Getting the most value out of your rotors
#26
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Hey people bikes have TWO brakes lol. I haven't done this but I have been lazy and not checked my rotor bolts like you should every now and again and had a rotor come loose and get bent to the point I had to remove it to finish the ride. Yeah it is annoying but I was still fine and made it out of the woods with one brake. Don't think I've ever check the thickness on my rotors, probably should lol.
#27
Clark W. Griswold
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There was still half of the clamping area left. He continued to ride safely and was uninjured. He even continued to have fun. So yeah, it was safe. Luck had nothing to do with it.
I get it. You're a super fearful person. That's ok. Hopefully some day you'll understand that many folks don't go into hand wringing mode when something harmless happens during a ride.
I get it. You're a super fearful person. That's ok. Hopefully some day you'll understand that many folks don't go into hand wringing mode when something harmless happens during a ride.
I am not a super fearful person, I am someone who recognizes when they see something unsafe and also can sort through the male bovine feces and recognize what happened. There is nothing harmless when your rotor breaks into pieces, that again IS NOT SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS NORMALLY.
If I wasn't laughing so hard here I would probably realize I am talking to someone who is on some excellent drugs that they aren't sharing and should probably stop because we aren't going anywhere.
#28
Clark W. Griswold
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What percentage of bikes do you think are as safe as they can be? Maybe in a cross section of this forum there is a high percentage but not everywhere else. I rode a bmx bike for years in the hills of Pittsburgh suburbs with a freewheel and no brakes at all and everyone else pretty much only had one brake in the back or front. In the end did it really matter? I wiped out just as many times with or without brakes. If you know what you have and how to use it, you ride accordingly. I am not encouraging unsafe practices at all but I don't view a single failed rotor on the trail as a OMG moment even at my current age. It would bother me and I have full confidence I could adjust and be fine to myself and those around me.
I know kids who ride brakeless BMX and I am not encouraging it or saying it is safe. Yes some of those kids are able to handle the bike but you cannot predict everything that will happen at all times and control it.
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The rotor literally came apart!!!!! That is not part of safe normal operation of any brake rotor. I am sorry to continue informing you of this but IT WAS NOT SAFE! It was all luck, he was lucky it didn't become worse and he was lucky he didn't get hurt and he is lucky to have a friend like you who is bending over backwards trying to defend his unsafe rotor.
If it was unsafe, as you continue to stridently stridently and fearfully claim, what was the unsafe result of him using his "unsafe" rear brake for over an hour?
I'm not bending over backwards here, just stating the simple facts, without all of the associated fear that you keep trying to inject into the conversation.
#30
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Again, only the outer circumference came off. The rotor remained mostly intact, with a usable braking surface, and he was able to safely use the brake to slow his bike down when needed - as evidenced by him being able to continue to have a great time on technical singletrack, including some rowdy descents, for over an hour.
If it was unsafe, as you continue to stridently stridently and fearfully claim, what was the unsafe result of him using his "unsafe" rear brake for over an hour?
I'm not bending over backwards here, just stating the simple facts, without all of the associated fear that you keep trying to inject into the conversation.
If it was unsafe, as you continue to stridently stridently and fearfully claim, what was the unsafe result of him using his "unsafe" rear brake for over an hour?
I'm not bending over backwards here, just stating the simple facts, without all of the associated fear that you keep trying to inject into the conversation.
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I still can't believe you are trying to claim that rotor is safe? Again to reiterate, just because he was able to finish the ride does not mean that the rotor was safe. Nobody would classify a rotor that has been damaged as safe. You need to step out of your delusion for a second and realize the facts.
"If it was unsafe, as you continue to stridently and fearfully claim, what was the unsafe result of him using his "unsafe" rear brake for over an hour?"
#32
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HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAA...I was too afraid to answer, so laughable. I will re-answer it again using your own image. As you can see clearly in his hand THOSE ARE PIECES OF THE BRAKE ROTOR. How thick are you? A rotor DOES NOT shatter like that under normal safe conditions. He got lucky and those pieces didn't get caught and cause his wheel to lock up or didn't totally screw up the caliper (at least according to you who doesn't seem like they know much about disc brakes).
#33
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If this happened on the front brake, his ride could of turned out ugly.
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Thanks for admitting that nothing happened due to his "unsafe" rotor. Which makes sense because it wasn't inherently unsafe despite you spending today fretting about it. BTW, speculating that I am lying about some imaginary caliper damage that bubbled up in your mind is simply weird.
Your seemingly endless stream of "what ifs" is telling and indicative of the irrational fear that you carry with you. Sad. Are wheels "unsafe" because they can snag a stick and lock up? Are v brakes "unsafe" because they can throw a brake shoe and not lock up? etc., etc. Of course not. Yet you are claiming that this mundane event (a rotor wears through) is somehow a huge concern because it's "unsafe." It simply wasn't unsafe and didn't impact a really fun ride (other than a short delay and some good chuckles).
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The fact that it didn't lock up only proves that he was lucky. The braking power was diminished and there was a potential for a lock up. The broken rotor could of bent and jammed its way against the caliper causing the wheel to lock up.
