🔥You never know when your disc pads will fail. Rolling into Pueblo, Mexico and having to replace my brake pads on tour. 💥Cycle Touring from Deadhorse, Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina. 🎥👉 th-cam.com/video/389KkzL6oTQ/w-d-xo.html
This exact same failure happened to me! The pinging, the hole, the destroyed retainer clip. Uncanny. 10yrs my BB7 lasted until, one moment, it didn’t. Thanks!
@@worrisomemachine it happens when you least expect it. Same thing happened again down in Mexico cycling into Pueblo. Thank you for the comment and for checking out the video. Happy Cycling! ~Ron
The Oscar goes to... Best video about bb7 ever. Seriously, dude. Great video. Your camera person is spot on. If you made this to help people you got a plus one right here.
Many thanks for the feedback and compliments Hootyhoo!! Much appreciated and happy you found the video useful. Yes the idea was to show folks that while out touring, you're not always going to have a shop around and that you may have to do repairs in the field. Petra (me good wife and camera person) says thank you as well. :-) Cheers from Florida! ~ Ron
This was fantastic. I came here having never replaced disc brake pads, and your on-the-fly video was better than any of the others I'd looked at. I also happened to be looking specifically for BB7 replacement, so the specificity also happened to be perfect. Props to you for the concise language. Props to your cameraperson for their great positioning. Will definitely be following you now! Thanks!
Many thanks for your kind words and feedback Alex. We are very happy this helped you and happy cycling!! We are trying to show folks that this type of maintenance can be done in the field and to help others be able to do it themselves. During our 25 months on the road, we replaced plenty of brake pads. ~Ron and Petra
I just completed this installation on a Salsa Marrakesh at home on a stand. Can't say that I'd want to try it on the road. But I'm sure it could be done. Thanks for an excellent video on this work. It was the best one I found.
Hello Schifferj! Thank you for the feedback and it's really easy to do in the field once you've done once or twice. Remember if/when you ever go on a long tour if this is your plan one day, you will most likely have to replace your pads. During our 25 month bike tour, I changed out our pads a few times. ~Ron
Excellent! I just finished my first BB7 brake pad replacement. Could not have done it without your video guide, which also seems like the only reasonable one for this on TH-cam. Thanks for helping me get ready for my first long-term tour in 2018!
Many thanks Radar O'Reilly for the props! Happy to hear I was able to help you and hopefully others with my mini-tutorial. Would love to hear more about your upcoming journey as it helps in keeping us motivated and focused on our goal, which is to cycle Alaska to Argentina. Cheers! ;-)
It was a pleasure and and very helpful watchin this video as ist is both, showing a sympathic person and combinig a detailed technical description focusing the bb7 with some very helpful hints according to your experience 'far from the books' wich are done more and more careless nowadays. Regards from Germany.
Servus Stefan und Danke for your comment. Sorry for the delay in responding, but we are currently cycling, "The Americas" and have limited internet out here on the road. If you haven't seen our "Cycling the Americas" videos please check them out. ~Ron & Petra
Thank you Thorkild for the comment and you should be ok replacing your brake pads. Really it's not difficult to do, just take your time. And happy cycling to you as well.
Thanks for your great video! I made the school boy error of removing the base circlip before the pads and consequently had a nightmare to get them back. Brute force ruined the clip and left me puzzled about how to get them back in. very helpful!!
Hello Andy and I very much appreciate the feedback. Sorry you took the long way around to get your brakes fixed, but happy to know you're good to go now. Happy Cycling!! ~Ron
Thank you Jason for the comments and your other post with the questions. Sorry for the late response, but I was in Iceland all last week and internet was very spotty. Hope you get out and explore the ONF, it's a beautiful place. ~Ron
Awesome!, thank you! And kudos to your cameraman, or camerawoman, for getting nice, crisp detail. I had to review several videos that were grainy, out of focus, poor lighting and lacking many details, before I found yours. I have BB7s on my RowingBike, rowingbike.com, and I wanted to inspect my pads to see if they need to be replaced. Your video has given me the confidence to do that. Cheers!
