Heeeyho Readers! Let's talk about vintage brakes
Errr... It's sad to cut the usual excited intro these posts are known for, but it's somewhat necessary. Worry not, I won't extend and we shall get into today's subject within a paragraph or two.
First, I wanted to update the project showcasing a bunch of new parts instead of focusing solely on the brakes. Unfortunately, the latest acquisitions are stuck at the mailing system. Badly, stuck.
Addendum.
The state of Rio Grande do Sul (where I live) is undergoing the worst flood in 80+ years. Briefly: the whole state has been affected, with several cities destroyed or underwater, infrastructure damaged, airport/central bus station under meters of water at the capital, my family's business with knee-deep water inside, etc.. My neighborhood is unaffected, which makes me a hella privileged at the moment, allowing me to work on Hive while sorting other life aspects. I won't write an entire post about the issue (bad experience reporting last year's flood). Google: Rio Grande do Sul flooding. Anyyways. That explains my absence.
Addendum closed.
Now we can go back to the bicycle-related subject we all love so much, after all, writing on Hive is my job, and the show must continue. Let's talk about the brakes!
A few bits and bobs arrived days prior to the flooding. The only piece missing is not actually part of the brake set, but part of the frame associated to the brakes: the pivots. The new titanium V-brake pivots — the mounts at the frame — are among the parts stuck at the mail. [More about the stuck parts later].
Of the braking system itself, everything is here. We got the V-brake arms, brake pads, and cable guides. And the brake levers shown in the previous post that I forgot to photograph for today's post.
Why opting for V-brakes?
Because they are simple, powerful-ish, reliable and cheap to maintain. Disc brakes are better, but are also expensive and incompatible with this project's 90's frame. Cantilevers are cool as well. Between cantis and v-brakes, I opted for the later simply because the Alivio arms were already in my parts box.
The brake pads and cable guides arrived on time to complete the set. {Uff!}. Is it wrong to say the pads look sexy as fuck? Nothing like the simple, black rubbery pads I used to see in the early 2000's.
Despite being stored for 20 years, the brake arms are in good shape. I only restored with black paint small chipped corners.
Shimano still makes great V-brake pads; just a bit pricey. I found these ZTTO pads on Aliexpress. Great reviews, greater price. We'll discover if they are any good once the bike is done. Yes, I'm curious.
One thing is true: they look nice!
The last brake bit in this post is the least exciting. Brake guides do exactly as the name sugests: they guide the cable. {Uau}. I ordered titanium brake mounts to photograph along these boring guides in an attempt to make it more interesting, but those are stuck somewhere. Any titanium part is more exciting then these noodles. Right?
The complete set is missing the bolts on the photo below (I put 'em in place to photograph only). What a giganormous mistake! Now I'm anxious to finish the project {laughs}. In the detail, the multi-compound ZTTO brake pads.
The brakes are now stored waiting for the project advance. It might take a while though, given the circumstances. Speaking of that, let's update the parts list and talk about what's stuck at the mail.
Parts update
The table presented in the previous post has been updated. Here are the parts stuck somewhere at the mail.
- Tires: Got a good deal on 26" Kenda Small Block Eight
- Chain: Original Sram 11s is way too expensive, so got some YBN for a fraction of the price.
- Bottom-Bracket: Another deal on a ZTTO square-tapered BB
These parts will arrive anytime soon. Well... not sure how, because the mailing address I use is currently underwater. Do they have boat mailing? {damn}
Light green: Bought parts ready to assemble
Dark green: Ready-to-assemble parts that I already had
Yellow: Incoming parts
No-colour: Parts I still need
Prices in the right column are in Brazilian Real (1 USD = ~5,15 Real), so divide by 5 and there you have it. Parts marked (-) I got for free; non-priced parts are not yet quoted. The total sum of 305 dollars account for parts I already bought and parts to be bought (No-colour on the left), but are quoted.
From the list, the only parts I still need to buy are the fork + headset, seat + seatpost, and the final paint job. Those are major parts, so might take a while, especially since the fork is out of stock atm. Let's stay patient and things will evolve.
Final consideration
As mentioned before, the time is inconvenient to continue with the project in terms of resources. It was not in my plans to bother readers with unrelated stuff neither, but blogging is my job, and working keeps the mind sane. I hope we'll be back to normal soon.
By the way, don't worry. I'm fine, my house is safe, my family's business will be fine; and together, citizens of my state will overcome this nightmare.
Peace.
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~Love ya all,
Disclaimer: The author of this post is a convict broke backpacker, who has travelled more than 10.000 km hitchhiking and more than 5.000 km cycling. Following him may cause severe problems of wanderlust and inquietud. You've been warned.
A squeaky pair of disk brakes nearly drove me mad on my mountain bike. I tried everything to clean as they did not look that worn but in the end a cheap simple new replace did the job.
!LOL
!ALIVE
Squeaking brakes are terrible. I often have squeaky disk brakes when cycling in wet conditions. I startled many of the other cyclists with this 😂
I have a disk brake cleaner, but that doesn't work when the grease has gotten into the brake pads. Replacing is the only option then.
It works as a horn xDDD
I use 180mm discs on the front (mtb) and they also squeak in wet conditions
You can lightly sand the pads when they get oily. Find a super flat surface and try it out.
That's a good tip, thanks!
Damn! You mean squeaky like a bus horn when you brake or that other squeak when it's lightly rubbing against the pads? I hate the second, when it makes that 'tic tic tic tic' kinda of sound.
@mrprofessor! You Are Alive so I just staked 0.1 $ALIVE to your account on behalf of @ new.things. (1/10)
The tip has been paid for by the We Are Alive Tribe through the earnings on @alive.chat, feel free to swing by our daily chat any time you want, plus you can win Hive Power (2x 50 HP) and Alive Power (2x 500 AP) delegations (4 weeks), and Ecency Points (4x 50 EP), in our chat every day.
This is a whole study! That's especially so for someone like me who only jumps on a bicycle but has no idea of the making. I'm here, and I'm learning now.
Stay safe out there
So awesome that you like it.
We are safe, though it does seem like mother nature is upset haha
Is the weather unfriendly? Or what is it?
Where I am it's fine. Most of my state, however, is suffering the consequences of a severe flood that's hit us this past May. The whole infrastructure is not working normally atm (roads, mail, etc).
Google Rio Grande do Sul flooding (it's quite shocking)
Good to see your project is progressing despite the delivery issues.
I hope things will be better out there with the weather.
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I just hope our "glorious" public mail doesn't lose the parts. It may take a while for the water to go down, but it'll be back.
I don’t now anything about bikes, let alone breaks, vintage or otherwise, haha. Nice photos though :D
We need no breaks, only forward momentum 🤣
Bike I used in London to deliver had front breaks only... crashed behind a black cab and onto a double-deck bus twice
hahahaha. nice. I'm glad you survived London. London is very dangerous for cyclists
Your level lowered and you are now a Red Fish!
Le fish shall grow again soon. It's just a bad period 🤢
Bad periods don't last forever. Hopefully you will recover soon. 💪
Maravillosooooooo... Espero que para el sábado, pueda también mostrar como va mi avance. No he podido publicar ya que, todo está en el taller donde me van a ensamblar la bici. 😎🤘
Won't you try to assemble it yourself? It's not that difficult ^~
Quería hacerlo, pero hay cosas que aún siento que deben tener más precisión y yo puedo hacer una desastre jajaja. Aunque si ayudaré a colocar los componentes más sencillos. Pero la alineación y colocación de componentes que requieren algun ajuste especial lo hará un gran amigo y experto, quien me está apoyando muchísimo en este proceso. 😊☕
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