third day of riding (he's heading for Poole carrying about twice the weight I was, and the forecast isn't too clever).