Many thanks Ed for the Kudos and your feedback. My camerawoman (aka lovely wife) smiled and said thank you too. Changing those pads are not hard, but if you have any questions let me know. I'll be checking out your rowingbike here in a bit. Cheers.
Be careful, once you try one, you may never go back to a conventional bike! Actually, for me, it can't replace a regular bike for street or off road travel. I ride only on smooth asphalt bike trails. I go for 20 mile rides, which take a little under an hour and a half. It's phenomenal excercise, and no SBS (sore butt syndrome) ;)
@@PedalPowerTouring Well, I finally got around to replacing my brakes, after referring to your video once more. I had a little trouble because I was trying to place the arms of the spring clip outside the pads instead of sandwiching the clip between the pads. Once I realized my mistake, the rest was a breeze. My old pads weren't completely gone, but close enough to warrant replacing. Thanks again!
Good video... they say that the distance between the stationary pad and rotor should be a third of the clearance distance as the mechanical / moving pad .
Hello Mr. Michael appreciate the comment and happy to know the video helped. Good luck on the new pads and if you have any other questions please feel free to ask. ~Ron
In the Ocala National Forest, can you camp freely wherever you want or are there restrictions? In other words, do you have to camp at designated camping areas or are we free to camp wherever we want, free of charge? Also, is there an entrance fee to get into this forest area? I live on the East Coast of Florida, and was thinking of doing a tour in the Ocala National Forest. Any info you can provide would be greatly appreciated.
Hello Jason and thank you for the questions. I'm not an expert on what the laws are regarding wild camping in the ONF, so I would recommend hitting up the Government website. However, it is our understanding that you are allowed to do "dispersed" camping within all National Forests, not to be confused with National Parks. We have camped in National Forests anywhere for the night and moved along each day. I also believe you are required to keep your food in a bear proof container or face fines, but this may just be a seasonal thing and there are some restrictions on where you can camp during General Gun hunting season. No there is no entrance fees that we have ever paid to enter the forest; however, there are some areas that are concession based (example Juniper Springs) and they do charge a small fee and there are some campgrounds that charge a fee. I am attaching a link to Ocala National Forest that will be able to help you out. www.fs.usda.gov/recmain/ocala/recreation I hope this helps and if you get a chance to explore ONF, go for it and have a great time. It is really a beautiful area. You may also be interested in exploring Apalachicola National Forest, it's another great place to explore. ~Ron
I do have another question for you Ron, now that I think of it. When you are traveling through a national forest, where do you go to the restroom, and where do you stock up on food and water? Are there any facilities out there, such as gas stations or public restrooms? Are there places to buy food and water? Thank you...
Hello Jason, there are campgrounds in ONF with restrooms and such if you want to pay to stay there. However, you have the option of dispersed "wild" style camping as well, but you need to bring your own trowel and toilet paper/baby wipes and go el natural like a wild animal does in the woods! ;-) As for food, we generally carry enough food to cover 2 or 3 days, but there are general stores and gas stations in and around ONF. Of course, these are typically on the main roads and not on the sand/dirt roads. A popular one to hit is called the 88 Store off FR 88, near Lake Kerr Road. You can get hot food and cold drinks there. As for water, we each carry with us 1x24 oz and 2x32 oz bottles and keep them filled by refilling them at gas stations or wherever (fire stations, ranger station, camp grounds, churches, etc...) we can get water, but we will also carry a filter just in case. In my previous, reply I added a link to ONF, there is a map on there that you can zoom in and look around to see some of the facilities. it won't show stores, but it will show campgrounds, hiking trails, springs, etc... Hope this helps and have fun exploring ONF. ~Ron
Great question Wade and thank you. Yes both calipers are the same and use the same pads. However, depending on your setup, you may require a different mounting adaptor or none at all (mostly on the forks).
I just want to point out that after watching a few videos on hydraulic disc brake maintenance I'm starting to wonder what the complicated part is. It seems like a completely different skill set compared to fiddling with cable tensions, but not harder. And of course, when riding hydraulics are amazing...
