raria

So I saw something which had be puzzled. After a climb we start our decent and then both my partner's hydraulic disk brakes fail (first the front and then after loading the back they failed). So there he was building up speed, faster and faster. Luckily this is a non-curving descent with no cross roads so he just road it out. But it was scary (he topped out at close to 50mph way above his comfort zone).

But in that situation what do you do to stop your bike safely? Put your foot in the back spokes? Grab the wheel with your gloved hand? Convert to main religions one after the other if there is no hope?

P.S. I don't want this to turn int a hydraulic disk brake bashing session. He tries to maintain them himself and screwed up I guess.

Leebo

Never ever heard of this, ever. Been running disc brakes for 10 + years. Put foot behind the fork on top of the wheel. There is a steep learning curve though.

CliffordK

Unlike a car, front and rear bike brake should be independent. I'm surprised both failed... unless they both had the same fault, or the rider knew of the fault and ignored it.

The last time I had a brake fail on a curvy hill climb.... don't think it 100% failed, but maybe 80%... I was awfully careful coming down the mountain. I.E. Don't leave the opportunity for that second one to fail.

Gloves on a wheel might help, but I don't always wear gloves, and while a little rubbing might be OK (cleaning glass), hard pressure would surely cause a nasty "rope burn". Also, consider that if one is hitting high speeds, two hands on the bars would be nice.

I'd probably drag the feet on the ground (and consider damaging my shoes worth my life). Once stopped, walk the bike until I got to a place I was comfortable to ride, assuming the fault couldn't be repaired.

rydabent

Boiling brake fluid, or the wrong type of brake fluid?

Number400

Unless you are really good with your shoe on the tire, you are not going to stop. Best bet is at the first sign that something is not quite right with your brakes, you quickly plot your course and/or think about bailing BEFORE your speed increases.

Be religious about your cycling equipment maintenance, especially your brakes! No winging it!

Ninety5rpm

If the choice is between continuing to accelerate on the downhill road, hitting the mountainside or going off a cliff, I would try to hit the mountainside at an angle...

pesty

That's kinda bizarre and scary. I'm curious as to what happened. Aside from what @rydabent said, I suppose if he was riding the brakes long enough he could have glazed the pads and experienced severe brake fade, though I'd imagine it'd have to be a really steep hill to still get up to 50mph unless he let off the brakes. Only other thing I could think of is maybe they weren't properly bled and there were air bubbles?

As for stopping, I personally wouldn't take either hands off the bars, put anything in the spokes, or touch the front wheel. In that situation I'd want to keep as much control over the bike as possible, and all three of those would negate that. I'd try dragging my foot/feet and ride it out, or aim for a ditch or the softest crash site possible.

ptempel

Just put one of your feet behind the fork and push down on the front tire. I did this a few times as a kid on a BMX bike. You just better have enough time to react and don't take your butt out of the saddle.

Ninety5rpm

I wonder if sliding forward to sit on the top tube in order to reach the ground and drag both feet would be a good approach.

Ninety5rpm

tyrion

I'd try to hit something that would send me over the bars, like veering sharply into a curb. You will be launched and somersaulting down the hill with no control over your direction, so aim for a path without obstacles.

If you try to grab the front wheel you'll lose some fingers and then go somersaulting. If you stick your foot in the spokes you'll go somersaulting with a bike stuck to your foot.

pesty

At that point I don’t know if there is a “good” approach. I’m thinking of what’s going to be least painful.

raria

Definitely brake fade. I was 30 meters behind him and I could smell it.

rm -rf

Heh, Ted Shred shows how. But you might be doomed if you aren't wearing Vans shoes...
And he never really does stop.

rm -rf

Was he riding the brakes all the way down the hill? That just builds up heat.

I assume it works like caliper rim brakes: it's better to hit a brake hard, then let it off completely to cool a bit. If the hill is too steep to let off braking for more than a couple of seconds, it's good to be alternating front and back brakes on the straight sections. If it's extremely steep and also quite long, I'd stop part way down to cool things off, too.

avole

I'm with the cycle savvy crowd on this. It's the fault of the rider, who didn't foresee the possible situation and therefore didn't take the appropriate steps. You can't blame the terrain, nor mechanical failure on this one

I always descend hills backwards so I can cycle forwards and uphill if the terrain lets me down.

Milton Keynes

I'd think putting both feet down and using Fred Flintstone brakes would likely be best, but you'd have to straddle the top tube at speed while you're doing it.

Flip Flop Rider

ride it out until it gets flat

B. Carfree

Just lay it down and keep the soft stuff on the top side, as best as one can. Putting one's feet onto the tires isn't brilliant unless the speed is low and you've practiced. Getting off the saddle to drag feet isn't going to end well most times either. Don't overthink it.

Old school way was to take it on the body, since flesh heals but Campy doesn't. I always felt that my wallet will fatten up faster than a deep wound would heal, so I surfed on the bike when things went south.

scott967

If they failed because he was really "getting on them" then I assume the descent isn't something you can just ride through. Sounds like he's thoroughly screwed regardless. You see Y-Ts of pros over-cooking a descent, sometimes they ride off the road and don't seem too worse for wear, but other times they are carried off.

scott s.
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Shimagnolo

It is a 6yo article, but it discusses the reasons for disc brake fade: https://www.bikerumor.com/2012/02/14...ill-they-work/

CliffordK

I'd find it curious dealing with overheated brake fade. I'd probably coast for a few seconds to let them cool slightly, then see if one could pull the bike to a complete stop.

Let wind resistance do its thing when one's going straight, and hope the brakes recover a bit by the time one starts heading towards the next switchback.

I rub glass off or my tires all the time (at least that is the plan). Front on top of the wheel, rear between seat stays and seat tube. Generally I'm hitting them lightly, but with good gloves, I'd think they could take some power (until one starts cooking the hands). Nonetheless, the last time I hit 50 MPH, it was wicked. Two hands on the handlebars. Shifting (DT) was a pain.

The Quiet One

This is what I thought. Better a case of road rash than a broken neck.

MikeyMK

I just can't see how you lose two hydraulic brakes. Even heat is gradual. The only thing i ever heard of was when there was air in the reservoirs and the bike had just been stood upside down for some maintenance.

Anyway, i used a foot against the rear wheel of a BMX as a kid. Shoe pressed down on the tyre tread, wheel pressing shoe against the seat stays.

I don't have that option now. I don't have any option now. My daily weighs 90 lbs and has full steel cruiser fenders. I'll just have to ensure i bleed my brakes properly and, if i do lose them, choose my target carefully.

KD5NRH

Well, if you're smart, you toss them in a box and ignore them until you find some dummy to buy the junk because it's "cool." Then you move a few times and lose track of where you put them because your cables never leak or have bubbles form in the steel.