Scared of hydraulic brakes - any advice

[areyouactuallymoving]

Hi,

I bought a hybrid bike with hydraulic brakes a few months ago, and I am just not getting in with the brakes. We've got some pretty big hills round here and a couple of times I have had to get off and walk on a downhill because I either feel like I am not going to stop (because Of pumping the brakes not really slowing me down enough) or the back wheel locks and I skid, not much fun at 25 mph with a car behind.

I am at the point of cutting my losses and selling it on (in fact have posted it for sale here already).

Any advice?

 

[Banjo]

Have you tried changing the pads ? They can get contaminated with oil and lose grip.

If your needing to pump them there could be air in the system which can be bled out.

 

[screenman]

Get the serviced properly, would be my advice.

 

[si_c]

Definitely worth considering a service.

But it's also worth considering how you use the brakes, you shouldn't need to pump at all, especially with hydraulics, you should get a fairly progressive increase in braking force as you pull the lever closer to the handlebars, with the bulk of your stopping power coming from the front brake. On a clear stretch of road try riding at aroung 15mph, and then slowly pulling the lever to the bars, you should find that nothing much happens at first, with you slowing down faster and faster as you move it further. If you get the lever to the bars and not much is happening, then there is probably air in the system and you'll need a service.

It sounds as though the back brake is working fine - if you can lock up the back wheel then the brake is doing it's job and you are not going to get any more braking performance from it - so focus on the front.

 

[johnnyb47]

Disc brakes should be really good and hold more confidence than rim brakes. I have disc brakes on my Boardman and much more confident on it than my Road bike with rim brakes. As other have said ,go and get them checked out, and you may have have a change of heart about them :-)

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Disc brakes should be really good and hold more confidence than rim brakes. I have disc brakes on my Boardman and much more confident on it than my Road bike with rim brakes. As other have said ,go and get them checked out, and you may have have a change of heart about them :-)

Yes, guy in front of me on this mornings sportive with disk brakes approaching a set of lights, lights changed when we on top of them, he seriously out braked me and my rim brakes, very impressive. it sounds like the op needs to get his front brake serviced.

 

[Markymark]

I switched to discs on my new road bike and my goodness the improvement in braking.

 

[User32269]

I have a Specialized Crosstrail with the same hydraulic brakes. They are excellent. They are far superior to any rim brakes I have used.
It would appear the OP's brakes would benefit from being checked by a competent lbs.

 

[NorthernDave]

Did you buy the bike new? If so, did you take it for the six week check?

It definitely sounds like it's worth getting the brakes checked and / or serviced before giving up on the bike.

 

[Alan O]

My MTB has Shimano Deore hydraulic brakes, and they stop me so well I could easily do a somersault over the front wheel using them, with absolutely no pumping needed... except for the time I got air in the front brake line and it needed bleeding.

When that happened, the brake was spongy and I needed to pump several times before it started to bite. But since that was fixed, the front brake is back to very assertive stopping power again.

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Brakes need serviced, should be no pumping required

 

[MontyVeda]

...
It sounds as though the back brake is working fine - if you can lock up the back wheel then the brake is doing it's job and you are not going to get any more braking performance from it ...

You'll get more braking performance if you don't let it lock... brakes are at their most efficient before the wheel locks.

 

[davidphilips]

Even if you do sell the bike you will not get the full value because of the faulty brakes so either find and fix the fault yourself or have a LBS repair it, money well spent if you keep or sell.

 

[si_c]

You'll get more braking performance if you don't let it lock... brakes are at their most efficient before the wheel locks.

I know, but you're talking about how to use a brake. My point was that if you can lock the back wheel, the rear brake is doing it's job, and doesn't need any adjustment of fixing.

 

[areyouactuallymoving]

Thanks for the replies. I have got disc brakes on my road bike and have no problem with those, these hydraulic ones are another kettle of fish.

I did by it new and had it serviced, though not ridden it much in those 6 weeks due to injury. Mentioned it to the lbs then and they were the ones who told me to pump the brakes.

I'll go back to them to see about getting the brakes serviced.