Yeah I own both types and actually just last week I bought longer brake lines for my Juicy brakes and reinstalled them on my Bikepacking/XC bike. However, for long term traveling, I would highly recommend staying away from hydraulic brakes for the simple reason if/when they fail and they will, while you're on the road you will be without brakes. Go with mechanical disc brakes for bike touring. Sure they are not as smooth or provide the modulation like hydraulic, but it's a lot easier to carry an extra cable than it is hydraulic lines and the kit needed to bleed them. If you are staying close to home or just out for the day, yes, go for the hydraulic brakes. Changing brake pads on the Avid systems are identical.
Hi Rasmus, bike mechanic from Madison, Wisconsin here. Hydraulic brake systems definitely feel/work great. The reason people don't recommend using them for touring is ease of maintenance. Switching out brake pads and truing a rotor should be about the same, and centering the caliper is often easier with hydraulic than with mechanical. The rough part is if you start leaking brake fluid or develop an air bubble in your system or have a problem with the seals on your pistons etc. Fixing any fluid-related problem with a hydraulic system is pretty time consuming, even if you have the luxury of a repair stand and all of the specific tools necessary for the system. If you're burning daylight in the rain next to a busy road it would be kind of a nightmare, and you probably don't want to bring a bleed kit and extra mineral oil/dot fluid with you on your tour. On the other hand, running a new cable through your housing and tensioning it is a lot easier to do in a stressful situation.
Great video. Nice bike. I love the PowerGrips. Do you typically carry a spare pad spring with you on tour? I just picked up a World Troller with BB7 brakes and will carry pads but I've never really thought about carrying a spare spring.
Hello Slosheroni, thank you for the question. For long trips we carry a lot of extra parts, but if we are staying local and only doing an overnighter close to home we wouldn't. On this particular trip, I knew the brake pads were getting close to being bad, so I carried an extra set just in case and it looks like that was a good idea. I would carry the spring with the pad because based on past experiences the spring can go bad and it is needed for the brakes to work correctly. The pads and spring should already come together so why not carry them. They take up no extra room and weigh nothing, so you are better off taking the complete pad and spring. Good luck with your World Troller and hope it brings you many many wonderful miles/kilometers of adventures.
Thanks for the reply. This will be my first touring bike with disc brakes. I've always had v-brakes in the past. I know there is a viewpoint among some touring cyclists that disc brake are a real pain but I've never had any problems with them before on my mountain bike. So I figured why not since most of my touring is done in mountainous terrain (Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, etc.) I agree on carrying spare parts and after I posted I realized when I picked up some spare pads with the new bike I either misplaced the springs or never did pick them up in the first place. At any rate I'll just pick up another spare set of pads and springs this time. If you were to take on a tour of 3 or 4 months or more would you also take along spare retaining clips? What about cables? I always take spare cables with me but I've never had to use them. The guys at my LBS, who are really good btw, were saying cables probably aren't necessary. I suppose that depends on how long the tour is and exactly where the cyclist might be going, right?
We have toured quite a lot with both rim brakes and disc and I say disc brakes are the way to go. No questions about that. We carried with us during our 25 month tour extra cables and spokes and never once did we need them. In fact, after being home for 2 years now and still doing short weekend type rides as well as commuting to and from work we are still using the same original brake and shifting cables. However, if I were to go on another long tour outside of America or Europe, I would probably still carry an extra cable just to be sure.
