MudLark

I wonder. Does conventional brake fluid have any advantage in a cycling context? Is there a risk of brake fade on a bicyle on very long steep descents? I've had it happen in a Land Rover while traversing Lesotho. But there I had a low range gearbox, manual transmission and reasonable engine braking. Even so, regular stops to cool the brakes soon became essential. On a bicycle brake fade could be fatal. But I have never heard of it happening.

https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/dejur25&div=36&id=&page= You get the idea.

Look, most of the route is okay but there is fast moving traffic along much of the route. The bit that is not so great is in the U section you see top left. The rest is pretty okay. But I'm not terribly keen to ride it again.

On Fat Sheep I wasn't crazy about the part of the route along narrow roads with badly broken shoulders and the fast moving traffic brushing past. I didn't feel safe, even with my radar etc. And I am used to riding the narrow bits of Witkoppen etc.

Chris, they did when I rode it in 2019. But the range is a bit too much for them AFAIK. So you need to have someone bring you an exchange battery pack...

Not sure if the stuff has a shelf life though. Most lubes degrade slowly over many years...

Asked for and got a refund.

There's about a 20km or so section with pretty severe corrugations - you're going to suffer on the Checkpoint if those roads have not been graded. Even on a fairly stiff dual sus it wasn't all that much fun.

Cars use brake fluid in brake systems. But oils - mineral and vegetable - are used in a range of automotive applications. Think eg power steering pumps, hydrolastic and hydropneumatic suspensions etc. There's a huge range of automotive lubricant products and specs.

Guaranteed it is some form of repackaged automotive product. But seals can be sensitive to fluid types and with brakes, OEM is usually the best option.

Think something nobody has as yet mentioned: sometimes you really need a compressor to get the tyres to seat. Some tyres you can get away with a floor pump but others you'll really struggle with unless you have a compressor or at the very least a charger pump.

Usually about every 3 months or so.

CWC, R149 for 200ml. Not too bad really.

Mostly a pointless discussion without knowing specifics - rim width, tyre, tyre width, weight, terrain, trail or XC etc. General very rough rule of of thumb: somewhere from 1.4 to 2.2 depending. Usually 0.2 more in the back than the front. Figure what works best for you.

Does what that much cheaper power meters don't do?

Thanks guys. So I spoke to the techie this afternoon when collecting the bike. He explained to me that the fluid they had to flush was definitely not Shimano fluid. He said it was much redder than Shimano fluid and much, much thicker. The other thing is that he showed me the top junction on the lever itself – it is a fairly long threaded barrel nut of sorts. He says that they use a type of Loctite which is grey in colour on that barrel nut. He found that some of this Loctite had got into the braking system – inside the lever junction and at a point where the hole the fluid passes through is actually pretty small. He thinks that it may also have been interfering with matters. Anyway, whatever the story, it's clear that the issue is now solved.

So, in defence of the bike shop: after I had got the bike back from the paint shop, I was on a ride. I noticed the brakes were spongy and I stopped off and asked the bike shop to take a quick look at it – The bloke said "Okay, just sit there for a moment and we will take a quick look at it". Came back after a few minutes said "Okay, we found a bit of air in the system; it seems to be better". Two days later the thing went "Oops, not so great any more". So then I took it back to the bike shop who said "Okay, let's look at it properly then. Leave it with us for a day or two". The bike shop is certainly not to blame here.

Okay, maybe I get the kit some time and do it. Having the right bits and bobs always make life a bit easier.

Thank you once again Diesel. Yes, I think you are right about the red rubber grease. The guy mentioned the word "red" and that they apply it to the nipples etc. I understood from him that they had found this had got into the system on the lever end. I will speak to the actual techie when I collect the bike.

Got what wrong? I don't think they got anything wrong. They simply said that they had a concern that there could be internal damage. I can only surmise that they have seen it before. Don't know. But as you say, problem solved and that's all that really matters to me!

Perhaps I misunderstood but the message was that the fluid that came out did not appear to be Shimano OEM fluid. I don't know. I have done brakes on cars more times than I care to count but never on a bicycle.

Looks like a complete system flush with Shimano OEM oil and cleaning some fittings has solved the problem. Some weird red pinkish fluid was found in the system. Some strange substance used as a kind of sealant also found in one of the passageway entrances.

Thanks Quagga. I think I am maybe just going to get another set of carbon rims then. Probably buy a good second hand set. There's no point in messing around with something which is going to give trouble – or may give trouble. I ride solo most of the time and sometimes on quite remote roads; the last thing I need is a wheel failure when I'm in gramadoela country.

Thanks guys. Interesting. Seems that they crack on the back wheel then. Maybe okay for the front. Rust, which DT Swiss rims are you using? On another thread some folk were complaining about them too. Something about made of cheese....

David, to answer your question, the entire bike is stripped down in order for the frame and fork and seatpost to be sanded and repainted. That entails stripping out the brake system as well. In respect of the rare break, the hose runs through the frame. So you basically have to dismantle the brake system entirely and rebuild it again afterwards. Not the components of the caliper and the lever but all the fluid is removed, the hose is removed, et cetera.