Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Keep Your Head Up!

Well, dick breaks are officially coming to professional road racing, which means rim brakes are officially over:


There have been concerns about riders using different kinds of brakes in the same peloton but the UCI announced that “all teams will have the opportunity to use bikes with disc brakes at two events of their choice during August and September.”

On one hand it's ridiculous the UCI has waited this long, because there's no reason pro racers flying down mountains at high speeds in wet weather on crabon rims shouldn't be using more sophisticated braking systems on their plastic bikes.

On the other hand, it's too bad the bike companies are going to force dick breaks on everybody else too, because 99% of us wankers don't need them, and the inconveniences will most likely outweigh the benefits:

The testing will continue in 2016 at all events on the UCI professional road calendar, with the UCI confirming that “if the experience is satisfactory, disc brakes will be officially introduced to the UCI WorldTour in 2017. The aim is to eventually introduce disc brakes to all levels of road cycling.”

If only Freds could distinguish between pros and themselves, admit that they suck, and stop buying this crap.  As it is, too many Freds can't fix a puncture, even though it's currently a simple matter of flipping open a quick release and replacing a tube.  So you can rest assured that in the next five to ten years when all bikes have thru-axles, tubeless tires, and disc brakes the concept of roadside flat repair will be all but forgotten.

Sure, you might think that the upside to all this will be more versatile road bikes with clearance for wide tires and fenders, but that's not how cycling works.  If anything it's going to lead to more specialization, and there's no way any company is going to forfeit the opportunity to sell you a road bike and a gravel bike and a cyclocross bike.

Come on, everybody knows you can't use a road bike for gravel.  You need that extra 5mm in the wheelbase or else you could die.

For some reason though the UCI thinks that braking systems matter to spectators:

This step is part of the UCI’s desire to encourage innovation in order to ensure cycling is even more attractive for spectators, riders, bike users and broadcasters.”

Do they honestly think anybody gives a shit how the riders slow their bikes?  If they want to make the sport more attractive then they should do away with brakes altogether.  Between the constant doping scandals and the interminable length of the races cycling is practically unwatchable, but 200 riders screaming down an Alpine descent on freewheel bikes with no brakes would liven things up considerably.

And road racing isn't the only aspect of cycling experiencing innovation.  Meet the "world's safest bicycle," which is totally going to revolutionize human transport and make both the car and the standard bicycle completely obsolete:


Just kidding, it's basically a Giant Revive semi-recumbent:


By the way, here's why you should never read about any kind of vehicle on a site called "TreeHugger:"

It frankly doesn't look like that much fun to ride, but then cars are not that much fun to drive these days either.

Yeah, I'm sure driving this is no fun at all:


So what makes the Babel Bike so safe anyway?  Well, just watch this video:



Not only does it have built-in lights, and indicators, and hazards, and brake lights, and mirrors, and a "loud car horn," but it also has a roll cage, seatbelts (!), a "custom made safety seat," and "steel foot protectors" that double as a bike lock.  Oh, and an electric motor:


Frankly at that point you might as well just say "fuck it" and lease a Hyundai, but it should be fun to see people trying to right themselves on these things after they've fallen over at stoplights.

Also, I'm not sure what this is supposed to be:


Though it appears to be some sort of rectal inflator.

Still, the Babel Bike is a thousand times more sensible than the so-called "Pedi-Scope," which is just fucking stupid:


Naturally, it comes from America's insufferable Breadbasket of Douchery:



"We're here in Brooklyn, NY, where people love to ride their bikes."

Unfortunately they don't know the first thing about them, which is why some guy came up with the idea for a cockpit-mounted periscope:


Here is that guy:


"The problem with biking is that it's a pain in the neck.  Literally."

The problem with "biking" is not that it's a pain in the neck.  The problem with "biking" is that people who haven't ridden a bike since they were nine years old move to Brooklyn and immediately buy some stupid ill-fitting my-first-fixie-type bike, which they then ride around town while wearing an overstuffed and improperly-adjusted messenger bag.

To support his claim, he references some obscure medical condition which afflicts only the sorts of deranged enduro-Freds who participate in freakshows like RAAM:


If you're getting Shermer's Neck from riding around gentrified Brooklyn you don't need a fixie with a periscope.  You need a Babel Bike, or, more likely, surgery.