Thanks WyoCoyote for your question. I would say yes most likely on your normal setup, but since our bikes are partially loaded and we have pitlocks on our wheels, no. Also we have wires running to our SON Hubs and I'd rather not pull them off the tabs if I don't need too. Yes it's easy enough to remove the wires, but why take the chance on breaking a wire or worst yet, one of the electrical tabs. It would take longer getting the load off and pulling out the pitlock tool than it took to just remove the two bolts holding the calipers on. In the end, go with whichever is easier for you. ~Ron
help when my caliper gets wet with water the caliper sticks when you press the brake and won't let go unless you legit push the caliper lever down.the cable and the lever on the handle bar is not sticking just the caliper itself when the caliper gets wet
Hello John, strange that it only sticks when it's wet. I've never experienced this, but I would imagine it would stick regardless of being wet or not. If you're certain the lever is fine, check the that cable isn't sticking inside of the brake cable housing. Then manually work the brake caliper lever by hand and see if it's sticking. If the bike has been sitting for awhile and you haven't serviced it, you may want to give your bike a good once over. I doubt it's too serious and can probably be cleaned up and then spray little lubed on the moving parts and you're back in action. If you're not sure about cleaning and lubing the parts, you can either replace the front caliper, brake pads, and cable yourself or take it to a shop and pay them to do it. I'm a fan of giving it a go yourself before taking it to a shop. This way if it happens again you will know have to repair it yourself. I hope this helps. ~Ron
@@PedalPowerTouring yes positive that the cable and the handle bar lever is good.the only thing that really sticks is the caliper itself.when the caliper sticks the handle bar lever and cable moves freely..that's why i took the caliper out and do cleaning and see if it would still stick.if it does imma go with hydr probably m165
it works only had alcohol and silicone grease and a airpump to quickly dry the alcohol so the rubber won't get expose long.it works now.just tested it with wet water and it won't stick anymore.the caliper piston is very dirty and cleaning it and lubing it works.thanks mate:))looks like no hydr at the moment
By the way, Why they put hydraulic brakes on a bike, mechanical brakes do the same job and anybody can manage them. A friend of me had trouble with hydraulic brake on a trip oversea and finished his trip with only one brake... mystery of bicycle inbdustry...
Sure both types of brakes work and they both work very well. For long distance traveling or really any type of bicycle touring we will always suggest going with mechanical disc brakes over hydraulic ones. However, if you are not interested in bicycle touring and only ride your MTB near the house for fun on your days off, I say go for the hydraulic brakes if you can afford them. Hydraulic brakes do provide better stopping power and more modulation (feel I guess would be a better way to describe) over the mechanic disc brakes. I used mechanic disc brakes for a years on my XC MTB bike and they worked fine, but once I could afford hydraulic disc... wow what a nice upgrade that was. Thank you for leaving a comment and happy trails to you.
never wear rings or any kind of jewelry when doing mechanical work, many people have lost their finger hand even their whole arm...you will hook that ring on something and it will hurt
Appreciate the safety tip and reminder. I once worked as an aircraft mechanic for many years (14+ years) and the very first thing we did was remove all jewelry before turning wrenches. ~Ron
🔥You never know when your disc pads will fail. Rolling into Pueblo, Mexico and having to replace my brake pads on tour.
💥Cycle Touring from Deadhorse, Alaska to Ushuaia, Argentina.
🎥👉 th-cam.com/video/389KkzL6oTQ/w-d-xo.html
This exact same failure happened to me! The pinging, the hole, the destroyed retainer clip. Uncanny. 10yrs my BB7 lasted until, one moment, it didn’t. Thanks!
@@worrisomemachine it happens when you least expect it. Same thing happened again down in Mexico cycling into Pueblo. Thank you for the comment and for checking out the video. Happy Cycling! ~Ron
The Oscar goes to...
Best video about bb7 ever. Seriously, dude. Great video. Your camera person is spot on. If you made this to help people you got a plus one right here.
Many thanks for the feedback and compliments Hootyhoo!! Much appreciated and happy you found the video useful. Yes the idea was to show folks that while out touring, you're not always going to have a shop around and that you may have to do repairs in the field. Petra (me good wife and camera person) says thank you as well. :-) Cheers from Florida! ~ Ron
This was fantastic. I came here having never replaced disc brake pads, and your on-the-fly video was better than any of the others I'd looked at. I also happened to be looking specifically for BB7 replacement, so the specificity also happened to be perfect. Props to you for the concise language. Props to your cameraperson for their great positioning. Will definitely be following you now! Thanks!
