Eric F 

It’s really not that hard.

Good luck finding that bike.

Bad Lag

What I find a little odd is no one sells a brake replacement kit - levers, cables & calipers as a matched set. Last time I bought aftermarket brakes, they came as a set in a single box.

jgwilliams

I've had hydraulic disc brakes on three bikes now. I did suffer a stuck piston (or sticked piston, as Magura put it) on the first - easily solved. The last two have, I think, been the most maintenance free items on either bike. I had to replace the pads once on the old mountain bike after several thousand miles of really dirty off-road riding. The new mountain bike has so far done 1,350 miles without touching the brakes and the pads are good for a lot more. By comparison my road bike has done five times the mileage in that time, but in less challenging conditions. I've had to replace the pads twice and have to periodically adjust them as the pad wears. The pads slough off aluminium from the wheel constantly, meaning that changing them is a dirty business and they spread black muck over the frame in the wet. The stopping power is nothing like as good, particularly in the wet, though it is adequate. When I bought my road bike disc brakes were starting to become popular but were still at a bit of a premium, hence my decision to stick with rim brakes. I know what brakes my next road bike is going to have, it's a no brainer.

I've also had one bike with mechanical disc brakes (Avid BB7). They stopped pretty well and I don't recall ever having to change the pads, but adjustment was a fiddly business and they certainly weren't as good as the Magura hydraulic brakes on the previous bike. Those two bikes were my only recumbents, by the way.

I recently bought a Shimano bleed kit on Ebay for £13, (around $17, I think). I haven't had to use it yet, but I checked it over carefully and it seems perfectly good. I can't imagine how something as simple as a bleed kit would cost $80.

t2p

agree - it’s not hard

I do this almost every time we ride (except for short rides near our house or if we both ride cantis or v brakes) - pull front wheel off and reinstall when we arrive at destination to start a ride - and the do the same thing when we return home (often late evening / dark with limited lighting)

and this includes one bike with thru axle - and another bike with a lefty fork (gotta pull the caliper off of that bike ... pita)

what can be hard - ok not hard but more a letdown - is riding bikes with cable operated cantis or v brakes or whatever - when you are accustomed to good disc bikes

t2p

the top / most complete Shimano bleed kit - with funnel(s), block(s), syringe, hose whatever ? - might cost around $80 ? can’t recall

t2p

practice ?

maintenance ?

HillRider

I have TRP Spyres on my "Gravel" bike. and they have been very satisfactory. They are flat mount calipers and use road (short) pull brake levers. The lever effort isn't the power brake some describe hydraulics as being but they are full the equal of good rim brakes.

veganbikes

For Hydraulic brakes that is fairly common but for cable stuff it is not really sensible as their are so many different options maybe you might want them for a flat bar but someone else wants it for a road bike but they have small hands and the other person wants it for a moustache bar but has giant hands. I don't really love package deals because if that were the case I would be stuck with calipers I don't want from SRAM or levers I didn't want from Cane Creek and who knows what cables and housing but probably not Jagwire Pro or Elite kit. It makes sense for Hydro brakes as they are a complete system and it is a bit tougher to mix and match (though Shigura is semi-common and Hope makes some 4 pot road brakes in both Mineral and DOT).

I like my choices and don't find that ever to be a problem. If you don't know what to look for that is one thing but if you are particular at least to a point freedom of choice rather than having to resell parts I don't need, is a good thing.

Bad Lag

(rant mode on)

Thanks for the advice and help, guys. I am feeling more than a little frustrated by this.

I cannot find a proper, inexpensive bleed kit for these brakes (the Park Tool dot kit costs $150). One thing I noticed is Promax is currently only using mineral oil and has dropped DOT 4 fluid. That is a clue, no?

The cable-actuated brakes will end up in the $200 range.

For that kind of money, I could go buy a whole bike (used). Plus, I wouldn't feel ripped off. Maybe that is what I am feeling right now, ripped off.

(rant mode off)

Eric F 

It took me 2 minutes to find this... https://www.amazon.com/CYCOBYCO-Brak.../dp/B077MXK7HG

Will this not do the job?

Bad Lag

You need to recognize a rant when you read one. :-)

I just got back from my ride and nothing bothers me right now.


P.S. - Thanks for the product research. The fluid is another $10 but that's pretty inexpensive. I have settled on cable-actuated as the way to go to prevent recurrence of this whole thing for a bike that gets infrequent, road-only use.

P.P.S. - I just ordered a pair of AVID BB7 calipers, cables and levers. It's done. THANKS TO ALL FOR THE HELP.

Bad Lag

Thanks to maddog34 and grumpus for the BB7 recommendations. I already have the cables in my hands. The calipers and levers will be here tomorrow.

Bad Lag

The new cable-actuated brakes are on but the front brake howls like a banshee!

I'm going to go futz with it and try to make that go away.

Nonetheless, it's nice to have brakes that act the way they should.

