Full bike service done on MTB : brakes now not working

[amoryns]

IMO, it takes a special effort to stuff up a set of Hope's that were working fine.

 

I had Hope Tech M4's for almost 3 years. In all that time I never had to bleed them. In fact all I ever did was top up the brake fluid when the brakes started feeling a bit squishy. And even that was an easy job - just take the inspection cover off the reservoir and carefully top up the fluid. It's really that easy.

 

You must have had a real prize winner work on your bike.

 

he stuffed up two bikes.... :-(

 

for the price we paid for the service this is ridiculous

[Peewee1]

Damn, I hate handing my bike over to any bike shop - unless I have to. Bought all the kit and do everything myself, making a few mistakes along the way - like spilling mineral oil on a set of my brake pads

 

But now I can do everything - and all the tools cost the same as 2 or 3 services.

 

Spongy brakes - maybe the mechanic pressed the lever while the wheel was off, and popped the pistons out. Or doesn't know how to bleed.

[amoryns]

asking me to service my own bike would be like telling me...."here's the manual...go and be an astronaut"

 

I take my bike to the "experts" as I expect them to do what I have asked....duidelik kry mens dit nerens meer in SA

 

Any good private mechanic out there who would like to provide some service?

 

I miss Werner from Westrand Cycles...he was the only guy who serviced a bike properly

[Mr SingleTrack]

Like I said, there could be many reasons as to why your brakes are not working. However I would think it is most likely that the pads just need to bed in again. I would consider this first before I go and accuse the LBS of spilling oil etc.

 

Here is a depiction of what I am saying (please excuse my beautiful art work )

 

The first pic shows new brake pad (flat surface) against the not-so-flat surface. It takes a while for the pads to bed in before you’ll have stopping power.

 

 

The second pic shows pads that have properly bedded in. the surfaces are now similar to the disk so you will have optimal stopping power.

 

 

The 3^rd pic shows what happens when you swap brake pads from left to right or from front to back. The groves in the pads don’t align with the groves in the disks and hence, no stopping power again.

 

 

As I’ve said, your problem might be due to a slip-up from the LBS’s side, but the above is way more likely.

[amoryns]

aaaaaa nice way to explain it Mr Single Track

 

that third picture looks like the most probale cause.

 

will call the guys at 9 and let you know

[Mr SingleTrack]

aaaaaa nice way to explain it Mr Single Track

 

that third picture looks like the most probale cause.

 

will call the guys at 9 and let you know

let's hope this is the cause as it is an easy fix :-)

[SwissVan]

Bietjie moeilik om jou fiets na service te test ride as jy werks klere en hakskoene aan het :-(

 

Hmm girls, skirts, high heels and bikes...whats the problem?

 

Ok on a serious note, my point was that the tjopshop who serviced the bikes should have ridden them to make sure everything is ok, this way he covers his arse by finding potential faults before it gets found by the customer. Moral of the story you fiddle with something and *** will happen, its called murphies law.

 

And...not to harp on.... BUT if you had just done a small test ride then you would not be faced with the issue you now have today of how to fix / take it back or to another bike mechanic.

 

As for the cause.... well difficult to say but doubt it will be due to washing the bike, normaly disc brakes will still work after a wash, maybe not 100% but not "no power" either and after a few hard braking to a complete stop attempts (with some possible high freq squeeling) they should return to normal, same applies if the pads were mixed up.

[V12man]

Like I said, there could be many reasons as to why your brakes are not working. However I would think it is most likely that the pads just need to bed in again. I would consider this first before I go and accuse the LBS of spilling oil etc.

 

Here is a depiction of what I am saying (please excuse my beautiful art work )

 

The first pic shows new brake pad (flat surface) against the not-so-flat surface. It takes a while for the pads to bed in before you’ll have stopping power.

 

 

The second pic shows pads that have properly bedded in. the surfaces are now similar to the disk so you will have optimal stopping power.

 

 

The 3^rd pic shows what happens when you swap brake pads from left to right or from front to back. The groves in the pads don’t align with the groves in the disks and hence, no stopping power again.

 

 

 

This is has an element of truth, but - bedding a set of brakes in transfers pad material from the pad to the disc - braking is the most effective when pad material is on both the disk and pad (duh) - to all intents and purposes the grooving is meaningless to brake performance once properly bedded in.

 

No pad material on the disk means NOT bedded in correctly.

 

Please read up on pad bedding in - either for cars or bikes - Avid have a published set of bedding in instructions available on the web.

[RockCoach]

Any good private mechanic out there who would like to provide some service?

 

Already posted his name and number for you on page one.