Many thanks for your kind words and feedback Alex. We are very happy this helped you and happy cycling!! We are trying to show folks that this type of maintenance can be done in the field and to help others be able to do it themselves. During our 25 months on the road, we replaced plenty of brake pads. ~Ron and Petra
I just completed this installation on a Salsa Marrakesh at home on a stand. Can't say that I'd want to try it on the road. But I'm sure it could be done. Thanks for an excellent video on this work. It was the best one I found.
Hello Schifferj! Thank you for the feedback and it's really easy to do in the field once you've done once or twice. Remember if/when you ever go on a long tour if this is your plan one day, you will most likely have to replace your pads. During our 25 month bike tour, I changed out our pads a few times. ~Ron
Excellent! I just finished my first BB7 brake pad replacement. Could not have done it without your video guide, which also seems like the only reasonable one for this on TH-cam. Thanks for helping me get ready for my first long-term tour in 2018!
Many thanks Radar O'Reilly for the props! Happy to hear I was able to help you and hopefully others with my mini-tutorial. Would love to hear more about your upcoming journey as it helps in keeping us motivated and focused on our goal, which is to cycle Alaska to Argentina. Cheers! ;-)
It was a pleasure and and very helpful watchin this video as ist is both, showing a sympathic person and combinig a detailed technical description focusing the bb7 with some very helpful hints according to your experience 'far from the books' wich are done more and more careless nowadays. Regards from Germany.
Servus Stefan und Danke for your comment. Sorry for the delay in responding, but we are currently cycling, "The Americas" and have limited internet out here on the road. If you haven't seen our "Cycling the Americas" videos please check them out. ~Ron & Petra
Well done. Very clear, nicely paced as it should be. Simple but effective. Great job. Thank you.
Many thanks Marco for the feedback and compliments. Happy Cycling! ~Ron
Thank-you for making the video. This will be my first time replacing Avid BB-7 disc brake pads, so you have given me confidence. Happy biking!
Thank you Thorkild for the comment and you should be ok replacing your brake pads. Really it's not difficult to do, just take your time. And happy cycling to you as well.
Thanks so much, this video was best of others I watched. Especially showing how the clip is attached
Hello Jim!! You're welcome and great to hear this helped. Take care and happy cycling! ~Ron
If you carry a 25 Torx driver along with you it comes in very handy adjusting that inside adjuster ... especially if it is tight to turn with fingers.
Thanks for your great video! I made the school boy error of removing the base circlip before the pads and consequently had a nightmare to get them back. Brute force ruined the clip and left me puzzled about how to get them back in. very helpful!!
Hello Andy and I very much appreciate the feedback. Sorry you took the long way around to get your brakes fixed, but happy to know you're good to go now. Happy Cycling!! ~Ron
Thank you for making this video. You did a great job explaining everything.
Thank you Jason for the comments and your other post with the questions. Sorry for the late response, but I was in Iceland all last week and internet was very spotty. Hope you get out and explore the ONF, it's a beautiful place. ~Ron
This is so helpful. Thank you for making and posting this video. You made life much easier.
Hello Han Qi and thank you for you feedback. Happy to hear it helped! ~Ron
Great video. Thanks for posting. I'm still learning about disc brake maintenance.
Many thanks for the feedback and hope the video helps you down road. ~Ron
Awesome!, thank you! And kudos to your cameraman, or camerawoman, for getting nice, crisp detail. I had to review several videos that were grainy, out of focus, poor lighting and lacking many details, before I found yours. I have BB7s on my RowingBike, rowingbike.com, and I wanted to inspect my pads to see if they need to be replaced. Your video has given me the confidence to do that. Cheers!
Many thanks Ed for the Kudos and your feedback. My camerawoman (aka lovely wife) smiled and said thank you too. Changing those pads are not hard, but if you have any questions let me know. I'll be checking out your rowingbike here in a bit. Cheers.
Oh my that thing looks crazy hard! How far do folks get on them? I don't think I would go more than a few hundred meters.