But check out this panoramic view:


"As you can see, it allows you to safely look down while still seeing what's clearly ahead of you."

Safely?  Are you fucking kidding me!?!  Have you ever ridden on Flatbush or Atlantic Avenues?

You might as well swallow a make-up mirror and stick your head right up your ass.

Oh, he also says it's good for triathletes:


Which I suppose is true, inasmuch as triathlon is the swimming, biking, and running manifestation of every wrongheaded cycling impulse it's possible to have, and so is this.

Of course, instead of affixing a periscope to your bullhorn handlebars, you could also obtain a bicycle that places you in an upright position.  They're not too hard to find.  You can even get them from the same place you got your fixie:


Use the periscope as a tub toy instead.

118 comments:

Chazu said...

Uno

Vernal Magina said...

Yar.

Chazu said...

Comeback 2.0

Anonymous said...

podio?

Steve B said...

I use my gravel bike as a road bike and a single track bike. It's a great all in one. 40mm tires and fenders too? Sign me up.

The sorry fact is that the "gravel bike", much like the cross bike, gives people who want a little tire clearance to go with their road bike a real option. And I prefer a lower bottom bracket, so that made the choice easy enough.

Forget the names, go for a ride.

bad boy of the north said...

phew....in.

Anonymous said...

Top 10!

You need a periscope at the end of the selfie stick for truly self referencing Fredery.

RANTWICK said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

dick breaks...more painful than nose pimples

RANTWICK said...

Down periscope! Give me a ping Vasile, one ping only please.

dop said...

Babel bike? Our Lady of the Temperate Rain Forest will sue!!

(maybe not....she's Canadian and may be too polite)

Anonymous said...

New season. Placing well!

cycle

Anonymous said...

Rapha!

ken e. said...

morning all.

Buffalo Bill said...

Up periscope!

No Need to Thank Me said...

Blog fodder, linked from a blog linked to in this blog:

http://brooklynspoke.com/2015/04/06/is-your-bike-safety-idea-any-good/

PotbellyJoe said...

Disc brakes have a more practical application than tubulars or carbon rims.

None are worth going out and buying as a non-pro, but it at least has some merit as oppose to tubulars for daily use.

I went out for a bike ride last night. In the dark. Drunk people are funny when they try to heckle.

Bryan said...

Here's the money shot for that babel bike: "Our dream is to put a million more cyclists on our roads, and therefore take a million cars off them, and to do that we need to give cyclists their safety back" -- just imagine taking a million cars off the road and putting a million people who can't ride a bike on a bike. Hilarious results should ensue.

Unknown said...

"If only Freds could distinguish between pros and themselves, admit that they suck, and stop buying this crap."

Amen.

Too many Freds and Friedas on the paths lately blasting through intersections without stopping because they want to KOM some Strava segment and become the next big thing in group masturbation ( pronounced "pro cycling").

P. Bateman said...

Pedi-Scope sounds like something you use from your hiding spot in the bushes to spy on kids at the playground.

Anonymous said...

We can look forward to weight-weenies shaving grams from the rotors and pads of their disc brakes. After all, there's no need to slow down when you're at the head of the pack.

streepo said...

The periscope would be handy in keeping your scranus clean.

babble on said...

LolZZZ!! YES!! Let's just get rid of the brakes altogether, shall we? Heh heh... I howled when I read the line about how that would liven things up considerably. After all, you're not supposed to use your brakes in the peloton, anyway! :D

Um, and I'm sorry, but they spelled it wrong. That bike is the incarnation of Babble Wrap come to haunt us. He didn't mention how much it weighs, but I expect it might just give a Hundai a run for its money.

Anonymous said...

Yo Snob,

I do give a shit how the riders slow their bikes when the World Tour comes to town every September.

The crabon rims are so hot that they release crabon particules that I breathe because I am there, by the road, cheering them like an idiot.

Best.

Flyover BC said...

You might be a Fred if...

you know that a gravel bike has 5mm more wheelbase than a road bike!

Anonymous said...

Of all the years I've been reading this blog, and today I realized that I just bought a Hyundai...
FS

balls™ said...

