"Riding home thru the rain tonight would have been merely wet, rather than dangerous, if the brakes on my bike weren't so damn ineffective. The stoppers on my touring bike seem spongy - even when the pads were new and dry - but in the rain I become a danger to myself and others.
Here's what I got: Avid ""Shorty 6"" Cantilever brakes, the original brake pads (not completely worn out yet) and Camagnolo Mirage brake (shifter) levers.
Anyone have an opinion on the fastest-stopping brake pads for rainy conditions? Maybe replacement pads alone will do the trick.
Or maybe these Avid brakes are just junk. Anyone else dislike (or replace) them?
Or maybe the Campy drop-bar levers are wrong for the brakes. Do cantilever brakes + drop bars require special levers?
- M."
Can't stop in the rain
How are your tyres? and rims for that matter. There is more to braking than the breaks.
"http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/brakeshoes.html
I use the ""BMX/MTB"" style on road calipers as well as cantilevers -- about as good in the wet as I could expect.
I wouldn't bother with the black/salmon combo pads, according to a Kool-Stop rep, the Salmons work better in the dry too.
Wipe down the rims with rubbing alcohol periodically.
""Long as I remember the rain been comin' down"""
Drink the alcohol.
Use sandpaper to remove the glaze on the brake pads and the buildup on the rims. It's not necessary to sand very hard but it's much easier to do w/o tires. Not wet-n-dry, not emery cloth, just plain old everyday sandpaper.
"or anything that prematurely degrades a braking surface.
Eventually, if the rest of the wheel holds up, the breaking surface of a rim will grind down and precipitate catastrophic failure.
I witnessed one such incident during a loaded tour. Was following the leader on a twisty, steep downhill, with a line of cars honking to get by, when a third of his rear rim blew off. He kept the bike steady and gently guided it to a stop as soon as the shoulder widened. Good lesson learned the easy way.
Some newer rims designed for touring have wear indicators.
FWIW, disc brakes (mechanical or hydraulic) are great in the rain -- and not at all expensive if they're built in up front. They're not economic on a retrofit.
""Clouds of myst’ry pourin’ confusion on the ground."""
Sanding the rims down slightly with abrasive is fine, and much more effective than alcohol, especially when the abrasion has been caused by metal shards. Braking in the rain will cause lots more wear than a little fine-grit rub afterwards. Remember also to pick out metal shards from your brake pads.
Neile's point about keeping an eye on rim-wall thickness is a good one, though. The easiest way to do it is to place a straight-edge along the rim wall, and look for a space between the straight edge and braking surface. Any wear more than 0.8mm would probably warrant a new rim.
Or buy some Sun Rhynos and never worry again...
- Christian
Go to a hardware store and get some Scotch pads. They will only remove the buildup on your rims, not leave scratches or remove aluminum. You can also use scotch pads on the brake pads, but I prefer an emory board; it's just easier to use.
My favorite pads are the Red Ritchey pads. They don't work as well as black pads in dry conditions, but that's kinda the point--they are designed to minimize the difference between dry and wet braking. Only thing is, they wear out pretty fast. I usually need two pair on the front brake each year.
Oh, btw, you know that grey sludge that forms on the rims when you ride in the rain? That's aluminum from the rims. the aluminum on the rims comes off when it's dry too, but it blows away. When the rims are wet, the water acts as a lubricant and 2-3x the amount of aluminum is removed. don't worry, it would take a very long time to wear out a rim in this fashion.
"With regular sandpaper you're likely to end up with a sand dune on the floor as the grit disengages itself from the paper before you shave down a rim to any significant degree. That's why I specified sandpaper over wet-or-dry or emery cloth. Certainly if you used a Dremel or a drill with a sanding disc you'd f*** it up in a hurry.
Maybe I should have said ""sand gently."""
"""The stoppers on my touring bike seem spongy - even when the pads were new and dry - but in the rain I become a danger to myself and others.""
You don't have steel rims, do you? Those are terrible in rain.
Other than that, it's just a matter of mechanical advantage in the levers/calipers, and the quality of the pads, and friction in the cables.
