[Closed] I am a worm, please help me (Alps, brakes)

Alternatively have SRAM worked the Avid shitness out of their system yet and worked out how to make decent brakes?

Which ones?

( Please don't say Guide Rs)

Guides are actually ok brakes, but perhaps out of their depth in the alps - especially if it’s hot.

A cheap but stronger sram option would be a Guide RE which has the same lever you have but the previous gen Code caliper (which is chunky).

A more expensive is the current gen Sram Code - I’ve got one of these on the front of my fs bike and it was rock solid performing on an uplift day at Antur Stiniog, despite my best efforts.

If you want to go away from Sram then Shimano certainly wouldn’t be where my money would be going! You get a lot more threads about them failing than Sram.

I’d be looking at some 4 pot Maguras (mt5/7) or Hope V4’s. In Europe you’re more likely to find the Maguras in stock.

You need to mount the brakes with the mounts they come with. I’m not sure if you can mount the sram shifter on the split mount you have now without a brake lever installed - you might need the cheapie fixed mount that you can get for them.

How about Formula Cura 4's?

I’m not sure if you can mount the sram shifter on the split mount you have now without a brake lever installed – you might need the cheapie fixed mount that you can get for them.

You can.

I would suggest though as a brake solution check the setup of your brakes, it sounds like they're not square which will cause squealing. Not sure if SRAM still use the spherical washers, these allow you to align and also misalign brakes to your heart's content. (In theory clamping them onto the disc to align them would work, but hose routing etc. can pull them out of place.)

All the guides over in Verbier when I was there seemed to be running saints front and rear, 203 rotors both ends. They reckoned they were the best bet, most other brakes coming up short. I had a rubbish time with my guide r rear and guide re front. I’d say get saints if you’re flush. I wish I had. If not I’d try for zee or other cheaper Shimano 4 pots. I’m not impressed with SRAM brakes just now. Maybe codes are good, but one of the guys with us had them and they were pretty noisy despite much changing of pads.

Just back from Switzerland and 3 of us were on current Codes...all faultless, no fade, loads of power when needed. When i think back to my last trip when i had Elixirs, the difference is night & day 😳

Also check that your pistons aren’t sticking and causing one side to do all the work.

I would try and sort out the Guides to get you through the holidays. Fettle them your self of a trip to one of the bike shops. Good one down in Bourg.
If you buy out in the Alps you will be paying a premium for them. Ordering from UK or Germany from experience will mean they they arrive after you have left.
Run Saints on ours and work well over there.
New set will be cheaper once you are back and can shop around with no pressure on.

TBH unless you're doing the mad stuff tignes and val aren't that testing on brakes, and Guides aren't bad at all. Realistically, as you say you have a habit of cooking them, the problem is going to be dragging rather than hardware, and there's no brakes that are completely immune to that, it's just the hardest thing you can ask of a brake. But it's also pretty hard to train yourself out of it...

Squeal usually means alignment or a sticky piston, definitely worth having another crack at fixing that.

Educate me on not draggeding the brakes. Does it make a difference if you pulse them or do you just need to not use them as much?

I don't think I'm going to like the answer to this question.....

And if so, how do I prevent myself from dying?

Yes I know , skills course.

Sigh

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Go and see Gravity Lab in Tignes. The guy there was really helpful and really good. You will pay bike shop prices and the pound is worthless but if you just want a job done properly so you can ride your bike tomorrow afternoon go there.

I 2nd Formula Cura 4s. I've the 2s and they feel great. Reliability reports are good too from what I've seen.

You can attach SRAM shifters using their mixmaster mounts as well.

And if so, how do I prevent myself from dying?

Brake later, brake harder. Simple 😀

And go and see the local shop out there. Might help them still be there when you or somebody else really needs them 🙂

thegeneralist

Member

Educate me on not draggeding the brakes. Does it make a difference if you pulse them or do you just need to not use them as much?

OK so basically the problem isn't so much the amount of heat you're generating, it's that your brakes need a chance to cool. It's better to do more braking, in shorter harder bursts, with gaps inbetween for them to cool, than it is to have them on gently for a long time.

Mostly, if you're anything like me, this is going to be about comfort braking- the slight dragging that doesn't really slow you down, still keeps the brakes heating up instead of cooling.

Pop into Startline in Tignes, they have always sorted any problems we have had out when we have been over there.

