This trick isn't in Mr. Zinn's book
On a recent wet
ride I squeezed my brakes and was stunned at the lack of stopping power. I
rightfully pride myself on my brake set up and this was not acceptable.
I was on my
commuting bike in the middle of a combination training ride and errand expedition.
It was bombing rain and while I would expect a minor decrease in stopping power
this was dramatic. At the next stop
light I looked at my rear brake. It was
a dated TRP product that had been relegated to my commuter when I upgraded the
brakes on my CX racer some years previous.
My front brake was
a better model, and while the performance was superior to the rear it was still
below par. I came to a long downhill and
as I gained speed I kept a finger on the brake levers and felt uneasy.
Over the remainder
of the ride I contemplated upgrading my brakes.
After getting
home I hosed off the brake track on my wheels and then wiped them down with a
clean rag. The amount of dark grey slime
that came off was sobering. After showering I returned to the garage and
checked the brake pads.
The pads were
worn and coated with the same grey slime.
I decided to replace the worn pads and after adjusting the brake cables
I took the bike out for a two minute test ride.
All good.
The brakes
performed perfectly. As noted earlier I pride myself on the performance of my
brakes. Being able to stop quickly
allows you to go faster. It isn’t that
I’m after speed, I’m really after safety and control and speed us just a
byproduct of control.
In hindsight a
couple things came to mind. First, I
should be kicked for neglecting my brakes.
Second and more noteworthy is that while we all get excited about the
marginal gains that come with the latest and greatest; maintenance makes an
even bigger difference.
Brand new but
dirty Dura-Ace brakes won’t stop you as fast as clean ten year old 105 brakes.
In our lazy heads it is easier to spend a few dollars than to put in the work
of cleaning and maintaining the stuff we have.
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