Disk vs. V-Brakes

After the recent run-in with a dog on a downhill stretch of trail, I
am now in the process of replacing my rims and brakes on my mountain
bike, and am looking into the possibility of going disk.

While there are undeniable benefits to disc brakes, personally I have
continued to use V-brakes simply because I have never had any need to
do otherwise. Braking has never been an issue for me, even at 120+ kg
riding in a variety of on and off-road conditions. They have been
reliable, inexpensive and easy to maintain.

I'd suggest the same test for you: have you ever experienced a need
for more or different braking? If the answer is yes, maybe think about
discs, but otherwise if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Either way, it's probably more important that what you have is
installed and set up correctly.

Regards,
Anthony


I agree. Sounds like it's the dog that's the problem.

Doug

mike wrote:
What are the benifits of disk brakes over V-brakes, other then the
disks do not get as wet on the trails?
....


In my experience--disks will stop better than V-brakes, even when both
are wet.

Disks will still stop pretty hard even in a pouring rain.

I've never had rim brakes that were real good when wet; the first couple
seconds of hard braking, rim-brakes seem to be just burning off water....
~

In article
.com,
mike wrote:

As for hitting the dog, the brakes might have been a little too
touchy. After the whole thing, I looked back up the trail, and could
see the 10+ feet long marks where I had both tires locked up. In the
end, the dog faked left, and went right.

If it is smaller than you, then steer a straight course and allow
the more nimble, quick-eyed, low-mass/high-acceleration, critter
to pick his lane. If it is bigger than you; e.g. deer, moose, cow,
horse ..; then, stop.

--
Michael Press

In article ,
Michael Press wrote:

In article
.com,
mike wrote:

As for hitting the dog, the brakes might have been a little too
touchy. After the whole thing, I looked back up the trail, and could
see the 10+ feet long marks where I had both tires locked up. In the
end, the dog faked left, and went right.

If it is smaller than you, then steer a straight course and allow
the more nimble, quick-eyed, low-mass/high-acceleration, critter
to pick his lane. If it is bigger than you; e.g. deer, moose, cow,
horse ..; then, stop.

The motorcyclist's rule of thumb is that you don't swerve for any animal
you could eat in one sitting (cats, squirrels, small dogs). Bigger than
that, and you have to slow down.

--
Ryan Cousineau http://www.wiredcola.com/
"I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics
to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos

On May 7, 9:31 pm, Ryan Cousineau wrote:
In article ,
Michael Press wrote:

In article
.com,
mike wrote:

As for hitting the dog, the brakes might have been a little too
touchy. After the whole thing, I looked back up the trail, and could
see the 10+ feet long marks where I had both tires locked up. In the
end, the dog faked left, and went right.

If it is smaller than you, then steer a straight course and allow
the more nimble, quick-eyed, low-mass/high-acceleration, critter
to pick his lane. If it is bigger than you; e.g. deer, moose, cow,
horse ..; then, stop.

The motorcyclist's rule of thumb is that you don't swerve for any animal
you could eat in one sitting (cats, squirrels, small dogs). Bigger than
that, and you have to slow down.

--
Ryan Cousineau /
"I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics
to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos

The dog was a larger dog, I would guess about 80lb-90lb ( I could be
under estimating a bit, as I would have never have guessed my dog to
be 115lb).

As for the disk/v-brakes, I believe that I am going to stay with the V-
Brakes. I picked up some new pads that have a longer surface to them
( about 3 inches long), and in the little bit of testing I did before
bed, I found them to have a much better mid-range to full braking
ability. They do appear to be a much softer compound then the STX pads
I had on the bike, so I think I may be changing the pads on them a
little more often.

Mike

"Tosspot" wrote in message
...
(PeteCresswell) wrote:
Per Tosspot:

Eh? I thought (I'm no expert here) that hydraulic disk brakes actually
had *less* maintenance than their cable counterparts. No cable stretch,
no need to lube, no frayed ends. I'm assuming mineral oil of course.


Bleeding comes to mind.

Why mineral oil "of course"? BCO water take-up by brake fluid?

Yep, the DOT stuff should be changed annually, and I'd do it because water
in it could be a big issue. Mineral, iirc, can go 5 years between
changes, and to be honest, I'm not sure why it couldn't go longer.

I've got a hydraulic on the front - where the better modulation
is a significant benefit for me - and a mech on the rear.

Couple reasons for putting the mech on the rear, but one of my
after-the-fact rationalizations is that the different medium
gives a little more bullet-proofness. Never had - and still
don't have - a clue why this might be, but I assume that there
are variables that I know nothing about.

shrug I'm partly convinced by this argument. A major snag on a
hydraulic system means no brakes, on a cable system you might be able to
cobble something together. Otoh, anyone totalled a cable system in
circumstances where they thought this was possible?

