Comparison of brakes

[Matthew_T]

Since getting my new bike, it has made me realise how CRAP my old one is.
I was cycling along the prom today and a dog ran infront of me. It wasnt close but I was on the new bike and braked immediately when I saw it happen. The rear wheel locked and I came to an abrupt stop.

However, I would not have been able to brake this quickly on my other bike because the brakes just arent that responsive. I have fitted coolstop pads on the front which have made a difference (little difference in wet).
I have always had a problem with my brakes but just havent been able to sus out what it was. I have recently taken the whole blocks apart and given everything a good clean = No good. Change cables = No good.
The only other thing is the levers, but the work fine.

I can honestly not understand why the brakes on my old bike arent as good as my new one. The only other thing is that there is muck in the cable outers.
HELP!

 

[Rob3rt]

If the levers are pulling enough cable to fully engage the brake themselves, it will not be the levers.

You have already tried changing brake blocks (btw, there are different Koolstop compounds, some for wet, some for dry, some with mixed compounds etc) so lets assume it is not the blocks themselves.

The cable, once stretched and re-tensioned, should not limit braking power to the degree you seem to be experiencing, dirt would affect the smoothness of the brake feeling, especially the release, but not limit overall power, so assuming the cable is not stretching, lets rule that out.

I see three main issues that remain here:

1) Brake setup - Even a great brake won't work to its potential if you don't get the setup dialled in.
2) Dirty rims - Clean them.
3) shoot brakes - Some brake calipers are just shoot, try some better ones.

There are a few other things such as matching braking compound to your rim, but I am assuming you are no running carbon wheels, or chrome wheels or anything exotic, so the chances are that this is not the issue. Clean the braking surface and check for wear though, it could be worn in such a way that the brake block doesn't fully contact the rim. Finally, cable routing, this could cause a grabby sticky feeling to the brake lever, but it probably wouldn't limit the overall braking force.

 

[Sittingduck]

Clean your rims

 

[Crackle]

It's probably because your old brakes are crap. Maybe the materials aren't as stiff, so the braking force goes into bending rather than braking, maybe they are a bad design and the mechanical advantage of the brake arms are lower, maybe the rim material is different, maybe the bike is heavier, etc., result, crap braking.

 

[HovR]

It's probably because your old brakes are crap. Maybe the materials aren't as stiff, so the braking force goes into bending rather than braking, maybe they are a bad design and the mechanical advantage of the brake arms are lower, maybe the rim material is different, maybe the bike is heavier, etc., result, crap braking.

+1 to this. If I remember rightly, your old brakes are cheap single pivot side pulls. These will be horribly flexible meaning a lot of your braking power is wasted.

Are the brakes on your old bike attached via modern recessed fittings (such as on your new bike) or a standard nut at the back of the fork crown? If the former, you can easily upgrade to some dual pivot side pulls which will give you much better performance. If the latter then you should be able to drill out the rear side of your fork crown to 8mm to accept a recessed fitting brake.

Decent dual pivot side pulls can be had very cheaply, such as the Miche Performance brakeset for a tad under £20. I have a pair myself and I'm really impressed with them, especially for the price.

 

[Matthew_T]

Thanks guys, I will look into what has been suggested. I do find that after cleaning my rims I do get a better pull though.