Be careful, once you try one, you may never go back to a conventional bike! Actually, for me, it can't replace a regular bike for street or off road travel. I ride only on smooth asphalt bike trails. I go for 20 mile rides, which take a little under an hour and a half. It's phenomenal excercise, and no SBS (sore butt syndrome) ;)
We'll have to take your word for it and stay with our traditional touring bike. However, that does look like a heck of workout.
@@PedalPowerTouring Well, I finally got around to replacing my brakes, after referring to your video once more. I had a little trouble because I was trying to place the arms of the spring clip outside the pads instead of sandwiching the clip between the pads. Once I realized my mistake, the rest was a breeze. My old pads weren't completely gone, but close enough to warrant replacing. Thanks again!
Good video... they say that the distance between the stationary pad and rotor should be a third of the clearance distance as the mechanical / moving pad .
thanks for the video! help me when came to replacing my pads!
Awesome and we're happy to hear it worked out for you. Many thanks for the feedback and happy cycling! ~Ron
A "gift" you say! I've been looking for that Gerber tool for ages!
Well done sir, thank you ! One less worry on my trip down the California coast.
Thank you for the feedback MonoLake02 and we would love hearing back on how your trip goes. Safe travels! ~Ron
Thank you, very useful. Practical, like, on a byke trip with all the luggages. It's kind of you to show your experience.
thank you tsiganed for the comment and we hope our video helps you someday when you are on the road.
Thanks for a great vid, esp detail and close ups. Just about to install my first new pads and my Gerber got that spring out! Lovely bike btw
Great to hear Annam and thank you for the feedback.
Thanks, I just ordered my pads. Excellent video.
Hello Mr. Michael appreciate the comment and happy to know the video helped. Good luck on the new pads and if you have any other questions please feel free to ask. ~Ron
thanks, i have it installed. i need to try your fine tuning
Thanks for the comment Matt and good luck on the fine tuning. My method is probably not in accordance with the manual, but it works. :-) ~Ron
In the Ocala National Forest, can you camp freely wherever you want or are there restrictions? In other words, do you have to camp at designated camping areas or are we free to camp wherever we want, free of charge? Also, is there an entrance fee to get into this forest area? I live on the East Coast of Florida, and was thinking of doing a tour in the Ocala National Forest. Any info you can provide would be greatly appreciated.
Hello Jason and thank you for the questions. I'm not an expert on what the laws are regarding wild camping in the ONF, so I would recommend hitting up the Government website. However, it is our understanding that you are allowed to do "dispersed" camping within all National Forests, not to be confused with National Parks. We have camped in National Forests anywhere for the night and moved along each day. I also believe you are required to keep your food in a bear proof container or face fines, but this may just be a seasonal thing and there are some restrictions on where you can camp during General Gun hunting season. No there is no entrance fees that we have ever paid to enter the forest; however, there are some areas that are concession based (example Juniper Springs) and they do charge a small fee and there are some campgrounds that charge a fee. I am attaching a link to Ocala National Forest that will be able to help you out. www.fs.usda.gov/recmain/ocala/recreation I hope this helps and if you get a chance to explore ONF, go for it and have a great time. It is really a beautiful area. You may also be interested in exploring Apalachicola National Forest, it's another great place to explore. ~Ron
Thank you, Ron, for the information. I really appreciate it.
You're very welcome. Good luck and if there is anything else we can try to help you with, just ask. ~Ron
I do have another question for you Ron, now that I think of it. When you are traveling through a national forest, where do you go to the restroom, and where do you stock up on food and water? Are there any facilities out there, such as gas stations or public restrooms? Are there places to buy food and water? Thank you...
Hello Jason, there are campgrounds in ONF with restrooms and such if you want to pay to stay there. However, you have the option of dispersed "wild" style camping as well, but you need to bring your own trowel and toilet paper/baby wipes and go el natural like a wild animal does in the woods! ;-) As for food, we generally carry enough food to cover 2 or 3 days, but there are general stores and gas stations in and around ONF. Of course, these are typically on the main roads and not on the sand/dirt roads. A popular one to hit is called the 88 Store off FR 88, near Lake Kerr Road. You can get hot food and cold drinks there. As for water, we each carry with us 1x24 oz and 2x32 oz bottles and keep them filled by refilling them at gas stations or wherever (fire stations, ranger station, camp grounds, churches, etc...) we can get water, but we will also carry a filter just in case. In my previous, reply I added a link to ONF, there is a map on there that you can zoom in and look around to see some of the facilities. it won't show stores, but it will show campgrounds, hiking trails, springs, etc... Hope this helps and have fun exploring ONF. ~Ron
Does the front and rear use it the same parts?