Good brakes are fundamental!


P.S. - The rotor was filthy. Wiping with acetone eliminated the squealing.

xroadcharlie

Upon doing a little research on disc brakes, Since it's likely my next bike will have them, It seems excessive noise when stopping is a common complaint. I read a review on the mid range Shimano hydraulic disc brakes used on one of treks better hybrid bikes that where said to be very quite. So it looks to like if I have to go to disc brakes, its best to get good ones.

If I have to go with disc brakes I much prefer mechanical disc If I find a bike with them that gets good marks on the braking. Rim brakes remain my first choice if there still available on a good hybrid bike when I need a new one.

With some patience you might get the noise problem corrected. I'd check reviews on them to see if it is a common complaint. Often when I have a problem with a product it's just a matter of correcting the setup, or making adjustments. Good luck.

Polaris OBark

You can buy a complete kit with pre-bled Shimano XTR, XT, or SLX brakes (and probably others in the lineup). It makes it dead easy to replace.

Bad Lag

It was contamination on the front rotor. I solvent-cleaned it and the howl went away. An unbelievable amount of stuff came off. I also cleaned the rear rotor but it was less dirty. All is well.

Bad Lag

It could still have the lock-up problem, leaving my wife and daughter without a bike. Plus, you still need to bleed them annually, so you need a bleed kit, fresh fluid, etc. PITA. IMO, they are overly complicated.

These BB7 cable-actuated brakes are totally fine. They were easy to install and adjust. They are easy to modulate (good feel and feedback).

They are powerful enough that the rear can skid wheel and the front can throw you over the handlebars. What more can you possibly want?

At that point, it's up to the rider.

Polaris OBark

Shimano doesn't need to be bled annually, because mineral oil, in addition to being much safer, is not hygroscopic like DOT fluid.

I hope the cable-actuated disc brakes will be adequate. They wouldn't work for my family's use case, and I was worried you were getting some less than stellar advice.

Bad Lag

As I said, in initial testing they worked just fine. Time will tell. Thanks.

veganbikes

Wow solving a problem by throwing the problem out and not fixing it seemingly over the cost of one brands brake bleed kit (which is quite nice and while expensive quite well worth it if you have hydraulic brakes and want an easier time bleeding them but tons of other options exist). Like I said and have said and will likely continue saying hydraulic brakes are not a pain or a problem they require very little maintenance very infrequently (aside from pads and rotors which is common for all disc brakes) and you really only need to buy a bleed kit once and fluid every so often. Maybe a bit more for DOT brakes because they are hydrophilic but not very often. I have yet to replace the fluid in my commuter bike in 4300 miles and will likely go another 4300 miles and probably still not need to replace it but will probably have replaced some cables and housing at that point.

I dunno I like to try and fix a problem if it can be fixed rather than spending more money and still not fix the problem but just pave over it. I mean if the brakes truly are terrible cheap junk from say Alibaba and his 40 thieves or something like that than yes maybe cable actuated are the way to go but buying new everything over a bleed is a little odd.

Bad Lag

Well, veganbikes, everyone gets to choose their own solution. You do you.

The thing is, the bottom line, I now have a fully functioning bike.

veganbikes

True but you never solved the problem. Now I fear you have an unwarranted dislike or worse for hydraulic brakes over one minor problem which would be sad as it was an easy fix. Doing more work to do more work down the road just seems like not the move but hey as you said you have a bike that works and that is better than not a working bike.

Also just FYI useful form stuff I say often if you put an @ symbol in front of the forum handle you are mentioning it will actually let that person know. It will look like this Bad Lag but actually would be closer to this without the initial space @ Bad Lag.

Bad Lag

Take care everyone. Thank you for all the help.

Atlas Shrugged

The real question is, did you have fun?

Bike Gremlin

I'd argue that the oil will keep the water near the brake pads - so if you don't bleed it, you practically risk the same problem with a lowered boiling temperature. Water (well, moisture), along with some dirt, will enter the system one way or another.

On topic:
Avid BB7 (and BB7 R for the road bike levers) are pretty good mechanical disc brake calipers.

For what it's worth:
Rim brake simplicity and low weight are unmatched even by mechanical disc brakes, while mechanical disc brakes are simpler than hydraulic ones.
Braking force is good with all three systems (your tyre grip is the weakest link when it comes to "stopping power"), except if you ride in heavy rain or mud that keeps "bathing" the rims - in that case, rim brakes are noticeably weaker.
Brake modulation - the thing that lets you apply as much braking torque as possible without the wheel locking up is where the hydraulic brakes shine - with mechanical disc brakes coming right behind, and rim brakes losing (with more margin the more rain or mud there is).

I very much prefer rim brakes, always look for frames with that brake mounting system and they do the job for me - in flats and in the mountains, in the summer and in the winter. Good quality rim brakes get the job done quite well, despite the now popular opinion that they are next to using your soles for stopping.

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