Brake woes (OR "why rust is the enemy"...)

Absent Husband said:

So now - what to do??? I'm tossing up between going to a specialist
bolt seller, to see if they have similar ones that I can buy to replace
(I assume Bunnings won't have the range - but I'll check there too...).
OR, I could do an 'upgrade', and buy new brakes.

The upgrade option's nice, but it's probably worth sourcing a new bolt for
the inevitable next frame/hack bike. Your LBS may be able to help, or if
you can give me an idea of diameter/thread/length (3mm metric, about 10mm
long at a guess?) I may even have something in my collection of random
bike bolts. Pity you're in the wrong state, but postage can be done if no
one closer can help.

Decent bolt shops can be very useful. Even if you end up with something
that takes a #2 phillips instead of a 3mm allen key you'll be going again.

I did once find a workable bolt in Bunnings - my rear disc caliper snapped
one of the mounting holes [1], so after getting back to the car using a
zip tie [2] I bought bolt + nut and just clamped it for the rest of the
weekend.

[1] Cheap crappy ones, but I couldn't be stuffed spending money for a rear
brake if it still vaguely worked. The replacement Deore cable is still
going strong, and can't be faulted as a back brake. Hell, it's probably
a decent front brake, given how good the hydro ones are.

[2] Anyone riding a significant distance from civilization without these
is asking for trouble. Can be used to fix: derailleurs, derailleur hanger,
seat posts [3], brakes, frames [4], lights, bells, grips, brake lever,
shifters...

[3] Well, zip tie the seat to the top tube so the seat tube doesn't vanish
into the nether regions.

[4] This one I haven't personally done.
--
Dave Hughes | [email hidden]
There are some things so serious you have to laugh at them.
- Niels Bohr

Dave Hughes said:

Absent Husband said:

So now - what to do??? I'm tossing up between going to a specialist
bolt seller, to see if they have similar ones that I can buy to replace
(I assume Bunnings won't have the range - but I'll check there too...).
OR, I could do an 'upgrade', and buy new brakes.

The upgrade option's nice, but it's probably worth sourcing a new bolt for
the inevitable next frame/hack bike. Your LBS may be able to help, or if
you can give me an idea of diameter/thread/length (3mm metric, about 10mm
long at a guess?) I may even have something in my collection of random
bike bolts. Pity you're in the wrong state, but postage can be done if no
one closer can help.

It might also be worth checking out the bike recycling shop on Montague
Rd, West End. They have crates of 2nd hand parts and they live for
recycling.

Donga

Absent Husband said:

Hey all,

Here goes my tale of woe...

Was about to head out on a ride eysterday to recon the Nundah crit
track - a leisurely 55km round trip from home. A nice way, on a
beautiful Spring Brissie day, to get back onto the bike...

Anyway, I noticed my rear brakes were a little bit loose/rattley. So I
whipped out the old allen keys to tighten up the bolts.

(Sidenote - a lot of the bolts on my bike are pretty rusty. Don't know
why - they seemed to rust up very, very quickly after purchase. But
anyway...)

Are you doing much riding indoors on a spin trainer? Or getting it wet
with sweat or salty water? Sweat's very corrosive, if you're using it
indoors it pays to use a 'bike bra' or a towel or something to
keep the sweat off, and to give it a wipe down afterwards.

Just a possibility ...

Quoted message said:

So now - what to do??? I'm tossing up between going to a specialist
bolt seller, to see if they have similar ones that I can buy to replace
(I assume Bunnings won't have the range - but I'll check there too...).
OR, I could do an 'upgrade', and buy new brakes.

The new brake option is attractive. All the bolts/springs in the brakes
are rusting. And they are no-name brakes too (I thought they were Sora
like the rest of my gruppo - but there are no markings at all), so I
was thinking I could buy a set of 105 brakes off PBK (does that qualify
as 'pimping my ride'?? *grins*). But just getting a couple of new bolts
would obviously be cheaper....

One of the biggest (I think) differences between the groupsets is the
brakes.
I'd get new callipers. You'll notice the difference.

"Absent Husband" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hey all,

Here goes my tale of woe...

Was about to head out on a ride eysterday to recon the Nundah crit
track - a leisurely 55km round trip from home. A nice way, on a
beautiful Spring Brissie day, to get back onto the bike...

Anyway, I noticed my rear brakes were a little bit loose/rattley. So I
whipped out the old allen keys to tighten up the bolts.

(Sidenote - a lot of the bolts on my bike are pretty rusty. Don't know
why - they seemed to rust up very, very quickly after purchase. But
anyway...)

So I tighten the main bolt that holds it onto the frame. Then go to
tighten the little bolt that goes through the quick release lever. And
'SNAP' - the head of the bolt shears straight off... Well, you can
imagine the colourful language I used!!!

