Front brake + wet = Whoops!

[Euan]

Riding home today down Blackburn, front brake felt a bit squishy so
pulled over, whipped out mult-tool and re-adjusted. Really must be a
bit more pro-active about that.

A neighbour I work with pulled over on his way home to check I was OK.
How nice

So after reassuring my neighbour that all's dandy I jump back on my bike
and peddle off. For those of you who don't know Blackburn Road, there's
a pretty steep bit which even a slow coach like me can hit 70+, not that
I do that in the wet. Oh no, I ride the brake down the hill in the wet.

Lately I've taken to using just the front brake. So I was whizzing down
the road, gently riding the brake and ..... WHOOOOOPS nice big front
wheel slide!

Well not too big, as soon as I felt it go my hand flew off the brake.
More fear than judgement I fancy. Quickly jumped on the rear and used a
gentle combination to ease my way down the rest of the hill. There's a
heart starter for you!

Not to self, front brake only when it's DRY, when wet use both
--
Cheers | ~~ __@
Euan | ~~ _-\<,
Melbourne, Australia | ~ (*)/ (*)

 

[TimC]

On 2005-08-09, Euan (aka Bruce)
was almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea:
> Not to self, front brake only when it's DRY, when wet use both

Thanks for the tip. The radar says I may be able to go home soon, but
I want to get home before a friend of mine starts the burn sequence in
less than an hour. Still haven't actually worked out where he's
sitting in the Mission Control Centre though. Been spending all night
trying to search for a floor plan of MCC.

--
TimC
I like the US government, makes the Aussie one look less dumb
and THAT is a pretty big effort. -- Craig Small

 

[SomeGuy]

Riding home today down Blackburn, front brake felt a bit squishy so
pulled over, whipped out mult-tool and re-adjusted. Really must be a
bit more pro-active about that.

A neighbour I work with pulled over on his way home to check I was OK.
How nice

So after reassuring my neighbour that all's dandy I jump back on my bike
and peddle off. For those of you who don't know Blackburn Road, there's
a pretty steep bit which even a slow coach like me can hit 70+, not that
I do that in the wet. Oh no, I ride the brake down the hill in the wet.

Lately I've taken to using just the front brake. So I was whizzing down
the road, gently riding the brake and ..... WHOOOOOPS nice big front
wheel slide!

Well not too big, as soon as I felt it go my hand flew off the brake.
More fear than judgement I fancy. Quickly jumped on the rear and used a
gentle combination to ease my way down the rest of the hill. There's a
heart starter for you!

Not to self, front brake only when it's DRY, when wet use both
--
Cheers | ~~ __@
Euan | ~~ _-\<,
Melbourne, Australia | ~ (*)/ (*)

Heh, I thought you were going to say you'd forgotten to do up the brake or something and ended up going down brakeless. I've had that happen to me a few times after unlocking my bike. Jumped on and started riding only to realise after a few hundred meters that someone has undone a wheel or undone both my brakes. Nasty :|.