Almost lost it BIGTIME lastnight!!!

riding home. suckin wheel of an older dude hammering along the Norther
side of the Yarra and coming up thru richmond. heading east

Reached the last chikaine(?) level with Mary St, getting back onto lan
leaving the last pontoon

Older dude baulks as he discovers a jogger (wearing all black!!!!!!!) i
the gloom and brakes/panics

Imstarting to resemble a Paris-Roubaix from wheel-suckin in the wet an
slam on the brakes. My front end locks up just as my front wheel i
pointed 5deg to the left. Of course Im on the slippery bridge bit now
skidding and looking to Bail, watching railing fly past:confused

Miraculously my superior bike handling skills (read i got onto concret
path again!) made me regain balance once again, but not before sailin
off into the kitty litter on the underside of Citylink!

Damn wheelsuckin

Should have known better than to : a - suck behind someone i dont know
- do it in the wet c - listen to Hippy:

PS realised my front brakes were adjusted way too tight. Is there som
standard setup for strength re front versus back brakes


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Originally posted by flyingdutch Older dude baulks as he discovers
jogger (wearing all black!!!!!!!) in the gloom and brakes/panics

I nearly took one out this morning! He was on the road, running opposit
traffic and I had my head down for a second. Lifted it up and saw thi
dude.. "woah!" and steer around him. This was out in the 'burbs -
didn't think runners migrated this far east

Damn wheelsuckin. Should have known better than to : a - suck behin
someone i dont know b - do it in the wet c - listen to Hippy:

Gotta know when to sit on and when to move along... ;

PS realised my front brakes were adjusted way too tight. Is there som
standard setup for strength re front versus back brakes

Front brakes will always provide way more stopping power than rea
(unless front are stuffed or something). Do you just want to equalis
the distance needed to move the brake caliper or something? If not
and you are looking to 'reduce' front power, I'd first suggest gettin
used to using the front brake more in a variety of situations. Thi
way you will be able to modulate your braking power, without having t
rely on the inferior rear brake. Mine are setup so there's a littl
bit of movement before the calipers hit the rim and so that you can'
squeeze the brake levers into the bars, possibly limiting your tota
braking power

hth hipp


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flyingdutch wrote:
riding home. suckin wheel of an older dude hammering along the Northern
side of the Yarra and coming up thru richmond. heading east.
[snip] Damn wheelsuckin.
Should have known better than to : a - suck behind someone i dont know b
- do it in the wet c - listen to Hippy
PS realised my front brakes were adjusted way too tight. Is there some
standard setup for strength re front versus back brakes?


Eeek

Oh well, at least you stayed upright. Shaking heads in your genera
direction (As if _I_ have never done anything dangerous

As far as brake adjustment - you need the front to be adjusted as wel
as possible. I like to have the pads _just_ clearing the rim. You ca
practically flick the QR on the rear and leave it open - though it i
nice to have as a backup, in case of a failure on the front brake. I
every _emergency_ stop that I've had to make, the rear wheel was in th
air anyway

Ritc

Darned joggers..


-

ritcho wrote:
You can practically flick the QR on the rear and leave it open -


Double Eek! youre talkin ShimaNO


-

flyingdutch wrote:
Miraculously my superior bike handling skills (read i got onto concrete
path again!) made me regain balance once again, but not before sailing
off into the kitty litter on the underside of Citylink!!
PS realised my front brakes were adjusted way too tight. Is there some
standard setup for strength re front versus back brakes?


There's one reason to go fixed ..

Got my rear wheel caught by tram tracks a couple of times in the wet an
went sliding just as you described ... only the mometum of the rea
wheel pushed me back up straight. If I was ridding a freewheel, I woul
have wiped out for sure

As for the front brake ... sounds like you might need more practise wit
your finger pressure. I keep my front disc really tight as well but hav
never locked up my wheel in an emergency situation. I always ride wit
the thinking that some !@#$head out there is gonna take me out. S
mentally, I'm always prepared for the worse and don't feak out whe
something does happen

Hope the bike's Ok

Koo


-

I aint talkin controlled finger pressure here. Im talkin all out instan
panic kinda brakin! ;

will sften the fronts as Hippy suggests th

Time for a new set of pads anyway..


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flyingdutch wrote:
Double Eek! youre talkin ShimaNO!


Eek? (inflection on the second 'e'

Talking ShimaNO? Well, yes and no... Zero Gravity brakes also have a Q
lever. Not that I can afford them..

Ritc


-

flyingdutch wrote:
riding home. suckin wheel of an older dude hammering along the Northern
side of the Yarra and coming up thru richmond. heading east.
Reached the last chikaine(?) level with Mary St, getting back onto land
leaving the last pontoon.
Older dude baulks as he discovers a jogger (wearing all black!!!!!!!) in
the gloom and brakes/panics.
Imstarting to resemble a Paris-Roubaix from wheel-suckin in the wet and
slam on the brakes. My front end locks up just as my front wheel is
pointed 5deg to the left. Of course Im on the slippery bridge bit now,
skidding and looking to Bail, watching railing fly past
Miraculously my superior bike handling skills (read i got onto concrete
path again!) made me regain balance once again, but not before sailing
off into the kitty litter on the underside of Citylink!!
Damn wheelsuckin.
Should have known better than to : a - suck behind someone i dont know b
- do it in the wet c - listen to Hippy
PS realised my front brakes were adjusted way too tight. Is there some
standard setup for strength re front versus back brakes?


Was Hippy the older dude?


-

amirm wrote:
Was Hippy the older dude??


Not unless Dutchy suddenly got 10+ years younger! :

hipp


-

ritcho wrote:
flyingdutch wrote:
Double Eek! youre talkin ShimaNO!



Eek? (inflection on the second 'e')

Talking ShimaNO? Well, yes and no... Zero Gravity brakes also have a QR
lever. Not that I can afford them...

Ritch



--



As do Campag...except the quick release button is on the lever.

--
Nick