touring and flying with hydraulic disc brakes
Re: touring and flying with hydraulic disc brakes
Have done 2 to 4 week tours every year for last 15 years on a slicked mountain bike with hydraulic brakes in Norway, France, Spain & Italy. No issues with reliability & no problems with long descents from high passes (e.g. Cime de Bonnet 2802m). Like anything else can get them checked out before setting off.
Also very happy with my Ultregra dual pivots on my unloaded road bike on similar descents
Airlines happy to take them. Have used EasyJet, SAS, KLM, Ryanair & Jet2. EasyJet state on their website that hydraulic brakes & suspensions are fine.
Not sure if this helps but never having had a sudden failure when mountain biking I've never thought they would be an issue
Also very happy with my Ultregra dual pivots on my unloaded road bike on similar descents
Airlines happy to take them. Have used EasyJet, SAS, KLM, Ryanair & Jet2. EasyJet state on their website that hydraulic brakes & suspensions are fine.
Not sure if this helps but never having had a sudden failure when mountain biking I've never thought they would be an issue
Re: touring and flying with hydraulic disc brakes
TonyR
I've never had the problem you mention,with cable disc brakes.
My point was that cable discs are easier to contend with by the roadside,should I need to.
I've never had the problem you mention,with cable disc brakes.
My point was that cable discs are easier to contend with by the roadside,should I need to.
Last edited by reohn2 on 31 Jan 2016, 6:27pm, edited 1 time in total.
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"All we are not stares back at what we are"
W H Auden
"All we are not stares back at what we are"
W H Auden
Re: touring and flying with hydraulic disc brakes
I'm a dead simple bloke.....
I choose my brakes by how quickly they slow me down. NOT by how easy/difficult/possibly/maybe/probably/worry worry worry they can be fixed 'by the side of the road'....
I'm fairly new to cycling ( I have a motorcycling background ...I've toured the world on 'em ) So, serious question for all you 'experienced' cycling bods......Has a major tour on a push bike EVER IN THE HISTORY OF THIS PLANET come to an end due to brake failure ???...
I can tell you this with 100% certainty, it would not stop me doing anything.....
You can probably tell, I have a VERY low tolerance of chronic pessimisim !!!.....
I choose my brakes by how quickly they slow me down. NOT by how easy/difficult/possibly/maybe/probably/worry worry worry they can be fixed 'by the side of the road'....
I'm fairly new to cycling ( I have a motorcycling background ...I've toured the world on 'em ) So, serious question for all you 'experienced' cycling bods......Has a major tour on a push bike EVER IN THE HISTORY OF THIS PLANET come to an end due to brake failure ???...
I can tell you this with 100% certainty, it would not stop me doing anything.....
You can probably tell, I have a VERY low tolerance of chronic pessimisim !!!.....
Re: touring and flying with hydraulic disc brakes
If you worry about technology braking I would leave the gears behind as well. They are far more fragile that hydraulic discs. In the decade and a half or there abouts I haven't broken or even mildly injured hydraulic discs on my MTB which gets way more hard use than any tour I bet. No MTBer would be without them unless they have a fetish for old style stuff ( not a bad idea actually) or they want to be able to hand forge a spare part from a Mongolian soup plate. Its only a brake. If you snap one off you walk down a hill.
Having used cable discs on my roughstuff bikes for 6 years I would swear by them. Over Xmas I swapped the road bike from cable to hydro discs and by god they are better. If you are starting from scratch price up hydros then cables plus the shifters. They won't be far apart.
Of course you will have the problem that no hydro road system plays with triple chainsets if that's what you need.
Having used cable discs on my roughstuff bikes for 6 years I would swear by them. Over Xmas I swapped the road bike from cable to hydro discs and by god they are better. If you are starting from scratch price up hydros then cables plus the shifters. They won't be far apart.
Of course you will have the problem that no hydro road system plays with triple chainsets if that's what you need.
Re: touring and flying with hydraulic disc brakes
Why worry about fixing something that is unlikely to break and if it does its not critical?
Re: touring and flying with hydraulic disc brakes
Tiberius wrote:I'm a dead simple bloke.....
I choose my brakes by how quickly they slow me down. NOT by how easy/difficult/possibly/maybe/probably/worry worry worry they can be fixed 'by the side of the road'....