Three questions:
1)When do the recumbant fans come out to tell us how great the babel bike looks?

2)Did they name that bike after our Babble because she needs a roll-bar on her bike?

3)Where's recumbabe?

crosspalms said...

I look forward to the day when, instead of being able to get some parts and fix my bike in my basement, I have to take it to the authorized dealer and they hook it up to their mainframe to run diagnostics on it. (And hook my wallet up to a vacuum.)

Babble, I was wondering the same thing about that "safety" bike. Looks like hauling it up or down stairs would be quite a workout.

Anonymous said...

oh Lord - don't dick brakes require some kind of weird contraption on the wheels? Do I now need to replace "all" of my wheel-sets? Oh, please take me back to 1975.

babble on said...

Balls - I need a roll bar on my kitchen chair. :/

fred-spectacular said...

Flat tire story:

I'm riding a local fredgasm fun ride and roll up on a dude that keeps checking his wheel. He tells me it isn't seated right.

I'm an idiot and say, "Just stop and reseat it."

Fred didn't have enough air in his c02 inflator-gadget.

I double-down, "You are riding 100 miles in the country(ish) and don't have a pump? I'll let you borrow mine. It will only take a second."

Silence. Apparently he didn't know how to use a frame pump.

crosspalms said...

I was looking at that Shermer's Neck photo and realized the guy is also suffering from Crosspalms' Belly. Sorry, Mr. Neck, but I haven't found a gizmo yet that will cure it. Lay off the beer and potato chips, that's my advice, which I sometimes even listen to (but not enough).

fred-spectacular said...

I'm looking forward to years of conflicting dick break setups.

The OEM's will finally make them small enough claiming super-lightness, only they are still heavier than and brake no better than calipers.

This is the bike industry after all. Sinyard probably has dick break patents ready to sue more competitors out of the business.

herzogone said...

It looks like the pedi-scope guy has both Oury grips and bar tape on his bullhorns?!

CommieCanuck said...

Faaaahkkk.. I just got over the anxiety of the 16 lb UCI weight limit, now I cannot possibly ride a road bike without dick breaks.
Pro tip: do not place your tongue on a dick break after a long descent.

CommieCanuck said...

I'm looking forward to years of conflicting dick break setups.

I look forward to 2-3 "standards", then progressively bigger break dicks until they reach the diameter of a 700c wheel, which will be one of 5 standard wheel sizes by then.. that will spin up nicely.

CommieCanuck said...

"bicycle safety isn't rocket science"

With a massive battery hanging down like Florida from the Mississippi-Georgia scranus one inch from the pavement, maybe some rocket science could be useful.

Bryan said...

I'm with Crosspalms here...looking forward to the day when I can no longer service my own bike....which the shops will love, no doubt. I may not buy a new bike again. All those fancy wheels that use obsolete rim brakes - looking forward to some firesales!

Freddy Murcks said...

All I know is that AAA better sure as hell start offering roadside bike assistance. Dick breaks, thru Axels, too-bless tires, oh my. What's a fat, middle-aged dentist to do? You're gonna see a lot of stranded freds by the side of the road if AAA doesn't step up. Hell, the typical fred is so helpless, they might just sit by the side of the road until they starve to death.

Anonymous said...

Road bike disk brakes? Bike periscopes? Bike seatbelts? Bike roll bars?

No worries. Grant and Rivendell are there to champion bike sanity. Thank goodness!

McFly said...

Maybe they can go to disk brakes on the Shimano neutral service cars as well. The rim/drum/whatever is not working so great.

BamaPhred said...

The dick break mounting bracket. Is it a piece of crabon molded with the fork, or is it a metallic component, perhaps integrated with the dropout, bonded to the fork? Too dorkish? Probably.

Lloyd Alter said...

As the author of the TreeHugger post I will say that my 89 miata, light without airbags or much crash protection, is a whole lot more fun to drive than the more modern safety packed lemon drops on the road. I think this babel bike suffers from the same deficiency.

Steve B said...

I am a bit confused about some of the consternation here. What about disc brakes is hard to service? At least mechanical ones are pretty simple, and the pads are easy to swap. It's not like I disassemble and overhaul my dual pivot calipers regularly; I just adjust the cables and replace the pads.