I'd recommend the Kool Stop salmons:
http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/brakeshoes.html
New, modern brake cables and housings couldn't hurt either.
You're not just using your rear brake, are you? Some folks are afraid to use the front brake, but that's where most of your stopping power comes from. Also, you can usually exert more force on the levers with your hands on the drops rather than the hoods.
""Chainwheel"""
Your Campy Ergo levers are wrong for this usage with these brakes. They will always feel spongy.
You do need special road levers to use with canti brakes. Regular road levers do not have enough cable pull for canti brakes. Dia Compe makes special road levers for use with canti and V style brakes - BRL45 Dia Compe 287-V. Or you can use old style Mafac canti brakes that have a long pull straddle cable. Check out the pros cyclecross bikes. They use new-old style canti brakes that have longer straddle cable for extra leverage that canti brakes require. These can be used with Campy Ergo levers.
Old style Shimano XT2 Cantilever Brakes will work. You can get these from www.harriscyclery.com.
I think the entirety of your post is debatable, as there is no problem with using Ergo levers and low-profile cantilevers, so long as you adjust the straddle cable for appropriate mechanical advantage. In fact, I think Avid Shortys are among the best cantis to use with drop bar levers. The stock pads are crap, though.
However, the more important thing is this:
Dia-Compe 287-V levers are NOT intended for use with regular (center-pull) cantilever brakes, only for direct-pull cantilevers (V-brakes). Center-pull cantis take regular drop-bar levers.
- Christian
"Got Dia-Compe 287-V operating Shimano 515 mechanical discs. Sweet touring/commuting setup. Just have to be careful other riders don't pile up my backside at traffic lights.
Looks like ""M"" has got the right hardware, just needs to get good pads and keep it all clean.
""Good men through the ages, tryin’ to find the sun"""
If the rain comes, they run and hide their heads
They might as well be dead
If the rain comes, if the rain comes
When the sun shines, they slip into the shade
And sip their lemonade
When the sun shines, when the sun shines
Rain, I don't mind
Shine, the weather's fine
I can show you, when it starts to rain
Everything's the same
I can show you, I can show you
Rain, I don't mind
Shine, the weather's fine
Can you hear me, that when it rains and shines
It's just a state of mind
Can you hear me, can you hear me
"""Can you hear me, that when it rains and shines
It's just a state of mind
Can you hear me, can you hear me""
You left out the backwards part. Great drumming on that tune.
""Chainwheel""
"
Let It Rain - by Bonnie Bramlett & Eric Clapton
The rain is falling through the mist of sorrow that surrounded me.
The sun could never thaw away the the bliss that lays around me.
Chorus:
Let it rain, let it rain,
Let your love rain down on me.
Let it rain, let it rain,
Let it rain, rain, rain.
Her life was like a desert flower burning in the sun.
Until I found the way to love, it's harder said than done.
Chorus
Now I know the secret; there is nothing that I lack.
If I give my love to you, you'll surely give it back.
Chorus
"as I use them for mechanical advantage with short Shimano cantis. They work fine. You are at a disadvantage to the length of your straddle cable with short arm cantis. Regular road levers should be fine for ""frog leg"", long arm cantilevers."
"named ""uri-nate"", but from the Avid website ...
http://www.sram.com/en/avid/rimbrakes/shorty.php
""Side-pull brakes and traditional road levers are one nasty combination.
Leave it to Avid to completely reinvent the center-pull. Introducing the Shorty series of brakes, powerful and innovative short-arm brakes that uses side-pull technology and convenience in a road-lever-compatible design.
Shorty brakes use tough linear springs for stiff, positive response and high straddle cable clearance to accommodate mud and/or fenders. Oh don't forget, the arms are easy to adjust with a screw-style spring adjuster and the brake pad is a full 70mm in length - which provides greater stopping power.
Cyclocross, tandems and recumbent riders, welcome to the world of performance brakes""
My cyclocross came with standard Shimano 105 STI brake/shifters and Paul's Touring Cantis. Works great, but I'm sure I'd be fine with the Avids.
""And I wonder, still I wonder, who’ll stop the rain.""
"
