I built a Karate Monkey as a drop bar, disk-braked (BB-7), all-weather commuter and will occasionally suffer some pad drag that plays the high spots of any nominal wobble of the rotating rotors. Will resolve after some lesser force applications of the brakes, probably starting to get a bit reluctant to respond to the recoil spring that retracts the moving pad. Mine is growing some collective recalcitrance beyond cable drag in this function, I've probably exceeded the design life with the amount of environmental exposure to which I've subjected these great little brakes. This bike started as an experiment that could be terminated on a frame that could have cantilevers installed the day I soured on the disks.
I chose the biggest disk diameter (185mm at the time) so that there was more swept area and more material across which to share any necessary truing or tuning. In my mind truing smaller diameter rotors seemed more likely to get out of hand quicker as any any adjustment to effect change of a dimension at the braking surface would require a greater angle to be formed compared to larger diameters. Seemed like a way to avoid replacing rotors more often. Mine are at the six year mark and I am likely to replace the calipers themselves (or pen a whole new commuter project) before the rotors due to accumulated degradation of all exposed surfaces and mechanisms. I completely get the non-Riv argument about disks but after my ride last Sunday at the annual Pedal Pittsburgh long loop where the final 15 miles were logged climbing up onto Mt. Washington then across the ridge line it creates via drops down into neighborhoods then back up to the crest with a finale of a four mile descent through the forests of Glass Run, all in a pouring down heavy rain. My Rambouillet ate a complete set of brake blocks over the course and those rim brakes, bathed in the volume of water we rode in, were nearly to zero effectiveness. Thank goodness for familiarity of the roads and frequent communication with others to keep things from becoming too much of a scare. The discs in the group functioned remarkably and those riders were amazed by how flustered others were over wet rim braking. Andy Cheatham Pittsburgh, PA On Thursday, August 9, 2012 6:31:44 PM UTC-4, Patrick Moore wrote: > > I say "not too off topic" since the brakes in question are on the > Fargo which is quite Rivendellianishly (gad, how's that for a cobbled > together adverb? Rivishly?) set up and, moreover, the disks are really > the only brakes that will allow quick wheel changes between 27 mm rims > and 44 mm rims. > > Anyway: The front Avid BB7 rotor has been bent and rebent and is now > rather wavy and just barely nicks the pads as it goes by -- so > slightly that feathering the brake will stop it for a half mile or so; > but it comes back. I don't want to back off the pads any further. Does > anyone have any instructions or can anyone point me to instructions on > the web for getting a slightly wavy disk (160 mm) back into plane? > > The exactly similar disk on the Kojak wheelset is centered fine, as > are both rears. > > The "shish-shish-shish" sound was rather annoying just now on my afternoon > ride. > > Thanks. > > -- > "When in Rome, do as they done in Milledgeville." > > Flannery O'Connor > > ------------------------- > Patrick Moore, Albuquerque, NM, USA > For professional resumes, contact Patrick Moore, ACRW > http://resumespecialties.com/index.html > ------------------------- > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rbw-owners-bunch/-/5RbW3qEL6I0J. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