So now, the QR lever won't stay on, and the shaft of the bolt is wedged
into the bit that holds onto the cable... There was no way I was gonna
miss out on my ride for this - so I got busy with some electrical tape,
and bound the whole thing back together. As far as I could tell, there
was no way that the brake could fail (ie, there would be no 'pressure'
on the elctrical tape, etc). And thankfully, it survived my ride
safely...

So now - what to do??? I'm tossing up between going to a specialist
bolt seller, to see if they have similar ones that I can buy to replace
(I assume Bunnings won't have the range - but I'll check there too...).
OR, I could do an 'upgrade', and buy new brakes.

The new brake option is attractive. All the bolts/springs in the brakes
are rusting. And they are no-name brakes too (I thought they were Sora
like the rest of my gruppo - but there are no markings at all), so I
was thinking I could buy a set of 105 brakes off PBK (does that qualify
as 'pimping my ride'?? *grins*). But just getting a couple of new bolts
would obviously be cheaper....

Anyway - be careful with rusty bolts people!! Or better yet - don't let
'em get rusty!!

Cheers,
Abby (electrical tape - not just for footy boots)

If you decide to go the new brakes option, be wary of reach. I have the same
issue on the Giant OCR3 I have and got myself a pair of 105 calipers off
Ebay. It turns out the Tektro calipers aren't a short reach caliper like
most standard road calipers these days and as a result the 105s don't fit.
I'm planning to eventually get a fork to suit the short reach caliper so
that I can have good brakes on the front. I'm not worried about the rear as
the Taktro works well enough at the back and it essentially doesn't get
used.

Resound said:

If you decide to go the new brakes option, be wary of reach. I have the same
issue on the Giant OCR3 I have and got myself a pair of 105 calipers off
Ebay. It turns out the Tektro calipers aren't a short reach caliper like
most standard road calipers these days and as a result the 105s don't fit.
I'm planning to eventually get a fork to suit the short reach caliper so
that I can have good brakes on the front. I'm not worried about the rear as
the Taktro works well enough at the back and it essentially doesn't get
used.

Good point mate.

So the million dollar question is - how do I tell?? What's the easiest
way of telling what sort of "reach" the calipers have...

I noticed that some calipers are sold as 'short' or 'long' reach - is
that an industry standard for a certain measurement...??

Thanks for the advice dudes!!
Abby

quote='Absent Husband'Resound said:

If you decide to go the new brakes option, be wary of reach. I have the same
issue on the Giant OCR3 I have and got myself a pair of 105 calipers off
Ebay. It turns out the Tektro calipers aren't a short reach caliper like
most standard road calipers these days and as a result the 105s don't fit.
I'm planning to eventually get a fork to suit the short reach caliper so
that I can have good brakes on the front. I'm not worried about the rear as
the Taktro works well enough at the back and it essentially doesn't get
used.

Good point mate.

So the million dollar question is - how do I tell?? What's the easiest
way of telling what sort of "reach" the calipers have...

I noticed that some calipers are sold as 'short' or 'long' reach - is
that an industry standard for a certain measurement...??

Thanks for the advice dudes!!
Abby[/QUOTE]
And watch for 'standard reach'. Technically, the longer reach brakes are termed 'standard reach' brakes. Only, the short reach brakes are now more standard (ie common) than the 'standard reach'. (If ya unnerstand wot I mean)

SteveA

Get the correct set for a nice bling frame and fork set. When the new brakes don't fit the old frame and fork will have to upgraded. 😄

Absent Husband said:

Anyway - be careful with rusty bolts people!! Or better yet - don't let
'em get rusty!!

Some peeps have rusty fingers!
Any steel they touch rust real bad (in comparison to other peeps).
See this often on summer school tin plate projects at Tafe. The rejects
usually end up in the scrap bin and one or two show definite signs of
rust very early.

"Absent Husband" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

Resound said:

If you decide to go the new brakes option, be wary of reach. I have the
same
issue on the Giant OCR3 I have and got myself a pair of 105 calipers off
Ebay. It turns out the Tektro calipers aren't a short reach caliper like
most standard road calipers these days and as a result the 105s don't
fit.
I'm planning to eventually get a fork to suit the short reach caliper so
that I can have good brakes on the front. I'm not worried about the rear
as
the Taktro works well enough at the back and it essentially doesn't get
used.

Good point mate.

So the million dollar question is - how do I tell?? What's the easiest
way of telling what sort of "reach" the calipers have...

I noticed that some calipers are sold as 'short' or 'long' reach - is
that an industry standard for a certain measurement...??

What model and year bike do you have?

"Absent Husband" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

See minor correction below. I assume a typo on your part?

Quoted message said:

bolt seller, to see if they have similar ones that I can buy to replace
(I assume Bunnings won't have the range - but I'll check there too...).
OR, I could do an 'upgrade', and buy a new bicycle.

Resound said:

What model and year bike do you have?

I'm riding an '04 Orbea Enol (in stealth black), equipped with full
Sora (except for the brakes, it seems...).

Cheers,
Abby