I'm fairly new to cycling ( I have a motorcycling background ...I've toured the world on 'em ) So, serious question for all you 'experienced' cycling bods......Has a major tour on a push bike EVER IN THE HISTORY OF THIS PLANET come to an end due to brake failure ???...
I can tell you this with 100% certainty, it would not stop me doing anything.....
It would stop you stopping
You can probably tell, I have a VERY low tolerance of chronic pessimisim !!!.....
You'll come across a bit of it on here,It's known as a difference of opinion
-----------------------------------------------------------
"All we are not stares back at what we are"
W H Auden
"All we are not stares back at what we are"
W H Auden
Re: touring and flying with hydraulic disc brakes
Tiberius wrote:I'm a dead simple bloke.....
I choose my brakes by how quickly they slow me down. NOT by how easy/difficult/possibly/maybe/probably/worry worry worry they can be fixed 'by the side of the road'....
I'm fairly new to cycling ( I have a motorcycling background ...I've toured the world on 'em ) So, serious question for all you 'experienced' cycling bods......Has a major tour on a push bike EVER IN THE HISTORY OF THIS PLANET come to an end due to brake failure ???...
I can tell you this with 100% certainty, it would not stop me doing anything.....
You can probably tell, I have a VERY low tolerance of chronic pessimisim !!!.....
I've had a hydraulic disc brake overheat and stop working completely. Admittedly that was on a tandem, which is hard on brakes. I'd prefer cables so that there is no fluid to boil. You can easily replace glazed pads. The discs themselves are a bit delicate on a bicycle, unlike on a motorcycle, and can distort enough to muck things up completely.
Re: touring and flying with hydraulic disc brakes
mattsccm wrote:Why worry about fixing something that is unlikely to break and if it does its not critical?
......Yup !!!!.......
Re: touring and flying with hydraulic disc brakes
mattsccm wrote:Why worry about fixing something that is unlikely to break and if it does its not critical?
Because the brown stuff happens,as us old pessimists,or should that be 'realists',would say
Last edited by reohn2 on 31 Jan 2016, 6:29pm, edited 1 time in total.
-----------------------------------------------------------
"All we are not stares back at what we are"
W H Auden
"All we are not stares back at what we are"
W H Auden
Re: touring and flying with hydraulic disc brakes
mattsccm wrote:If you worry about technology braking I would leave the gears behind as well. They are far more fragile that hydraulic discs. In the decade and a half or there abouts I haven't broken or even mildly injured hydraulic discs on my MTB which gets way more hard use than any tour I bet. No MTBer would be without them unless they have a fetish for old style stuff ( not a bad idea actually) or they want to be able to hand forge a spare part from a Mongolian soup plate. Its only a brake. If you snap one off you walk down a hill.
Having used cable discs on my roughstuff bikes for 6 years I would swear by them. Over Xmas I swapped the road bike from cable to hydro discs and by god they are better. If you are starting from scratch price up hydros then cables plus the shifters. They won't be far apart.
Of course you will have the problem that no hydro road system plays with triple chainsets if that's what you need.
Have you tried descending a 15 mile Alpine pass with a heavily loaded bike, using hydraulic discs? That's different to normal MTB use. More heat involved.
I would tour with hydraulic discs if that is what my bike had. I wouldn't let it stop me. But it wouldn't be my first choice for a touring bike.
Re: touring and flying with hydraulic disc brakes
pwa wrote:I've had a hydraulic disc brake overheat and stop working completely. Admittedly that was on a tandem, which is hard on brakes. I'd prefer cables so that there is no fluid to boil. You can easily replace glazed pads. The discs themselves are a bit delicate on a bicycle, unlike on a motorcycle, and can distort enough to muck things up completely.
Both stopped working simultaneously? And were they tandem rated brakes? But lets face it braking on a tandem is hard on any brakes. You can overheat the rims and blow the tyres off or you can melt and glaze over the rim brake pads. Which is why if you want to do loaded tandem touring in hilly areas you are best off with a drag brake and if not, regular stops to let things cool down.
Re: touring and flying with hydraulic disc brakes
TonyR wrote:pwa wrote:I've had a hydraulic disc brake overheat and stop working completely. Admittedly that was on a tandem, which is hard on brakes. I'd prefer cables so that there is no fluid to boil. You can easily replace glazed pads. The discs themselves are a bit delicate on a bicycle, unlike on a motorcycle, and can distort enough to muck things up completely.
