Squier Posted March 24, 2011 Share I love public holidays, especially those that fall on a Monday. There’s almost no better feeling than watching the Sunday night movie knowing that you don’t have to go to work the next day. What makes it better is if you know that you are going to be on your bike on this Monday morning. The weather was perfect and we headed out to do our normal route in Pretoria East. On our way back we went over the hill on Hans Strijdom Drive and that’s when the fun started. Now, I have to admit that my brakes had not been at their best the last couple of weeks and were feeling a bit dodgy throughout the ride but after I negotiated one of the most technical downhills in the area I reckoned that I had at least enough braking capability to get home safely. This turned out to be untrue... As I knew I had brake issues I went down the hill on Hans Strijdom slowly, keeping the speed in check and making sure that everything was under my control. I was halfway down the hill when I realised that my speed was no longer in check and that at this point I had absolutely no control. I can honestly say that the worst feeling you can ever have on a bike is going down a hill, grabbing the brakes and... nothing!! At this stage I was in panic mode and the best thing I could think of was using my foot to brake the front wheel. Fellow hubbers, please note: This does not work and only left me with a massive serration in my brand new Sidi’s. The busy intersection was now approaching fast and I had one option... bail! I unclipped my left leg and tried to bring it over the bike... and the rest is a blur. I was lucky; I ended up with a couple of roasties, bruises and stitches in my leg. Still that moment rings in my mind... that moment when you pull your brake lever repeatedly with absolutely no effect. Big shout out to Hot Spot Cycles for the great service on my bike less than three weeks ago! VicanZA and nonky 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNT1 Posted March 24, 2011 Share What was wrong with your brakes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squier Posted March 24, 2011 Share It didn't work. I would say that was my main problem. Patchelicious and Dullscalpel 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TNT1 Posted March 24, 2011 Share Yeah, I get that. Why is more interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ikonic Posted March 24, 2011 Share Did they service your brakes 3 weeks ago? Bummer if they did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grondpad Posted March 24, 2011 Share Hectic!! When we were kids we usually braked by putting your tekkie there where the V Brakes were in the back wheel, but I think this would have been a problem with the shoes now. Glad it ended not to bad OneLove and ValeYellow 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squier Posted March 24, 2011 Share Seriously, it's mechanical disks (problem 1) and it may be due to the cabling. I had the same problem (to a lesser extent though) on the argus mtb race and I was able to fix it by adjusting the cable tension. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiny K Posted March 24, 2011 Share Not Ayoba buddy! Better take the ride back to the shop and get them to please explain... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Squier Posted March 24, 2011 Share Not Ayoba buddy! Better take the ride back to the shop and get them to please explain... Been there, done that. I'm not going back again. My business will go elsewhere. nonky 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
messenger Posted March 24, 2011 Share If there are no pictures - it did not happen! Lets face it, both brakes failing at the same time is not something you would consider when leaving the house. Congrats to HS for 'picking' that up. nonky 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caerus Posted March 24, 2011 Share Sorry to hear about your accident, I can imagine it being a nightmare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robrider Posted March 24, 2011 Share 3 years ago at the pilgrims rest mountain bike race a similar thing happened. The race was extremely muddy, to the point where I only could change the front derailer, the back was clogged up. I also have V-brakes and as the race wore on my levers were getting closer and closer to the bars with no effect. By the end I would walk on the down hills! There was one point just before the end where there was a gradual downhill which I could control my speed, and then it started steepening until I realised I couldn't do anything about it. There was a bend in the road and I thought "if the road gets steeper around that corner I will probably end up pummeling into a house in pilgrims rest". So I saw some grass on the side of the road and took a dive. Good thing too, because the road got alot steeper, I would have been in serious trouble. Glad you came off ok. It is an awful feeling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eddy Gordo Posted March 24, 2011 Share this is the problem with mechanical disc brakes. You have to have them adjusted after every ride. I have upgraded mine to hydraulic after a fall down some single track. However as long as you adjust the pads by the caliper you will be fine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brightred Posted March 24, 2011 Share glad youre safe! my brake pads once fell off halfway through a downhill run. also pretty scary. Although there you have pads, a full face helmet and plenty of bushes to dive into Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skirminkel Posted March 24, 2011 Share I have a similar story as well. Mine happened at the bike park over that last and the heighest wooden bridge. As most would know, that last bridge is a bit of a longer incline to the top. About 2m before the top my chain broke and just then and there I knew I was in big k@k. It was fairly muddy and cleating out wasn't easy. As I was falling over I tried to grab the bridge which wasnt succesful and I went down breaking the tibia and fibia in my right leg. Worst feeling on a bike indeed. nonky 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The expat cyclist Posted March 24, 2011 Share Sidi shoes with mechanical brakes...Rather look good than be safe? Just yanking your chain a bit... Anyway, did you think of sticking your foot on the rear wheel? I don't know how far you were from the Garsfontein intersection but I would have tried sticking my water bottle between my rear wheel and frame, even a saddlebag...I would have sacrificed my shirt to be eaten by my rear wheel... But jump off? I don't know... This pop's the question: What can you use as a brake? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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