Barely functional hydraulic discs on new bike

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Nooka
Posts: 7
Joined: 27 Mar 2023, 7:12pm

Barely functional hydraulic discs on new bike

Post by Nooka »

It’s a shame my first post has to be a daft question, but…

Picked up a new bike today - first time I have ridden with disc brakes of any description - these are SRAM Rival - and they feel like some awful pressed steel rim brakes I vaguely recall on crap bikes 50 years ago - they will stop me in the flat, if I pull the levers back to the bars, but not on a middling hill, as I found on my way home from the bike shop. I know from all I have read that that isn’t right. I also, again from what I have read, understand that the answer to nearly all disc brake problems is bleeding. But is bleeding still likely to be the answer if the brakes are so absolutely dysfunctional? Front and rear feel pretty much identical. The bike was collected from a local branch of a national chain. It was assembled by a chap who I now following a call know has never and does not know how to do anything with disc brakes. He just sticks the wheels and handlebars on and not much more I think. The ‘bike tech’ has apparently been withdrawn from that store and transferred to another, where I will have to take it to get it fixed. But that is 10 miles away, the bike won’t fit in my car, and I don’t feel safe riding it. So this is all a very long way of asking, is there anything that this chap might have done to a bike he was merely assembling, that could cause something like the symptoms I have described. Some sort of travel packing or something that would allow them to bite a bit but make them feel like cheese - and ripe Camembert at that? And even more worryingly, is trying to use them likely to have done permanent damage?

Grayeful for any insight.
Airsporter1st
Posts: 784
Joined: 8 Oct 2016, 3:14pm

Re: Barely functional hydraulic discs on new bike

Post by Airsporter1st »

Being brand new, it is quite likely that they do simply need bleeding. Most physical vendors will usually do a post-sale check after a couple of weeks when they will take care of it - at least, that was my experience with Evans.
Nearholmer
Posts: 3930
Joined: 26 Mar 2022, 7:13am

Re: Barely functional hydraulic discs on new bike

Post by Nearholmer »

Definitely something wrong, because I had SRAM rival hydraulics on a previous bike and they are very good indeed.

Not bled?

Not bedded-in?

Some sort of protective film left in place?

I’m guessing that the store name might begin with an ‘H’, and if it does I would be tempted to take the bike to a reputable local bike shop and pay them to check it over. The vendor is legally obliged to get it working properly, but if it is the store I suspect I’ve found that some of their staff are simply incompetent, and incompetence won’t fix the problem.
st599_uk
Posts: 1092
Joined: 4 Nov 2018, 8:59pm

Re: Barely functional hydraulic discs on new bike

Post by st599_uk »

My new disk brakes came with a big warning sticker telling me to:
  • Accelerate to 20km/h use front brake to slow to 5km/h, repeat 20 times
  • Accelerate to 20km/h use rear brake to slow to 5km/h, repeat 20 times
Brakes were terrible at the start, great by the end and got better over time. They did warn not to allow the bike to fully stop during the process.
A novice learning...
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Eyebrox
Posts: 581
Joined: 5 Aug 2015, 8:56pm
Location: Ayrshire

Re: Barely functional hydraulic discs on new bike

Post by Eyebrox »

Register your complaint with an email to the company's customer services. This keeps you right from here on in. They will try to correct the fault by sending you back to the shop or another branch. If you go to another bike shop the company will want to see a report on what's wrong and an estimate of the cost. Bit of a palaver but they're well used to that routine. Bikes often need a follow-up brake bleed if they've sat in a depot then shop display area for a long time. The shop you dealt with will have the SRAM bleed kit to do the job. Perhaps the mechanic isn't up to doing the job but that is the company's problem. They have to make sure the bike is safe. This is a pain when you have taken ownership of a "new toy". Just don't take ownership of brakes that are totally useless.
rogerzilla
Posts: 2887
Joined: 9 Jun 2008, 8:06pm

Re: Barely functional hydraulic discs on new bike

Post by rogerzilla »

One of my gripes with disc brakes is that they are just too complex for the average muppet to work on, and this introduces risks and issues you don't get with rim brakes.
rualexander
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Joined: 2 Jul 2007, 9:47pm
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Re: Barely functional hydraulic discs on new bike

Post by rualexander »

rogerzilla wrote: 28 Mar 2023, 10:19am One of my gripes with disc brakes is that they are just too complex for the average muppet to work on, and this introduces risks and issues you don't get with rim brakes.
In what way are they more complicated?
Squeeze lever, pads move to grip discs, bike slows down.
How is that any more complicated than rim brakes?
If anything, rim brakes are more complicated than discs, as you have to fiddle about more with things like pad alignment, gaps, straddle wires, etc.
rareposter
Posts: 1992
Joined: 27 Aug 2014, 2:40pm

Re: Barely functional hydraulic discs on new bike

Post by rareposter »