Both stopped working simultaneously? And were they tandem rated brakes? But lets face it braking on a tandem is hard on any brakes. You can overheat the rims and blow the tyres off or you can melt and glaze over the rim brake pads. Which is why if you want to do loaded tandem touring in hilly areas you are best off with a drag brake and if not, regular stops to let things cool down.
Thorn tandem with 2 vees (i.e. rim brakes) and a rear Hope Mono 6 piston disc brake with large disc. Thorn, in fairness, did warn that disc brakes can be seriously cooked by a tandem. All brakes have their good and bad points, but only a hydraulic disc brake has ever stopped working completely for me. In an instant, on a very steep descent with a bend coming up. Lever to the bar with no result.
Re: touring and flying with hydraulic disc brakes
Tiberius wrote: So, serious question for all you 'experienced' cycling bods......Has a major tour on a push bike EVER IN THE HISTORY OF THIS PLANET come to an end due to brake failure ???...
I can tell you this with 100% certainty, it would not stop me doing anything.....
You can probably tell, I have a VERY low tolerance of chronic pessimisim !!!.....
I can tell you this if your brakes fail at the wrong time and in the wrong place it may stop you doing anything apart from being put in a box and shoved in the ground.
'Give me my bike, a bit of sunshine - and a stop-off for a lunchtime pint - and I'm a happy man.' - Reg Baker
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Re: touring and flying with hydraulic disc brakes
I've never had a single problem hydraulic brakes, they are a very very simple device, true seals could blow but usually this would not be a catastrophic failure and would be caught with routine Maintenance. Spares could easily be lighter than those require for cable brakes ( seals, a few olives and oil)
While I have heard of hydraulics failing on long descents most of the problems seem to be related to poor equipment choice,don't use tiny light weight aftermarket rotors on touring or heavily loaded bikes, I use Shimano slx brakes on my dummy and have never suffered from fade even loaded up to an estimated 100lbs at speeds of up to 50mph.
Mechanical brakes can also fail, cables can snap etc
While not a road or touring sample very few respondents on this thread had many problems
http://forums.mtbr.com/brake-time/anyon ... 26367.html
This was extracted from http://velonews.competitor.com/2013/11/ ... red_308954
Obviously, any sort of fade is highly dangerous. But discs are not the only brake system that will fail with excessive heat. SRAM was able to blow a tire off its rim after five minutes at 550 watts (on a dynamo tester), but saw zero damage to its disc brakes after 12 minutes at 800 watts. In other words, if you’ve never blown a tire off a rim due to heat, you’ll certainly never boil your road discs
Basically I think hydraulic brakes are a lot more reliable than some think.
While I have heard of hydraulics failing on long descents most of the problems seem to be related to poor equipment choice,don't use tiny light weight aftermarket rotors on touring or heavily loaded bikes, I use Shimano slx brakes on my dummy and have never suffered from fade even loaded up to an estimated 100lbs at speeds of up to 50mph.
Mechanical brakes can also fail, cables can snap etc
While not a road or touring sample very few respondents on this thread had many problems
http://forums.mtbr.com/brake-time/anyon ... 26367.html
This was extracted from http://velonews.competitor.com/2013/11/ ... red_308954
Obviously, any sort of fade is highly dangerous. But discs are not the only brake system that will fail with excessive heat. SRAM was able to blow a tire off its rim after five minutes at 550 watts (on a dynamo tester), but saw zero damage to its disc brakes after 12 minutes at 800 watts. In other words, if you’ve never blown a tire off a rim due to heat, you’ll certainly never boil your road discs
Basically I think hydraulic brakes are a lot more reliable than some think.
Re: touring and flying with hydraulic disc brakes
pete75 wrote: I can tell you this if your brakes fail at the wrong time and in the wrong place it may stop you doing anything apart from being put in a box and shoved in the ground.
So, BOTH brakes fail....'at the wrong time' (Me....at the SAME time ?????......Worry Worry Worry !!!!!!)
Seriously ...YOU....CAN ....NOT ...BE ....SERIOUS !!!! *
*jonny Mac ....Wimbledon.....Ages ago......
Last edited by Vorpal on 3 Feb 2016, 11:36am, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: fix quotes
Reason: fix quotes