It's nice for flat repair since you don't have to release cable tension to remove the wheel, or readjust anything when you replace it. Though you do need to loosen the skewer to get past the lawyer tabs.

The only frustration is the variety of pad shapes, but they're so small you can pick up a bunch and keep a set or two in your saddlebag anyways.

Anonymous said...

Recumbent with a roll cage:

mas-PUUUUUUTo

1983 David Byrne said...

It was once upon a place - sometimes I listen to myself. Gonna come in first place!

Anonymous said...

vsk said ...

I love the squeal of MAFACs! in the morning, it sounds like retrogrouch Victory!!

Frein ancien!

vsk

fred-spectacular said...

BamaPhred,

I recall the brackets being alloy and bonded to crabon. I'm not a plastic biek owner though...

Steve B,

You'll discover why the dick break is unloved when you get your first sticky caliper.

FYI, they sold you a biek where the front wheel can twist out of a traditional fork even with lawyer tabs. No problem, until it's a problem. Keep that QR tight!

You should have waited for a thru-axle setup.

BikeSnobNYC said...

Steve B,

I'm sure most "high end" road bikes will have hydraulics...

...that said, even mechanicals--as simple as they are--are a pain compared to rim brakes. You can adjust rim brakes while you're riding...

--Wildcat Rock Machine

Steve B said...

Sure, and a dual pivot out of alignment (can happen) can tear a tire to shreds in a few miles.

Nothing's perfect, but the disc hate is a bit silly. Cantis can be hard to adjust. Dual pivots have tire size limits. No brakes can be deadly.

fred-spectacular: And several of my bikes have horizontal dropouts where the rear wheel could slip and lock up if I didn't tighten the skewer properly, and others don't even have lawyer tabs on the front and if I took a jump I could lose my front wheel entirely! Oh no, I'm going to die!

This is basic basic bike maintenance.

Anonymous said...

I'd be "all in" on the bike periscope, but then where would I mount my Garmin?

Bryan said...

@Steve B...all *high end* road bikes are going to have hydraulic brakes...meaning they will need the occasional bleed. It unnecessarily over complicates a system that works well and doesn't really need improving upon.

I can't wait for Freds to pull their brake lever while their wheel is off and completely freezing their brakes. It is going to happen. You can't take a Fred anywhere.

Tire size on a dual pivot is only limited by the reach...you can get a medium reach brake and be go as wide as your frame will let you, though the frame will still be the limiting factor.

Now you also don't just need the brakes, but if you want to upgrade your wheelset, you have to pay extra for disc compatible wheels/hubs - and those prices will be at a premium for awhile still. Add this to a growing list of things bicycles don't need, like electronic shifting systems, $800 GPS receivers and powertap nonsense....you get the gist.

Anonymous said...

You could always mount your Garmin on a selfie stick attached to the handle bars. Then you could see the Garmin through the periscope.

Anonymous said...

Any idea how much the periscope will weigh in at? I can't wait to see the specs. It should be worth the gain.

Il Pirata est Mort said...

Riding on Flatbush Avenue one day I got hit by a chicken bone.

But out of rocks, bottles, chicken bones, and every version of "White muthafracker" you can think of; the thing that hurt the worse was when a five year old girl called me a "Showoff" while waiting for a light to change in Newark NJ.

Steve B said...

There are valid points about disc brakes in here, for sure. But I'm happy with mine on the one bike that has them.

Honestly though if the stories in here about people not being able to change a flat or adjust their rim brakes are true, none of this will change a thing for the average Fred right?

I'm going to just be the uncool guy with the steel bike, the big frame pump, big saddlebag, big tires, 11 speed drive train, and yes, dick brakes. I'll see you on the side of the trail, in tears, when it all fails me.

Love you guys.

Anonymous said...

I think the chicken bone was invented in Willamsburg.

Anonymous said...

The Shermer's Neck contraption sure looks like something that would fly on Kickstarter.

Angry Beaver in Mirimichi said...

"...to sell you a road bike and a gravel bike and a cyclocross bike."

And a sand bike and a stationary bike. Like the one Cipo has his partner du jour warm up on (the master no longer performs that function) before she swallows the sperm whale.

The Candid Cyclist said...