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There was nothing for it to "jam its way against" since that would require rotor material to jam against. There was nothing in the outer circumference to jam against since it had peeled away already. It was jammed in the caliper opening but above the remaining rotor. You can see in photo #2 where there is some scarring of the remaining brake track but the distance between the remaining rotor and the pads is too narrow for the peeled off bits of the rotor to pass through.
#39
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That’ll cut 1/4” plywood now. Waste not...
#40
Clark W. Griswold
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Not too sure about your experience with discs but I've been using them since ~2000 (Magura, Hope, SRAM) so yeah, I know plenty about them.
Thanks for admitting that nothing happened due to his "unsafe" rotor. Which makes sense because it wasn't inherently unsafe despite you spending today fretting about it. BTW, speculating that I am lying about some imaginary caliper damage that bubbled up in your mind is simply weird.
Your seemingly endless stream of "what ifs" is telling and indicative of the irrational fear that you carry with you. Sad. Are wheels "unsafe" because they can snag a stick and lock up? Are v brakes "unsafe" because they can throw a brake shoe and not lock up? etc., etc. Of course not. Yet you are claiming that this mundane event (a rotor wears through) is somehow a huge concern because it's "unsafe." It simply wasn't unsafe and didn't impact a really fun ride (other than a short delay and some good chuckles).
Thanks for admitting that nothing happened due to his "unsafe" rotor. Which makes sense because it wasn't inherently unsafe despite you spending today fretting about it. BTW, speculating that I am lying about some imaginary caliper damage that bubbled up in your mind is simply weird.
Your seemingly endless stream of "what ifs" is telling and indicative of the irrational fear that you carry with you. Sad. Are wheels "unsafe" because they can snag a stick and lock up? Are v brakes "unsafe" because they can throw a brake shoe and not lock up? etc., etc. Of course not. Yet you are claiming that this mundane event (a rotor wears through) is somehow a huge concern because it's "unsafe." It simply wasn't unsafe and didn't impact a really fun ride (other than a short delay and some good chuckles).
A wheel can be unsafe if it is broken as can a v-brake as can a frame or fork or anything. BROKEN PARTS ARE NOT SAFE!!!!! I had a customer who had a crack in her frame, she was able to complete her ride but not once when she came back did she say "this is safe" and neither did the techs who looked at her bike nor did I who checked it out as well being the store manager at shop. We could have called the manufacturer and they would have said the same thing we all said "it is unsafe".
I could make stabbing motions at someone with a sharp knife and not actually stab them and guess what despite what you might think, that is DANGEROUS. I could walk across a rickety old bridge that is falling apart and make it to the other side and again despite what you think that bridge is DANGEROUS. It doesn't take a rocket appliance to figure that out.
I don't know why you are arguing that point so heavily, you have already fallen off the cliff and are about to hit sharp pointy rocks and no those sharp pointy rocks aren't safe as much as you would like to believe.
#41
Clark W. Griswold
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No no, see that couldn't happen because nothing was unsafe in the first place. I have used disc brakes since I was born and all my rotors shatter all the time and I have never died. It is what all rotors do all the time, mine did that this morning and I didn't even ride the bike. When you have smoked as much methamphetamines as I have you would know that my shattered rotors are perfectly safe and that crack in my frame, that is just a pivot point and the duct tape holding my handlebars is really just for looks, they are Girvin Flex-Bars.
#42
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Apropos of safe/unsafe; I was reading Rivendell Reader 10 a few days ago and Grant Peterson had an interesting take:
In this case, the rotor failed, the bike was still safe. Anything else appears to be tilting at windmills just for the sake of putting on the armor and getting out the lance.
A guy was riding his mountain bike when the front brake cable (center wire) broke, and the straddle wire for the cantilever brakes fell, caught onto the front tire treads, he went headfirst over the bars, and now he’s a quadraplegic. He happens to be black, and as a result of the accident his skin is turning whitish here and there; and also as a result of the accident, he can’t sweat, so he needs extra special care.
The evidence showed the cable was damaged by a small diameter stem-mounted pulley, but this isn’t about pulleys; it’s about making your bike failsafe. Failsafe isn’t he same thing as foolproof. Failsufe means that the bike will still be safe if something fails. A safety net makes a circus tightrope failsafe. Foolproof is-well, something no bike can ever be. That bike accident is a major reason there’s a move away from cantilevers toward V-brakes. With V-brakes, there’s no centerwire to break, and no straddle wire to fall down and catch on the knobs. Cantilevers aren’t inherently dangerous, but most are not failsafe, either. (Some newer ones are-if the center wire brakes, the arms don’t flop open enough to pull the straddle wire onto the tire.)
Anyway, put some kind of a catch between the straddle wire and the tire. It’s easy if your fork (the kind you ride with) has a hole in the crown areayou just get a longshafted 6mm bolt,or even a dowel of some kind, and stick it in there securely, making sure it sticks out far enough to catch a falling straddle wire. Or get some kind of cord or wire, loop it around the straddle wire, and tie it up to something, like the stem or bars. You might as well do it soon.
