Hydraulic Brakes on My Q45 – Front Brake Weakness or Cruzbike Quirk?

[camineet]

Hi guys,

I’m close to finishing a full component upgrade on my Q45, including a new Ltwoo EGR groupset and hydraulic brakes (sourced from AliExpress – I prefer those types of components and have had good experiences so far). But I’ve hit a bit of a snag I could use some feedback.


I’ve posted about this issue on Chinertown (a forum focused on AliExpress gear) and also on BikeForums. The problem is that my hydraulic brakes—despite two careful bleeds with no air bubbles—still feel quite weak. I expected significantly stronger clamping performance, especially having never used hydraulic brakes before. Here's a [video link] where you can see what I'm talking about.

I misstated a few things in this video. Firstly, the brake calipers do move when the lever is pulled in the range shown in the video. The system appears to work very well and as it should in this regard. There's plenty of space for the rotor to spin without rubbing, but not excessive space. As the lever is pulled, the calipers move in a corresponding and appropriate way until the brakepads clamp onto the rotor. It was pointed out to me on bikeforums that there should obviously not be instant contact or even particularly early contact of the brakepads on the rotors when pulling the lever because that space is needed for the lever to travel freely without rubbing.

I also don't know if what I said in the video about these hydro brakes being 30% weaker than the stock cable brakes is true. I may have been talking out of my rear end as my memory of the feel of the stock brakes isn't exact at this point.

Also, in the video, I said that I can't get the wheels to skid. That's not actually true. When I testrode the bike outside, I was able to get the rear wheel to skid.

A few folks on BikeForums suggested:

• Re-bleeding using both lever and caliper techniques.
• Giving the pads time to fully bed in.
• The possibility that these brakes just aren’t that strong.

I've bled the system a 2nd time and not a single air bubble came out. Not one. I don't know about doing a bleed in the opposite direction from caliper to brifter, which was suggested. This is a new system and there isn't any product support or known way to do that, although anything is possible with enough ingenuity.

This Ltwoo EGR groupset has actually been well-received among riders who use budget/aftermarket gear. That got me thinking this might be a Cruzbike-specific issue.

Is it possible that the brakes really do just need to be used more to start working well? I don't know anything about bedding in and will read up on it.


So here's the question I came up for this forum specifically:

Is it normal for front braking power to be limited on Cruzbikes, even with hydraulic systems?
I recall feeling unimpressed by the front braking power of the stock setup as well, which is what prompted me to go hydraulic in the first place. On both the stock and new setups, I’m able to skid the rear wheel without issue, but I cannot get enough front braking force to lock or skid the front tire. Is this just a function of the Cruzbike’s weight distribution?


Are any of you able to get significant front brake clamping force—enough to lock the front wheel—whether you’re using cable or hydraulic brakes? Or is it typical on Cruzbikes that the front brake feels a bit underwhelming due to the recumbent geometry and rearward weight bias?



Really appreciate any insights from the Cruzbike crowd—thanks in advance!

 

[camineet]

Ok I've looked into bedding in and I doubt very much that the short test ride I did was enough. I'll try riding more to bed the pads in. Still any thoughts on experiences with the front brakes and ability to lock them up would be much appreciated. I never recall locking up the front brakes on the stock setup.

 

[kizarmynot]

I only have experience with Shimano brakes, but here are a few things based on the video and your description.
Any brake should be able to lock the wheel. (I can lock the wheels on my Q with the stock brakes.)
The bleed at the brake hood may only be bleeding the reservoir. My experience with bleeding has been using the cup at the lever and a tube and bag connected to the brake itself.
Some brakes have an adjustment (term escapes me at the moment) that allows the brake lever to move before the pads do. This allows you to fine tune the brake response to your preference.
Look into bedding the pads again after the bleed has been confirmed. This Is typically done by getting up to speed and applying the brake until the wheel almost stops, and repeating.
Good luck

 

[camineet]

Thanks for this feedback. When you say you're able to lock the wheels on your Q with stock, do you mean you can skid the front tire? I can lock the wheel with the front brake when the wheel is on the repair stand and is not touching the floor, freely able to spin. But when riding, the front wheel cannot be locked by braking either with this hydro install or with the stock setup I rode until late last year. Thanks again for replying.

 

[kizarmynot]

Here’s what I discovered by accident.
Starting at speed and coming to a stop I had both feet off the pedals. I applied the brakes and after a brief skid the front wheel stopped and the back wheel came off the ground after I had put my feet down and shifted my weight.

 

[camineet]

I see. Sounds like you've got better braking power than I currently have even if you were only able to get that endo to happen with your feet off the pedals and having shifted your weight. I'm hoping at this point that bedding in has a significant effect. I've read a number of accounts from biking to and automobile brakes that bedding increases bite or braking power a lot. We'll see.

 

[IyhelM]

I don’t know much about hydraulic brakes except that they’re supposed to be more powerful than mechanical disks and rims brakes.
I can block both wheels on both my Silvio (mech. disks) and Vendetta (rim) so I reckon something’s off with your brakes!

 

[camineet]

Got it thank you.