Snob, you are loosing your edge. How could you not comment on this line? "The shape is being honed by the ex-Red Bull formula one aerodynamicist" I had to refrain from the LOL, which is awkward in a public terlet. I'm thinking the ex Red Bull guy took a pay cut...

Gunny Sargent said...

I'm going to cut off Shermer's head and shit down his neck.

Chicken Little said...

…regarding the INEVITABILITY of continuing cycling component evolution….

THE SKY IS FALLING! THE SKY IS FALLING!

Anonymous said...

"Now you also don't just need the brakes, but if you want to upgrade your wheelset, you have to pay extra for disc compatible wheels/hubs - and those prices will be at a premium for awhile still. Add this to a growing list of things bicycles don't need, like electronic shifting systems, $800 GPS receivers and powertap nonsense....you get the gist."

Could not have said it better.

fred-spectacular said...

Steve B,

Sure, and a dual pivot out of alignment (can happen) can tear a tire to shreds in a few miles.

A caliper break that shreds a tire has problems before anyone turns a pedal in anger.

Get back to me when that caliper gets sticky. It's only a matter of putting in the hours.

and others don't even have lawyer tabs on the front
I take that to mean you are riding traditional vertical dropouts on your fork with dick breaks AND the lawyer tabs filed off.

There's a reason the industry is moving to thru-axle forks for road bieks with dicks. It might be wise to find out why that is.

fred-spectacular said...

I'll see you on the side of the trail, in tears, when it all fails me.

But, that's not the point. The point is you and I don't need them. The pros don't need them either.

The additional complexity does nothing but sell more bieks and frustrate potential riders. They don't even work that much better.

Do they have breaking contests in biek races? No. Do humans generate as much power as a 90cc motorbiek? No.

No need.

JB said...

"There's a reason the industry is moving to thru-axle forks for road bieks with dicks. It might be wise to find out why that is."

So once I find out my dick break upgrade will require new brifters (should I just go to electronic shifting too?), new wheels, and a new fork I'll wonder if I should just go ahead and buy a complete bike? $$$bieking$$$

BikeSnobNYC said...

Steve B,

I don't have a problem with discs, they work great for some things. It's just that the inevitable wholesale shift to disc brakes will ultimately (in my cranky opinion) do riders a disservice.

--Wildcat Rock Machine

Anonymous said...

OMG on a group ride the other day I was forced to keep stopping while others adjusted their garmin, strava, etc. can we draw a line somewhere.

Anonymous said...

Disc brakes work for me. They are Avid mechanicals and I so far don't have any problem maintaining them. The reason they are an improvement for me is that I commute in Vancouver and the daily rain oils up my rims and pads to the extent that they would require cleaning on an almost weekly basis to maintain stopping power. That is a messy job. My rims also would get ground down pretty quickly, especially when I was towing a trailer. There are a lot of downhills here (and surprisingly, just as many uphills) so there were a lot of times when it was constant braking, just to prevent myself from breaking the sound barrier. (that's the woo hoo speed barrier, not the Mach 1 barrier)

Steve B said...

fred-spectacular:

No, no no.

I own many bikes. Only one has disc brakes, and it has fork tabs.

The bikes without tabs are old bikes with traditional forks. And I have no plans to convert a beautiful old fork from the 1980s to discs. But believe it or not people do forget to tighten their skewers, and it's technically possible for the wheel to fall out if I'm an idiot. But it's very unlikely. I'm poking fun at this unnecessary whinging about how pointless and stupid disc brakes are. We might as well go back in time and have an argument about dual pivot calipers and the extra complexity over single pivots, ignoring increased stopping power and easier centering. Or we should just give up on brifters because they're not as reliable as a good old downtube friction shifter even though they let us shift without taking our hands off the bars. I mean what if they jam on a ride?

If we start arguing about what we need as cyclists then I have to conclude that we hit the peak of what we need in the 1970s, at the latest. Probably earlier. What we need is not the same as what is nice to have.

The real question is, why am I arguing on the internet?


Wildcat: No argument in general, as I think the big bike companies don't actually have normal riders' interest in mind. But disc brakes are not nearly the disservice to everyday riders that all these press fit bottom brackets, zero clearance frames, ultra short chainstays, uncomfortable geometries, carbon for the sake of carbon, and lightness at all cost attitudes are.

