Brake and component maintenance on bikes

thebourke

How often should the break cable be replaced (front and back)?
Does this make a difference to your braking?
What about the other components of the brakes?
What kind of maintenance do most people do on brakes apart from fixing them?
The reason i ask this is i have a 3 year old hybrid (specialised sirrus) that i commute to work with (14,000km's so far)
and it has taken a fair amount of punishment on the roads..
Do people replace the entire brake components or just the pads?

Seweryn

thebourke wrote: »

How often should the break cable be replaced (front and back)?
Does this make a difference to your braking?
What about the other components of the brakes?
What kind of maintenance do most people do on brakes apart from fixing them?
The reason i ask this is i have a 3 year old hybrid (specialised sirrus) that i commute to work with (14,000km's so far)
and it has taken a fair amount of punishment on the roads..
Do people replace the entire brake components or just the pads?

I replace all service parts if they requie to be changed. My brakes have few thousands km more than yours and I needed to change the pads once. Never replaced the cables or any other components. I would only replace brake cables, if they have any signs of wear.
Regarding the maintenance to brakes - I would regularly check and adjust brake cable tension, caliper alignemnt / positioning, wear of brake pads, brake pad alignment against wheel rim and I would clean the components as well. Some lubrication may occasionally be also required.

thebourke

how come you only used 1 set of brake pads in all time time?i have used 4-5 in that time....does it make a difference what brake pads you use...i have a v brake system

seamus

There are lots of reasons why brake pads would wear at different rates. Some blocks are softer than others and will wear quicker. Riding in wet/muddy conditions will cause wear quicker. Poorly calibrated brakes will wear quicker. Braking technique (i.e. knowing when to brake rather than sitting on the brakes) is also a factor.

I just replace the pads as and when required. I usually wear out the front pads about twice as fast as the rear ones. I replace cables whenever I feel like I've been using them long enough. Works out about once a year. Maybe overkill, but for the sake of a €2 piece of wire and a five-minute job, it means my brakes run smooth and I've never had a snapped cable.

Screwing with tension is an ongoing thing, done whenever it feels necessary. Same too with cleaning/lubricating.

thebourke

I have a v brake system on my sirrus.
I usually try to fix the brakes myself...the front brake goes ok...however the back brake always causes problems for me...
i have taken the bike to get fixed at the bike shop before and they fix the brakes..
However they are never as good as when i got the bike first....
for example when i pull on the brakes, they are not as tight as when i first bough the bike..
i have to pull halway down on the cable before the brakes work
is this down to the cable or other components?