Thread: Chain waxing
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Old June 13th 18, 07:35 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Frank Krygowski[_4_]
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Default Chain waxing

On 6/13/2018 12:33 PM, jbeattie wrote:

Anyway, after blowing an inordinate amount of time re-running the internal hoses and cables (note to those watching at home -- on the Search, unlike a Roubaix or other bike with a BB "compartment," run the cables and hoses BEFORE putting in the PF bottom bracket), I got the bike up and running, and the rear disc was really weak. The lever felt fine, but the bike didn't stop with rear braking alone.

I had re-terminated the rear disc hose because I had to cut it to get it out of the frame (new olive and barb -- again, warning -- Shimano has a couple of olive and barb standards) and juiced it up with new massage oil; I got all the air out of the system, and the pistons seemed to be working well, but stopping was crappy. So, I put some brake cleaner on the rotor, but that didn't make much difference. Then I replaced the pad, which was not worn out but badly glazed or polluted in some way. The replacement works great, and I'll clean-up the old pad for a spare, but the moral of the story is that discs are not magic. They can foul and work poorly. My front brake on the Norco drags after hard braking even though I've cleaned (alcohol) and lightly lubed (a little TriFlow) the pistons.

In perfect working order, the dry-weather braking is on par with a dual pivot and maybe a little more powerful in the rear, which means no ham-handed right lever braking because you'll fish-tail, but switching between those brakes and my Emonda direct mount brakes, the difference is negligible -- although the rim brakes do add shudder if the wheel has a bad seam or is out of true. Discs add screaming and can add shuddering. The rim brakes never drag, ping or do any of the other weird and episodic disc things.


Classic caliper brakes are very visible mechanisms and quite easy to
troubleshoot, with squealing being the only problem sometimes requiring
witchcraft and divination.

Disc brakes seem to introduce many more mysteries. In my or my friends'
very limited experience with them, we've come across mystery squealing,
dragging noises, oddball creaking noises only when standing and
pedaling, etc.

That last one required three trips back to the shop for a brand new
bike. It took a while to confirm that the disc and not some drivetrain
component was causing the noise.

I suppose I should consider these an opportunity for more learning.

--
- Frank Krygowski
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