Hydraulic disk brakes

ts40m

New Member
Anyone using hydraulic disk brakes on a S40? I’m having trouble keeping them from skidding my wheels if I have to stop quickly. Seems like too much stopping power. Comments?
 

Beano

Well-Known Member
Under what conditions are you skidding?

I've used them before but not now, as I went over to ETAP with mechanical.

I have them on my commute bike for work and you can skid on them, don't think this is a problem just with riding a recumbent. I'd try squeezing the brake lever rather than snatching at it or let some air out of the tyre.
 

chicorider

Zen MBB Master
I don't know how new you are to these brakes, but some of this comes down to developing an unconscious sense of how your brakes modulate--that through some trial and error, along with time on the bike, you intuitively figure out how much input your brakes need at the lever for a given situation.

For example, Shimano brakes tend to have less modulation than SRAM brakes. Some people prefer Shimano's more immediate power, like a switch turning on, with just a little single-finger squeeze at the lever. Other people find Shimano brakes to be too "grabby" and prefer SRAM's more progressive modulation. Many riders simply shrug and say, "I'll get used to whatever brakes are on my bike," which is true enough.

On my mountain bike I recently went from Shimano to Formula brakes. The Formulas are even more progressive than SRAM brakes, so it took me a while to adapt my braking style. But I got there eventually, and don't even think about it anymore. If I were to go back to Shimanos, I would probably spend my first few rides skidding too much, but would eventually readjust how I use the levers.
 

billyk

Guru
Rear or front wheel or both?
It's really easy to skid the rear wheel on my various Qs (Spyre TRPs). They're useful if you need to stop while going uphill ;-). Well, they're ok for bleeding off speed in some situations if used very delicately. But downhill, with the already heavy front end, the extra weight on the front from being tipped forward, the rear wheel can skid if I stare hard at the brake lever.
I checked the pads the other day ... the front was close to needing replacement, the rear was basically new.
 

benphyr

Guru-me-not
Anyone using hydraulic disk brakes on a S40? I’m having trouble keeping them from skidding my wheels if I have to stop quickly. Seems like too much stopping power. Comments?
Use only the index finger on the brake lever.

Hydraulic brakes are generally designed and set up to be used with one finger. If you grew up with v-brakes or less (or less than perfect mechanical discs) then your automatic reaction will be to use the whole hand or at least two fingers. Only index finger alone will give you better control.

Extra info below.

Like @billyk I have TRP Spyre mechanical discs on my bike but it is an s40. 160mm rotor on the front, 140mm on the rear- same as my qx100 came with.
The smaller rotor on the rear decreases braking power which makes them a little more similar in amount of pull for when you are pulling both brakes.
 

Al_D

Active Member
If you have followed Calvin Jones' from Park Tools video... he did one on "bedding in" new disc brakes using either
repeated slowing (not stopping) on a decline, or using water on the discs (one at a time) to create a slurry that acts like
a whet stone and fills in any defects on the rotor with material from the pads to get the most consistent brake function.
I had hydraulic discs on a V20... and I found this technique to be helpful to minimize brake squeal and shudder.
 
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