Hopefully they can fix the brakes you have got?

simondbarnes

Brake later, brake harder. Simple 😀

Jokes aside, that's the answer, really. No brake will cope with dragging. You need to teach yourself to let go of the brakes in the straights, and do your braking as you come to the corner. "I'm going really fast" isn't a good enough reason to pull your brakes. It's not something you'll learn immediately, it'll take a while to train yourself. I used to destroy brakes (and my hands) when I was starting out for this exact reason. Get out on a relatively easy flowy trail and try to concentrate on not braking until you need to.

As honourablegeorge says. Brake hard before the corners then let go. Better to slow down too much so you can roll than just scrub off a bit of speed then feel the need to drag the brakes. Same on steep sections. Slow then roll. Trust that you can slow again later. Often easier said than done but repeated practice helps

Head up, look further aheadl down the trail, you will probably use less brakes, giving them a chance to cool

Go and see Gravity Lab in Tignes. The guy there was really helpful and really good. You will pay bike shop prices and the pound is worthless but if you just want a job done properly so you can ride your bike tomorrow afternoon go there.

This - or Gravity Lab in Bourg Saint Maurice. Nowhere in Val will have anything worthwhile to sell. If anywhere does it'll be Matthis - they're the only ones that seem to have anything to sell at all in Val, the rest just have a couple of token tyres and tubes. Did notice this week that Matthis had a bit of choice and some more hardware (derailleurs) - you might get luck, but Gravity Lab is a better choice, IMHO.

EDIT : But yes, apart from things like Very Bike Trip, Val and Tignes aren't particularly hard on brakes. I did lots last year on my Jeffsy with Guide RSCs and I'm a biffer, so I think a bit of practice breaking harder and quicker but then letting it roll would help you.

I've used Guide R and RSC's in Verbier and they were great, better than Shimano XTs show lever constantly changed position once the pads are worn.

Some good advice on this thread about braking style... personally i ignore all that and go for the meatiest brakes i can get (as said previously, Codes) then drag the hell out of them; i only go to the Alps once a year so I haven't got the time to bother learning sensible stuff!

Gievn that generally speaking on steep downhill Alpine trails you are not pedalling anywhere, then the total energy disipated by your brakes only depends upon your mass and the height you loose?

Gievn that generally speaking on steep downhill Alpine trails you are not pedalling anywhere, then the total energy disipated by your brakes only depends upon your mass and the height you loose?

Yes but a brake that get's upto 800C+ then cools down rapidly will be at a lower average temperature than one that's constantly dragged to produce a lower peak temperature.

If the pads have worn at an angle then the piston has probably been sat at an angle, and the seals may well have worn a groove into the piston at that angle. In which case they're ****ed and the now worn piston/seals will be letting fluid out causing the howling.

If the pads have worn at an angle then the piston has probably been sat at an angle, and the seals may well have worn a groove into the piston at that angle. In which case they’re ****ed and the now w

This.

Bought new disk and pads yesterday. Wore them in properly.
But still after half an hour they were banshee wailing away. Nasty nasty noise.

Gravity has Codes and Curas for 170 an end.

Hmmmm

Gravity has Codes and Curas for 170 an end.

I have Code RSCs on my big bike after being pleased with the Guide RSC on my Jeffsy (am I the only one? 😃 ). They're very impressive on the little I've done on them. I have to close my eyes when I brake hard to stop my eyeballs flying out 🤪

If that is fitted and in Euros I would go for it. Gravity Lab are good and they will do a pristine fit. You have already had issues with a less than perfect fit so just get it done properly and have a fantastic holiday.

Really liked my Guide RS brakes but new bike has Code RSC and they are fantastically good (also bigger robots which will be helping as well).

(also bigger robots which will be helping as well).

I find bigger robots always help you slow down quicker ;-p

Haha, autocowrong at it again...bigger rotors!

It’s ok, it normally happens to me so it makes a nice change! I meant to say I’d sort out the pricing for a meeting in an email from my iPhone yesterday but it autocorrected my attempt at pricing to ‘keioxang’. Cue the guy I sent it to asking me what kind of drugs I was bringing and pissing himself!

Second for Gravity Lab - got really good, quick service in their Bourg branch last week after realising my shock bushings were done.

First day in Morzine yesterday. Was v hot for most of the day and spent most of it without my front brake working (Guide R) after the first run until the temp cooled later in the day. Mechanics in 2 shops both advised that the Guides are a big problem when the weather is warm. They’re knocking out Code R at 120E an end at the shop by the Pleny lift so I’ve bitten the bullet and bought them as all my current hardware is compatible. Hoping not to have to rely 90% on my back brake today.