BikeSnobNYC said...

Steve B,

Yes but you won't be able to have one without the other. Disc brakes will integrate well with these non-serviceable plastic "modules."

--Wildcat Etc.

ForgottenHandle said...

I have a mountain bike with hydraulic dick breaks, and they're phenomenally good.

But if your hydraulic dick breaks, you have a penile fracture, which is really no fun at all.

Anonymous said...

Will periscopes become standard?

doubt said...

H-Zontal guy better get on this periscope dude for stealing his idea.

Anonymous said...

Discs are fine for any flat bar roadie or MTB. Not worth the effort for a drop bar though. In 5 years of commuting on an MTB with Avid Juicy Threes I never had a problem. Much better than calipers in the wet.

But it doesn't necessarily have to be either/or. You can have a disc on the front and rim brakes on the rear.

But I might wait for electronic discs. That's where the lever just sends a signal to a little motor that actuates the piston. That'll solve the problem with where to put the master cylinder on drop bars. It's already on a lot of cars.

I'm not sure if I am joking or not.

Anonymous said...

i've wondered what the "pedi-bike" was. not at all like i expected.

herzogone said...

While I wholeheartedly agree with Snob's point about a "wholesale shift" to discs being a negative, I've got to agree with Steve B on disc brakes having some positives.

Though I don't have experience with them on bicycles, hydraulic brakes on cars and motorcycles are relatively simple. I've rebuilt calipers and master cylinders for motorcycles (one of the first things I learned when I started wrenching) and it's much simpler than some seem to think. I have little doubt that most who can adjust a derailleur or install a bottom bracket can learn to service disc brakes with relative ease. Bleeding hydraulic brakes is not very difficult either, and should only be necessary if repairs are needed, or at the maintenance intervals when the fluid is replaced (usually years).

fred-spectacular, are sticky calipers a common problem on bikes? In 20+ years of owning many motor vehicles I've only had one stuck caliper ever, and that was on a 15+ year-old car that probably never had the fluid changed. Or is it only on the purely mechanical variety?

Also, I think disc brakes are in a different category than electronic shifting and power meters. After all, disc brakes, even hydraulic, have been around since the early 1900s.

On the other hand, I appreciate simplicity. My road bike has single-pivot sidepulls and down tube friction shifters. I would hate to see everything switch to discs simply because of marketing hype.

Top said...

Great post wildcat.

JLRB said...

Dick breaks will offset the mice engines in the seat tubes

JLRB said...

Micro

JLRB said...

About 8-9 years ago when I was getting back into riding I bought a bike marketed
For commuting because a neighbor had one and I liked it - avid mechanical dicks, eyelets for fenders and racks - a triple etc. The cable
Routing to the rear is a nightmare - they rub frequently AND it turns out the manufacturer dox for the wheels that came with the bike say they are not safe with dicks! Brilliant! Of course the wheels have radial spokes because that is what the pros use - I didn't realize how stupid that was until a trashed the wheels within a year,

In the other hand I once had an old
Mountain bike that had a rim fail from the wear placed by rim brakes.

I think dick breaks have a place but putting them on every road bike is unnecessary. I won't buy one, but then again I think I've maxed out the n+1 equation (at least until I sell or donate some)

Anonymous said...

Deesk brakes are muy bueno. But, when will The Byke have power steering and air bags? Bay-bull bike has roll bar which is nice but air bags are more sleek. Also, it would give another arcane part to fix up when they pop open after The Byke is crashed. I'm not a robot...but I play one on teevee...

Anonymous said...

I have hydraulic disk brakes on both mountain bikes and cable-operated drums on my motorcycle. Priorities.

Anonymous said...

Nascar did have to move to fuel injection after many of the fans got annoyed that their cars were more advanced then their racing series.

Top level racing is supposed to be a proving ground for new technology. Being this late isn't good because in high performance (or very wet) applications the hydro discs should be a major improvement.

Enzo Ferrari said...

Dick Breaks?

My cars are designed to GO, not STOP

Anonymous said...

Disk Brakes make sense if you ride at 45-50 mph and look like a NFL linebacker.

Lanturn Rooj said...