The evidence showed the cable was damaged by a small diameter stem-mounted pulley, but this isn’t about pulleys; it’s about making your bike failsafe. Failsafe isn’t he same thing as foolproof. Failsufe means that the bike will still be safe if something fails. A safety net makes a circus tightrope failsafe. Foolproof is-well, something no bike can ever be. That bike accident is a major reason there’s a move away from cantilevers toward V-brakes. With V-brakes, there’s no centerwire to break, and no straddle wire to fall down and catch on the knobs. Cantilevers aren’t inherently dangerous, but most are not failsafe, either. (Some newer ones are-if the center wire brakes, the arms don’t flop open enough to pull the straddle wire onto the tire.)
Anyway, put some kind of a catch between the straddle wire and the tire. It’s easy if your fork (the kind you ride with) has a hole in the crown areayou just get a longshafted 6mm bolt,or even a dowel of some kind, and stick it in there securely, making sure it sticks out far enough to catch a falling straddle wire. Or get some kind of cord or wire, loop it around the straddle wire, and tie it up to something, like the stem or bars. You might as well do it soon.
#43
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Cool you've used discs, that is great. I work at a bike shop (and have for many years) and am a bike addict who spends most of their time researching bikes and parts and new tech and old tech... but that doesn't matter, someone who knows very little to nothing about bikes could tell you, THE ROTOR IS UNSAFE!!! It doesn't take much knowledge to figure that one out, it is broken. Hopefully this helps: https://simple.wiktionary.org/wiki/broken
A wheel can be unsafe if it is broken as can a v-brake as can a frame or fork or anything. BROKEN PARTS ARE NOT SAFE!!!!! I had a customer who had a crack in her frame, she was able to complete her ride but not once when she came back did she say "this is safe" and neither did the techs who looked at her bike nor did I who checked it out as well being the store manager at shop. We could have called the manufacturer and they would have said the same thing we all said "it is unsafe".
I could make stabbing motions at someone with a sharp knife and not actually stab them and guess what despite what you might think, that is DANGEROUS. I could walk across a rickety old bridge that is falling apart and make it to the other side and again despite what you think that bridge is DANGEROUS. It doesn't take a rocket appliance to figure that out.
I don't know why you are arguing that point so heavily, you have already fallen off the cliff and are about to hit sharp pointy rocks and no those sharp pointy rocks aren't safe as much as you would like to believe.
A wheel can be unsafe if it is broken as can a v-brake as can a frame or fork or anything. BROKEN PARTS ARE NOT SAFE!!!!! I had a customer who had a crack in her frame, she was able to complete her ride but not once when she came back did she say "this is safe" and neither did the techs who looked at her bike nor did I who checked it out as well being the store manager at shop. We could have called the manufacturer and they would have said the same thing we all said "it is unsafe".
I could make stabbing motions at someone with a sharp knife and not actually stab them and guess what despite what you might think, that is DANGEROUS. I could walk across a rickety old bridge that is falling apart and make it to the other side and again despite what you think that bridge is DANGEROUS. It doesn't take a rocket appliance to figure that out.
I don't know why you are arguing that point so heavily, you have already fallen off the cliff and are about to hit sharp pointy rocks and no those sharp pointy rocks aren't safe as much as you would like to believe.
Congrats.
#44
Cycleway town
OMG he could have killed women and children and rabbits!
I'm more worried about my floating discs parting from the spiders. It's just the engineer in me, why i don't like fairground rides. Still, if one does go, even the front one, it's a 6ft long 100 lb bike, i can't see me becoming the first guy on Mars.
I'm more worried about my floating discs parting from the spiders. It's just the engineer in me, why i don't like fairground rides. Still, if one does go, even the front one, it's a 6ft long 100 lb bike, i can't see me becoming the first guy on Mars.
#45
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I thought the breakaway feature WAS the wear indicator letting you know you’ve worn halfway through.
Guess I’ve been doing it wrong.
Guess I’ve been doing it wrong.
#47
Clark W. Griswold
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I have dealt with some thick stubborn people but jeez you are taking the cake, in fact you have taken a whole cake bakery. This isn't really something to debate nobody but you is saying that rotor is safe because nobody is that delusional.
Keep clutching at your straws, buddy they will hold you up for sure
#48
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This forum has served to squeeze more value out of this rotor, as it seems.
On topic, what is the remaining thickness of the remaining braking surface?
On topic, what is the remaining thickness of the remaining braking surface?
#49
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Unsafe? Maybe. I'd think of it more as a calculated risk.
Let me tell you about the times I've driven a beater car home in the city after blowing a brake line or clutch cable.
Let me tell you about the times I've driven a beater car home in the city after blowing a brake line or clutch cable.
#50
Senior Member
Well clutch cable isn't really a safety issue, just makes driving more interesting and you get to show off how cool you are to your buddies. Blew the hydraulic lines in my miatas multiple times. Now blowing the front brake line in my beater van and still driving it to work and back home mostly using the parking brake on the other hand wasn't the smartest thing in the world. In my defense it was at low speed, at night so no traffic, flat ground, only 3 miles, and you still have some brakes when that happens.