Great question Wade and thank you. Yes both calipers are the same and use the same pads. However, depending on your setup, you may require a different mounting adaptor or none at all (mostly on the forks).
I just want to point out that after watching a few videos on hydraulic disc brake maintenance I'm starting to wonder what the complicated part is. It seems like a completely different skill set compared to fiddling with cable tensions, but not harder. And of course, when riding hydraulics are amazing...
Yeah I own both types and actually just last week I bought longer brake lines for my Juicy brakes and reinstalled them on my Bikepacking/XC bike. However, for long term traveling, I would highly recommend staying away from hydraulic brakes for the simple reason if/when they fail and they will, while you're on the road you will be without brakes. Go with mechanical disc brakes for bike touring. Sure they are not as smooth or provide the modulation like hydraulic, but it's a lot easier to carry an extra cable than it is hydraulic lines and the kit needed to bleed them. If you are staying close to home or just out for the day, yes, go for the hydraulic brakes. Changing brake pads on the Avid systems are identical.
Hi Rasmus, bike mechanic from Madison, Wisconsin here. Hydraulic brake systems definitely feel/work great. The reason people don't recommend using them for touring is ease of maintenance. Switching out brake pads and truing a rotor should be about the same, and centering the caliper is often easier with hydraulic than with mechanical. The rough part is if you start leaking brake fluid or develop an air bubble in your system or have a problem with the seals on your pistons etc. Fixing any fluid-related problem with a hydraulic system is pretty time consuming, even if you have the luxury of a repair stand and all of the specific tools necessary for the system. If you're burning daylight in the rain next to a busy road it would be kind of a nightmare, and you probably don't want to bring a bleed kit and extra mineral oil/dot fluid with you on your tour. On the other hand, running a new cable through your housing and tensioning it is a lot easier to do in a stressful situation.
Well done sir!
Thank you Straighttospace for the compliment and feedback. ~Ron
thanks for sharing. nice bike.
You're welcome Chris and thank you for the feedback. ~Ron
Great video. Nice bike. I love the PowerGrips. Do you typically carry a spare pad spring with you on tour? I just picked up a World Troller with BB7 brakes and will carry pads but I've never really thought about carrying a spare spring.
Hello Slosheroni, thank you for the question. For long trips we carry a lot of extra parts, but if we are staying local and only doing an overnighter close to home we wouldn't. On this particular trip, I knew the brake pads were getting close to being bad, so I carried an extra set just in case and it looks like that was a good idea. I would carry the spring with the pad because based on past experiences the spring can go bad and it is needed for the brakes to work correctly. The pads and spring should already come together so why not carry them. They take up no extra room and weigh nothing, so you are better off taking the complete pad and spring. Good luck with your World Troller and hope it brings you many many wonderful miles/kilometers of adventures.
Thanks for the reply. This will be my first touring bike with disc brakes. I've always had v-brakes in the past. I know there is a viewpoint among some touring cyclists that disc brake are a real pain but I've never had any problems with them before on my mountain bike. So I figured why not since most of my touring is done in mountainous terrain (Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, etc.)
I agree on carrying spare parts and after I posted I realized when I picked up some spare pads with the new bike I either misplaced the springs or never did pick them up in the first place. At any rate I'll just pick up another spare set of pads and springs this time.
If you were to take on a tour of 3 or 4 months or more would you also take along spare retaining clips? What about cables? I always take spare cables with me but I've never had to use them. The guys at my LBS, who are really good btw, were saying cables probably aren't necessary. I suppose that depends on how long the tour is and exactly where the cyclist might be going, right?
