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brooksby wrote:

Why is it that when you notice your brakes (rim brakes, V-brakes) are getting a bit sloppy so you tighten up the barrel adjuster to eke through to the weekend when you can replace the pads in daylight, that they dissolve overnight and the brakes are completely unsafe to ride into work the next morning??

The brake pads dissolve? I've never encountered that - my usual method is to keep using them until there's a horrible gritty/metallic rubbing on the rim when you brake, but they still work.

hawkinspeter wrote:

brooksby wrote:

Why is it that when you notice your brakes (rim brakes, V-brakes) are getting a bit sloppy so you tighten up the barrel adjuster to eke through to the weekend when you can replace the pads in daylight, that they dissolve overnight and the brakes are completely unsafe to ride into work the next morning??

The brake pads dissolve? I've never encountered that - my usual method is to keep using them until there's a horrible gritty/metallic rubbing on the rim when you brake, but they still work.

OK, dissolve is probably hyperbole, but they were fine (well, not fine, but usable) on the journey home and the next day the rubber has basically gone and if I try to use them I've got metal-on-metal.  Either the rat in the shed has eaten them, or they've dissolved.

My shed doesn't have a light and I'm not allowed to bring the bikes into the house, so I either veeery carefully ride into work and fix them outside (no bike shed at work) at lunchtime, or wait until the weekend

I recommend a petzl headtorch and more regular checking in the winter.

Have you got those ones where you slide in a new shoe and then put in the retainer? Then you just have the barrel to adjust so it's quite quick.

Hirsute wrote:

I recommend a petzl headtorch and more regular checking in the winter. Have you got those ones where you slide in a new shoe and then put in the retainer? Then you just have the barrel to adjust so it's quite quick.

When I tried using them, the rubber was more or less seized into the holder, so it took much longer and involved sheering off one of the retaining screws too. I prefer just using the standard brake shoes now.

Mine is just a pin and I used a bradawl once to remove the old shoe.

Hirsute wrote:

I recommend a petzl headtorch and more regular checking in the winter. Have you got those ones where you slide in a new shoe and then put in the retainer? Then you just have the barrel to adjust so it's quite quick.

I have two pairs of those on my wardrobe but I've never quite got around to putting them on the bike.  Also have two pairs of el cheapo ones without a 'new shoe' fitting, same as the ones that have just worn out.  May try out the 'new shoe' ones, which were more expensive…

It's a lash-up but LED strip lights on the shed ceiling powered from an extension cable from the house / outdoor socket is my solution. 

David9694 wrote:

It's a lash-up but LED strip lights on the shed ceiling powered from an extension cable from the house / outdoor socket is my solution. 

There used to be a strip light in there which was powered by a cable hanging across the yard and wired into the house circuit.  By my predecessors in the house, which was bad as it didn't have a protective fused connection.  Which caused slight problems when I accidentally ran a hedge trimmer through the cable...

Is this related to your news story?

Were you the friend with a "rust bucket" bike?

HoldingOn wrote:

Is this related to your news story?

Were you the friend with a "rust bucket" bike?

Winter pad choice is critical. I use SwissStop BXP (Flash Pro for Shimano/Sram/Tektro shoes, Race Pro for Campagnolo shoes) and the non-abraisive nature of the pads have meant top braking performance with a reduced wear rate on both rims and pads. I used to use cheap ones from Madison which chewed up easily and destroyed rims in a single winter. Unfortunately they don't do BXP material in longer pads for hybrid/off-road bikes although the RX plus V-brake pads are also non-abraisive. They just aren't as powerful as BXP.

Thanks for this - I had worked under the (mis) apprehension that all brake shoes are made alike.  May have to try out more expensive ones during the winter (wetter?) months…

Kool Stop salmons. SJS do a full range. My Getting to Work Bike prefers the low profile canti version on the front and the MTB cantis on the rear.

ktache wrote:

Kool Stop salmons.

Yes. They are so, so good compared to e.g. the black Shimano ones. The stock pads on my Brompton do appear to be quite good, though.