I have hydraulic discs front and rear. If either went I could limp home on
the
other. Braking is bulletproof.

JP

In article
. com,
mike wrote:

On May 7, 9:31 pm, Ryan Cousineau wrote:
In article ,
Michael Press wrote:

In article
.com,
mike wrote:

As for hitting the dog, the brakes might have been a little too
touchy. After the whole thing, I looked back up the trail, and could
see the 10+ feet long marks where I had both tires locked up. In the
end, the dog faked left, and went right.

If it is smaller than you, then steer a straight course and allow
the more nimble, quick-eyed, low-mass/high-acceleration, critter
to pick his lane. If it is bigger than you; e.g. deer, moose, cow,
horse ..; then, stop.

The motorcyclist's rule of thumb is that you don't swerve for any animal
you could eat in one sitting (cats, squirrels, small dogs). Bigger than
that, and you have to slow down.


The dog was a larger dog, I would guess about 80lb-90lb ( I could be
under estimating a bit, as I would have never have guessed my dog to
be 115lb).

So you were stopping. Wise.
You swerved. Usually unwise.
Is there anything else? It is good to analyze these incidents for
yourself so you can make plans. Good luck.

--
Michael Press

On May 8, 3:44 pm, Michael Press wrote:
In article
. com,





mike wrote:
On May 7, 9:31 pm, Ryan Cousineau wrote:
In article ,
Michael Press wrote:

In article
.com,
mike wrote:

As for hitting the dog, the brakes might have been a little too
touchy. After the whole thing, I looked back up the trail, and could
see the 10+ feet long marks where I had both tires locked up. In the
end, the dog faked left, and went right.

If it is smaller than you, then steer a straight course and allow
the more nimble, quick-eyed, low-mass/high-acceleration, critter
to pick his lane. If it is bigger than you; e.g. deer, moose, cow,
horse ..; then, stop.

The motorcyclist's rule of thumb is that you don't swerve for any animal
you could eat in one sitting (cats, squirrels, small dogs). Bigger than
that, and you have to slow down.

The dog was a larger dog, I would guess about 80lb-90lb ( I could be
under estimating a bit, as I would have never have guessed my dog to
be 115lb).

So you were stopping. Wise.
You swerved. Usually unwise.
Is there anything else? It is good to analyze these incidents for
yourself so you can make plans. Good luck.

--
Michael Press- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Actually, I was almost perfectly straight. The mistake was that both
tires where locked when I hit the dog on the left side of the front
tire/forks, sending it out from under me. (This was downhill, on
gravel, at a good speed.)

I have since changed the brake pads to a softer compound, and adjusted
everything so that if I am going to lockup the tires, I have to use
more then 3/4 of the lever travel (more like braking in a car).

Mike

In article ,
Ryan Cousineau wrote:

In article ,
Michael Press wrote:

In article
.com,
mike wrote:

As for hitting the dog, the brakes might have been a little too
touchy. After the whole thing, I looked back up the trail, and could
see the 10+ feet long marks where I had both tires locked up. In the
end, the dog faked left, and went right.

If it is smaller than you, then steer a straight course and allow
the more nimble, quick-eyed, low-mass/high-acceleration, critter
to pick his lane. If it is bigger than you; e.g. deer, moose, cow,
horse ..; then, stop.

The motorcyclist's rule of thumb is that you don't swerve for any animal
you could eat in one sitting (cats, squirrels, small dogs). Bigger than
that, and you have to slow down.

How much does a border collie dress out to?

--
Michael Press

In article ,
Michael Press wrote:

In article ,
Ryan Cousineau wrote:

In article ,
Michael Press wrote:

In article
.com,
mike wrote:

As for hitting the dog, the brakes might have been a little too
touchy. After the whole thing, I looked back up the trail, and could
see the 10+ feet long marks where I had both tires locked up. In the
end, the dog faked left, and went right.

If it is smaller than you, then steer a straight course and allow
the more nimble, quick-eyed, low-mass/high-acceleration, critter
to pick his lane. If it is bigger than you; e.g. deer, moose, cow,
horse ..; then, stop.

The motorcyclist's rule of thumb is that you don't swerve for any animal
you could eat in one sitting (cats, squirrels, small dogs). Bigger than
that, and you have to slow down.

How much does a border collie dress out to?

Probably the same as or more than a turkey. I wouldn't try to eat it or
run it over.

--
Ryan Cousineau http://www.wiredcola.com/
"I don't want kids who are thinking about going into mathematics
to think that they have to take drugs to succeed." -Paul Erdos