We have toured quite a lot with both rim brakes and disc and I say disc brakes are the way to go. No questions about that. We carried with us during our 25 month tour extra cables and spokes and never once did we need them. In fact, after being home for 2 years now and still doing short weekend type rides as well as commuting to and from work we are still using the same original brake and shifting cables. However, if I were to go on another long tour outside of America or Europe, I would probably still carry an extra cable just to be sure.
would have not been simpler to remove the wheel and replace pads w/o removing the caliper?
Thanks WyoCoyote for your question. I would say yes most likely on your normal setup, but since our bikes are partially loaded and we have pitlocks on our wheels, no. Also we have wires running to our SON Hubs and I'd rather not pull them off the tabs if I don't need too. Yes it's easy enough to remove the wires, but why take the chance on breaking a wire or worst yet, one of the electrical tabs. It would take longer getting the load off and pulling out the pitlock tool than it took to just remove the two bolts holding the calipers on. In the end, go with whichever is easier for you. ~Ron
help when my caliper gets wet with water the caliper sticks when you press the brake and won't let go unless you legit push the caliper lever down.the cable and the lever on the handle bar is not sticking just the caliper itself when the caliper gets wet
FYI haven't use my back in like 2 years.but rear works only the front does that if it gets wet
Hello John, strange that it only sticks when it's wet. I've never experienced this, but I would imagine it would stick regardless of being wet or not. If you're certain the lever is fine, check the that cable isn't sticking inside of the brake cable housing. Then manually work the brake caliper lever by hand and see if it's sticking. If the bike has been sitting for awhile and you haven't serviced it, you may want to give your bike a good once over. I doubt it's too serious and can probably be cleaned up and then spray little lubed on the moving parts and you're back in action. If you're not sure about cleaning and lubing the parts, you can either replace the front caliper, brake pads, and cable yourself or take it to a shop and pay them to do it. I'm a fan of giving it a go yourself before taking it to a shop. This way if it happens again you will know have to repair it yourself. I hope this helps. ~Ron
@@PedalPowerTouring yes positive that the cable and the handle bar lever is good.the only thing that really sticks is the caliper itself.when the caliper sticks the handle bar lever and cable moves freely..that's why i took the caliper out and do cleaning and see if it would still stick.if it does imma go with hydr probably m165
@@PedalPowerTouring opening it now
it works only had alcohol and silicone grease and a airpump to quickly dry the alcohol so the rubber won't get expose long.it works now.just tested it with wet water and it won't stick anymore.the caliper piston is very dirty and cleaning it and lubing it works.thanks mate:))looks like no hydr at the moment
good info, thank you!
Thank you Mark.
By the way, Why they put hydraulic brakes on a bike, mechanical brakes do the same job and anybody can manage them. A friend of me had trouble with hydraulic brake on a trip oversea and finished his trip with only one brake... mystery of bicycle inbdustry...
Sure both types of brakes work and they both work very well. For long distance traveling or really any type of bicycle touring we will always suggest going with mechanical disc brakes over hydraulic ones. However, if you are not interested in bicycle touring and only ride your MTB near the house for fun on your days off, I say go for the hydraulic brakes if you can afford them. Hydraulic brakes do provide better stopping power and more modulation (feel I guess would be a better way to describe) over the mechanic disc brakes. I used mechanic disc brakes for a years on my XC MTB bike and they worked fine, but once I could afford hydraulic disc... wow what a nice upgrade that was. Thank you for leaving a comment and happy trails to you.
I like mechanical disc brakes just because I can get cables at drug stores etc.
never wear rings or any kind of jewelry when doing mechanical work, many people have lost their finger hand even their whole arm...you will hook that ring on something and it will hurt
Appreciate the safety tip and reminder. I once worked as an aircraft mechanic for many years (14+ years) and the very first thing we did was remove all jewelry before turning wrenches. ~Ron
hahaha dude just push the spring from the back of the caliper no need a knife blade to do that is dangerous
Dangerous? Come on Tony I wasn't running around with the knife pointing upwards! ;-)