[Mr SingleTrack]

This is has an element of truth, but - bedding a set of brakes in transfers pad material from the pad to the disc - braking is the most effective when pad material is on both the disk and pad (duh) - to all intents and purposes the grooving is meaningless to brake performance once properly bedded in.

 

No pad material on the disk means NOT bedded in correctly.

 

Please read up on pad bedding in - either for cars or bikes - Avid have a published set of bedding in instructions available on the web.

May I suggest that you don’t just assume what I know/don’t know about bedding in of brakes and thereby suggesting I go read up on the topic.

 

The point that I was making is that brakes will have reduced stopping power when “the groves” do not align (“the groves” is just my way of explaining it). I stand by this statement and will even go as far as to state that, no matter how much brake pad material you have on your disks, you will have reduced braking power when the contact area between your pads and disks are reduced (as per my explanation with “the groves”).

 

To test this for yourself, do the following:

Take a bike that currently have excellent braking power (in other words you are happy that there has been a sufficient transfer of materials between the pads and disks). Ensure that all the pads are of the same material so that you can’t blame the type of material…

Now, remove the pads, taking care not to touch the pads’ contact surfaces or the disks.

Now, swap the pads around and re-install them (note that you have not changed the condition of the pads or disks with regards to transferred materials).

Now, go for a ride and notice the reduced stopping power.

Case and point, thank you

 

I agree that there could be many reasons why the OP’s brakes does not seem to work sufficiently (and I am not saying you don’t have another point/valid reason), however I was just adding a reason why the brakes might be failing at the moment. Next time please don’t assume what I do or do not know. thanks

[Da Vinci]

SwissVan do you reccomend a few attempts at hard breaking after a service to get thing "sitting nicely" even if its not necessary to stop with that amount of force?

[V12man]

May I suggest that you don’t just assume what I know/don’t know about bedding in of brakes and thereby suggesting I go read up on the topic.

 

The point that I was making is that brakes will have reduced stopping power when “the groves” do not align (“the groves” is just my way of explaining it). I stand by this statement and will even go as far as to state that, no matter how much brake pad material you have on your disks, you will have reduced braking power when the contact area between your pads and disks are reduced (as per my explanation with “the groves”).

 

To test this for yourself, do the following:

Take a bike that currently have excellent braking power (in other words you are happy that there has been a sufficient transfer of materials between the pads and disks). Ensure that all the pads are of the same material so that you can’t blame the type of material…

Now, remove the pads, taking care not to touch the pads’ contact surfaces or the disks.

Now, swap the pads around and re-install them (note that you have not changed the condition of the pads or disks with regards to transferred materials).

Now, go for a ride and notice the reduced stopping power.

Case and point, thank you

 

I agree that there could be many reasons why the OP’s brakes does not seem to work sufficiently (and I am not saying you don’t have another point/valid reason), however I was just adding a reason why the brakes might be failing at the moment. Next time please don’t assume what I do or do not know. thanks

 

With respect (seeing as you think you have been slighted) I have done that many many times, bikes and racecars - properly working and bedded brakes there is no noticable difference after the first stop or 2 to get the pistons re-aligned - the grooves make no difference unless the disk is so far out of spec it is a hazard, and should have been replaced, and they are NEVER going to make brakes display the characteristics the OP has - have you ever checked to see if they are properly concentric? do you know how much movement you can have in a brake pad while braking and how that compares to the size of the grooves?

 

Personally - if my bike came back from a service in that condition, I would be looking for a new mechanic after I had dropped a real brake disc on the first macs toe.

 

My considered opinion is that 80+ percent of mechanics should not be allowed to even touch anyones brakes - and even fewer really understand high performance braking.

 

So - no disrespect intended - feel free to volunteer to come and help when I work on my cars brakes (pretty much every month) and teach me more about brakes - always happy to learn

[DR ◣◢]

Fully agree with Mr Single Track. I recently raised my calipers by 2mm to ensure i get optimum contact on my discs. First 15km riding i could notice a big drop in braking power until the pads bedded in again.

 

This is not fiction...

[amoryns]

so the bike shop reckons they haven't touched the brakes or the brake pads.....??? weird as I had perfectly working brakes and now nothing....and this on TWO bikes

 

INSANE

[Andro]

PM 4barlinkage aka Jason at International Trade - the Hope agents.

 

Or call him on 011 781 5324

 

Take it back, If it was working when you took it in, and now not.

 

Dont do any ajustments - take it back - when I notice something like this after anyone worked/serviced my stuff (car/bike or what so ever) I call them and informed then imed. and take it back asp.

 

Then nobody can say you skrewed around or why didnt you phone us....

[DR ◣◢]

Take it back? Not a chance. If they stuffed up the brakes without even touching them I can only guess what they did to the poor bikes.

 

Don't ever go back to the shop.