Decent brakes

[Macoli]

I'm overweight and would like to spend more riding time on my roadbike (a Dawes Giro 300) rather than the mtb, but the brakes don't inspire confidence, in the wet or in the dry - they just don't have the power to overcome my weight (about 105 kg).
I was thinking on a front disc brake as being ideal as I also plan to ride up and down the Bealach ná Ba near Applecross this year - I managed to get up to about 450m last year despite weighing 115kg on the mtb before running out of gears as it doesn't have mtb gears! - so would need something that could take the heat too.
What would people recommend without spending too much? (I'm a Scot living in Yorkshire, so spending=too much )

[DevonDamo]

I was looking into upgrading my front brake to a disc on my hybrid. Having priced up the replacement cost for new forks, brakes and wheel, it was obviously going to be cheaper to buy a second-hand bike with them on already. So I did. I got a Kona Dew Deluxe.

Disc brakes seem to attract a fair amount of controversy from what I've read on here. Well I've gone from top-of-the-range XTR V-brakes to bog-standard hydraulic discs, and there's no comparison. Firstly, the stopping power is immense - you definitely won't need any more. Secondly, the smoothness is a joy. Thirdly, the new bike is definitely a lot faster off the line - this may be down to lighter tyres, but I wonder if it may also be because the rims on my new wheels can afford to be that much thinner and lighter. Finally, they hardly ever squeal, which is a complete contrast to the XTRs.

I have had motorbikes for donkeys years so I'm not afraid of stripping down and bleeding hydraulic disc brakes, although I get the impression these things don't require much maintenance other than replacing the pads, which is dead easy.

If you're planning to use the bike on long distance runs, and putting the brakes under heavy loading, you'll want to choose durable pads. I bought a set of sintered metal ones online, and they seem to be holding up fine despite plenty of long steep descents with heavy touring luggage.

(Edit - forgot to mention. The brakes on my bike are Shimano 486s. They get pretty lacklustre reviews, but they perform brilliantly. I think the main problem is that there are no options to adjust them, so you can end up with a metallic tapping sound as they hit the disc on each rotation. However, all you have to do to solve this is make sure your front wheel is mounted perfectly straight. I got a lot of advice from armchair experts telling me that I should go for cable-operated discs because hydraulic ones are such a pig to work on. Having tried a few bikes with cable discs, I'm extremely glad that I went for hydraulics. I have heard lots of scare stories about hydraulics on bicycles, but I've never encountered anyone who's actually had a problem.)

[sleeping_menace]

Oh dear.. a Scot living in Yorkshire eh? ..bit like a Welshman with all the generosity beat out of him

All kidding aside..
I don't know the Dawes very well..but assuming it has rim brakes, I'd suggest, for absolutely minimal money spent that you replace the front cable inner (2 quid?) and lubricate the new inner well during installation. Also, check to be sure that your caliper moves freely and isn't bound up at all.
Next logical move would be new brake pads. Assuming you have something like standard shimano type brakes on there, you could grab a set of, for example the RavX Thermafoil brake inserts (roughly a 5'er) which are some of the best performing brake pads I've ever used (I'm 115kg and running them on my TT bike as a point of reference).
That combination of new cable inner with lube, and some new brake inserts will give you as much performance per pound spent as anything you're going to do.
When you do your front brakes, take a bit of time to properly center them in relation to the rim, adjust the pads so the face is perfectly parallel to the rim braking surface, and try to run the pads in as close as you can without any rubbing.
Lastly, clean the braking surface with a CLEAN cloth and rubbing alcohol or something similar, BEFORE letting the new pads contact the rim, so you don't contaminate them.

By the way, I liked those brake pads enough to do a mini review of them on my blog site:
http://anotherdooratthe.endoftheinternet.org/2011/06/09/ravx-thermafoil-3-function-brake-blocks-inserts-5-minute-review/

Good luck sorting your brakes out.

[gbnz]

the brakes don't inspire confidence, in the wet or in the dry - they just don't have the power to overcome my weight (about 105 kg).
)

I'd be surprised if there's an issue. I'd assume the brakes would be caliper, probably dual caliper if it's a newish bike - I've never had an issue descending with 90-110kg even on semi knackered caliper brakes (Nb. 90-110kg includes 20kg luggage & 10kg bike & bits). Other than the rims overheating on a major alpine descent.

Perhaps the issues are all in your head?

[horizon]

macoli: I don't know anything about caliper brakes, but the V brakes on our tandem have to cope with about 150kg loaded (we have a drag brake but that's to avoid overheating - the V brakes do the actual stopping) and lots of solo tourists pack 20 kg on top of their own 80kg body weight. Of course there are brakes and brakes but your weight isn't an issue, at least I wouldn't have thought so.

[Edwards]

Just checked this bike has Dual Pivot brakes fitted and as is would not be suitable for disc brakes.
You would need to purchase: forks, front wheel, rotor, caliper, new cables bar tape, all to get a cable operated front disc brake.
If you want to avoid spending money try replacing the brake blocks. The ones that came on the bike are very likley to be a hard material that were cheap.
Ask your LBS for recommendations for brake blocks.

[pete75]

What make are the brakes? Try replacing the brake blocks with Fibrax ones and if that doesn't work consider changing your calipers for these http://www.parker-international.co.uk/1 ... ipers.html .
One of my bikes has them and it stops very quickly even with 16 stone on board.

[Macoli]

The problems (I'm not a manager - I do problems, not issues - you don't solve a maths "issue")are not in my head, I like brakes that can lift the rear wheel off the deck while braking - the V-brakes on the MTB do this well. I like to think that if I have to stop in a hurry the brakes won't be the limiting factor, especially if it's because of some moron in a life-style vehicle.. I've never found alloy caliper brakes on alloy rims very good at this, but 20 years ago I found that steel brakes on steel rims with Fibrax blocks were excellent in the dry, but non-existant in the wet.

The bike's 2 and a half years old, and isn't going to get changed any time soon - it was the last Christmas pressie my Mum bought for me, just before she popped her clogs.

So it's not the cable because it's been like this since new, so I'll give those inserts a try - are they freely available?

What I don't want to do is spend lots of time trying this caliper with that block etc. in an effort to find a brake that works the way I want it to - if I don't feel confident in riding it, then I won't!