Brakes in the rain

On Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:45:07 GMT, Brown Cat wrote:

Whilst cycling it started chucking it down with rain and I was wet
through after 5-10 minutes. I noticed when I braked it didn't seem to
have any effect at all, which forced me to get off and push my bike.
I was able to have some brake power if I held the brakes down for about
5 seconds which I guessed was getting the water off the brake pads.

Is this normal ?

It's pretty poor, 2 or 3 seconds is about normal. Check your brakes
are properly adjusted and give the brakes a quick squeeze now and then
in the wet to clean the rims, especially before big hills and
junctions.

thirty-six wrote:
On 23 Nov, 18:08, Tosspot wrote:
thirty-six wrote:
On 23 Nov, 17:21, Jonathan Schneider
wrote:
WD40 should never be applied to a bike
That's better in my opinion. WD40 is so thin it removes existing
lubricant before disappearing itself.
No it doesn't.
Sounds like it could be used as a lubricant.

Fantastic for giving a smooth reponse, of no brakes.

I have to confess I've stopped using the stuff. It doesn't seem to do anything
you'd want to do on a bike. Can of 3:1 Red, can of slightly heavier oil, tube
of Moly grease and chainlube.

Although, now I mention it, I only use the 3:1, grease and chainlube, so no idea
why I bought the heavier oil.

Is this normal ?

Yes - ish. Yours sounds a bit extreme. Rim brakes don't like rain much,
but it's "not as good" rather than "not at all".

Yes, all rim brakes are worse in the wet. If they are OK/good in the dry
they will be acceptable in the wet, if they aren't much good in the dry they
are likely to be useless in the wet. Make sure they're set up properly and
you can pull them on really hard, it is not uncommon to find folks with
brakes that barely work because the levers hit the handlebars before the
blocks really squeeze the rims.

Mind you, my front brake was making horrible noises by the time I reached
work yesterday, I'd let the blocks wear right down to the metal holders, I
thought it was only a couple of weeks ago I checked they had plenty of wear
left. Not good.

On 24 Nov, 08:05, "POHB" wrote:
Is this normal ?

Yes - ish. Yours sounds a bit extreme. Rim brakes don't like rain much,
but it's "not as good" rather than "not at all".

Yes, all rim brakes are worse in the wet. *If they are OK/good in the dry
they will be acceptable in the wet, if they aren't much good in the dry they
are likely to be useless in the wet. *Make sure they're set up properly and
you can pull them on really hard, it is not uncommon to find folks with
brakes that barely work because the levers hit the handlebars before the
blocks really squeeze the rims.

Mind you, my front brake was making horrible noises by the time I reached
work yesterday, I'd let the blocks wear right down to the metal holders, I
thought it was only a couple of weeks ago I checked they had plenty of wear
left. *Not good.

Pick a less stressful route where you dont need to brake. If you cant
find one perhaps you could switch to a fixed gear setup or
alternatively buy budget brake pads at around 50p/pair for fFibrax in
quantity. Always carry a pair and a spanner. Useful for other folk
as well.

On Mon, 23 Nov 2009, Tosspot wrote:

thirty-six wrote:
On 23 Nov, 17:21, Jonathan Schneider
wrote:
WD40 should never be applied to a bike
That's better in my opinion. WD40 is so thin it removes existing
lubricant before disappearing itself.


No it doesn't.

Sounds like it could be used as a lubricant.

Oh no he isn't!!!

tom

--
No hay banda

On 24 Nov, 06:20, Tosspot wrote:
thirty-six wrote:
On 23 Nov, 18:08, Tosspot wrote:
thirty-six wrote:
On 23 Nov, 17:21, Jonathan Schneider
wrote:
WD40 should never be applied to a bike
That's better in my opinion. WD40 is so thin it removes existing
lubricant before disappearing itself.
No it doesn't.
Sounds like it could be used as a lubricant.

Fantastic for giving a smooth reponse, of no brakes.

I have to confess I've stopped using the stuff. *It doesn't seem to do anything
you'd want to do on a bike. *Can of 3:1 Red, can of slightly heavier oil, tube
of Moly grease and chainlube.

Although, now I mention it, I only use the 3:1, grease and chainlube, so no idea
why I bought the heavier oil.

Because you couldn't get 3in1 cycle(and lawnmwoer) oil?

thirty-six wrote:
On 24 Nov, 06:20, Tosspot wrote:
thirty-six wrote:
On 23 Nov, 18:08, Tosspot wrote:
thirty-six wrote:
On 23 Nov, 17:21, Jonathan Schneider
wrote:
WD40 should never be applied to a bike
That's better in my opinion. WD40 is so thin it removes existing
lubricant before disappearing itself.
No it doesn't.
Sounds like it could be used as a lubricant.
Fantastic for giving a smooth reponse, of no brakes.
I have to confess I've stopped using the stuff. It doesn't seem to do anything
you'd want to do on a bike. Can of 3:1 Red, can of slightly heavier oil, tube
of Moly grease and chainlube.

Although, now I mention it, I only use the 3:1, grease and chainlube, so no idea
why I bought the heavier oil.

Because you couldn't get 3in1 cycle(and lawnmwoer) oil?

I wish, more likely I thought, "That'll be useful for when I really need
it and haven't got it"