Nooka wrote: 27 Mar 2023, 10:20pm I also, again from what I have read, understand that the answer to nearly all disc brake problems is bleeding. But is bleeding still likely to be the answer if the brakes are so absolutely dysfunctional? Front and rear feel pretty much identical.
Unlikely to be honest unless the bike really has been sat around for ages. It won't do them any harm to bleed them though and that'll at least isolate one potential problem.
Nooka wrote: 27 Mar 2023, 10:20pm The bike was collected from a local branch of a national chain. It was assembled by a chap who I now following a call know has never and does not know how to do anything with disc brakes. He just sticks the wheels and handlebars on and not much more I think. The ‘bike tech’ has apparently been withdrawn from that store and transferred to another, where I will have to take it to get it fixed.
That's the shop's problem, not yours and to be honest if they genuinely said that to you then it's pretty outrageous - if a customer picks up a bike and it's found to be faulty, you do not blame the mechanic (at least, not in public/to the customer). You apologise and fix the problem and (if necessary) deal with any staffing issues in private via whatever disciplinary or training systems you have in place. It doesn't need the same bike tech person to fix it, any trained mechanic with the correct bleed kit can do it. Trying to say "oh yeah, that mechanic was a bit rubbish and we've got rid of him" does not absolve the shop of fixing whatever problem there might be. And if it is the case that the mechanic doesn't know anything about disc brakes, why was the shop allowing such a novice to assemble bikes for sale without adequate training or supervision?!
Nooka wrote: 27 Mar 2023, 10:20pm is there anything that this chap might have done to a bike he was merely assembling, that could cause something like the symptoms I have described. Some sort of travel packing or something that would allow them to bite a bit but make them feel like cheese - and ripe Camembert at that? And even more worryingly, is trying to use them likely to have done permanent damage?
Absolute worse case, the bike tech could have sprayed some sort of lubricant over the discs although that would require some quite catastrophic stupidity or outright maliciousness, neither of which I think is likely.
Bottom line is, it is up to the shop to sort the issue out - I assume you have the receipt? Register a complaint via email and see what their follow up procedures are. If all else fails, you'll need to take it to a reputable shop and just pay for them to fix it.

The other option is simply that they need bedding in although it does sound worse than that from your description. My road bike discs would stop the bike no problems on the very first pull from when I built it.
Nooka
Posts: 7
Joined: 27 Mar 2023, 7:12pm

Re: Barely functional hydraulic discs on new bike

Post by Nooka »

Thanks all for the responses - very helpful. In answe r to rareposter, I agree it’s outrageous. But to be fair, it was the chap who assembled the bike who said that he wasn’t a “bike tech” and that his store’s bike tech had been transferred to another store. I am on my way (on the train!) now to see what they can do after a dispiriting exvhange on the phone this morning. But I have also booked it in at a well regarded lbs to give it a check over - I don’t trust any aspect of the bike now - but at least on a very short test it’s a dream to ride - as long as you don’t want to stop!
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Cowsham
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Joined: 4 Nov 2019, 1:33pm

Re: Barely functional hydraulic discs on new bike

Post by Cowsham »

Check the pads are in place. Check the pads are present. The discs would be scored if one or both pads missing or in back to front ie metal bit facing disc.
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simonhill
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Location: Essex

Re: Barely functional hydraulic discs on new bike

Post by simonhill »

My advice is do nothing to the bike. Any advice to do this, bleed that, etc, well meaning as it is should be ignored.

Either take bike back and let them sort it, or go to a good LBS for a professional opinion.

Once you start messing you are at risk of them saying it's your fault.
Eyebrox
Posts: 581
Joined: 5 Aug 2015, 8:56pm
Location: Ayrshire

Re: Barely functional hydraulic discs on new bike

Post by Eyebrox »

simonhill wrote: 28 Mar 2023, 1:08pm
Once you start messing you are at risk of them saying it's your fault.
100% Leave it to them.
scottg
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Location: Highland Heights Kentucky,, USA

Re: Barely functional hydraulic discs on new bike

Post by scottg »

st599_uk wrote: 28 Mar 2023, 9:52am My new disk brakes came with a big warning sticker telling me to:
  • Accelerate to 20km/h use front brake to slow to 5km/h, repeat 20 times
  • Accelerate to 20km/h use rear brake to slow to 5km/h, repeat 20 times
Brakes were terrible at the start, great by the end and got better over time. They did warn not to allow the bike to fully stop during the process.
Shimano list a similar procedure, including the not coming to a full stop.
As always RTFM. :)
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st599_uk
Posts: 1092
Joined: 4 Nov 2018, 8:59pm

Re: Barely functional hydraulic discs on new bike

Post by st599_uk »

simonhill wrote: 28 Mar 2023, 1:08pm My advice is do nothing to the bike. Any advice to do this, bleed that, etc, well meaning as it is should be ignored.

Either take bike back and let them sort it, or go to a good LBS for a professional opinion.

Once you start messing you are at risk of them saying it's your fault.
I would also check the user manual. There may be instructions on bedding in the brake pads prior to first use.
A novice learning...
“the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.”
rareposter
Posts: 1992
Joined: 27 Aug 2014, 2:40pm

Re: Barely functional hydraulic discs on new bike

Post by rareposter »

Nooka wrote: 28 Mar 2023, 11:38am I am on my way (on the train!) now to see what they can do after a dispiriting exvhange on the phone this morning. But I have also booked it in at a well regarded lbs to give it a check over - I don’t trust any aspect of the bike now - but at least on a very short test it’s a dream to ride - as long as you don’t want to stop!
Do let us know what they say / do and if it fixes the problem, be interesting to hear the follow up.

Oh and a definite agree with everyone saying leave to the shop - it is, at this stage of affairs, very much up to them to sort. Plus if you don't know what you're doing, you run the risk of making things worse and the shop then having a convenient excuse of saying "oh you must have broken it..."
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