What will the UCI do when the first Pro gets gutted like a flounder on a searing hot dick brake? Snapping and buckling plastic parts that result in road rash on PED-fueled skeletons is good theater but a dick brake slicing a major artery could cause them to lose their PG-13 rating.

Anonymous said...

"If they want to make the sport more attractive then they should do away with brakes altogether."

Come now, Snob, we all know what you think of track racing...

Ettore Bugatti said...

Enzo Ferrari said...

"Dick Breaks?
My cars are designed to GO, not STOP"


I said that, not you il Drake.

Schermer said...

"You might as well swallow a make-up mirror and stick your head right up your ass."

Won't I just be looking at myself?

babble on said...

Lanturn Rooj - they get hot on a motorbike, because they are working hard, but pro road racers don't actually use their brakes much. Because the whole point of the exercise is to go fast. So they might touch them a little bit before a corner on a downhill, but not if they can help it.

I've had em on my mtb for a decade, use em a lot more than that, and have never sliced myself with a searing hot brake. Not. Ever.

JB said...

Ok, I get having dick breaks in wet conditions (for both mtn and road biking). Rims get wet. Wet surfaces have lower coefficients of friction (i.e., they are slippery).

But in dry conditions, isn't the extra power superfluous? The dick brakes on my mtn bike are so powerful that I skid using 25% of the braking power. On my old mtn bike, the cantilevers would skid using 50% of the braking power. Seems like the weak point of stopping is the tire/ground interface.

Is it not the same with road bikes?

Anonymous said...

vsk said ...

Please don't tempt fate Ms. Babble !!!

vsk

Science! said...

"Seems like the weak point of stopping is the tire/ground interface.

Ding Ding Ding! We have a winner!

"I get having dick breaks in wet conditions (for both mtn and road biking). Rims get wet. Wet surfaces have lower coefficients of friction (i.e., they are slippery)."

If it is raining, the brake disk gets wet too.
(It may be possible the pads on the brake disk squeegee the smaller volume of water off the disks quickly, and unlike the wheel rim the brake disk is not constantly picking up more water from a wet road surface. Or not.)

BamaPhred said...

Actually I'm more interested in Snobs new Milwaukee bike. Teased us with a picture, but no details?

No dick breaks, for sure, and no crabon, except for seat post and stem, maybe. That's a lot of seatpost sticking out. No Brooks? And is that Dura Ace? HHHMMM.

Freds everywhere want to know, even if only to mock and deride. It's only because we are jealous.

Not Normally a Twitter Promoter said...

"No Brooks?"

See the Snob's twitter for saddle choice.

98 said...

98

99 said...

99

dop said...

century

Anonymous said...

If. It air bags then fun bags - more recuumbababe

Anonymous said...

Dop is a doper

NoT About Bikes But of Interest to the Commentistas Here said...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/14/rachel-lynn-lehnardt-naked-twister_n_7066236.html

Abraham Lincoln said...

"Dick Breaks?
My cars are designed to GO, not STOP"


Nice try Ettore. You stole it from me.

Ki Ho'Alu said...

I'm going down a rocky path on the CX bike and I hear what would be a never ending screech of Mercedes front brakes. But to my surprise was a MTB with dick brakes. (No spelling error here). I though the guy had a screech owl stuck somewhere between planet [scranus] or front spokes.

Anonymous said...

Wow, the NYtimes now? I'm surprised you didn't redirect us there too. Sellout.

obat kista coklat tradisional said...

The sorry fact is that the "gravel bike", much like the cross bike, gives people who want a little tire clearance to go with their road bike a real option. And I prefer a lower bottom bracket, so that made the choice easy enough.

Vimax Asli said...

I always use the bike for sports and activities every day, here I am glad to mendapakan lot of experience

thank you

Carbon fiber wheels manufacturer said...

I always suggest to all to use disc brake wheel bicycle because it is more safer.

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A terrific design with a new patent leather and the return of the clear rubber sole made the Air Jordan XI the most appreciated Air Jordan model ever released. But when the design stunned everyone, the durability and quality was disappointing. Again the clear rubber soles easily yellowed and the patent leather also tended to crack up and/or easily get scratched. Top design – lacking quality. Welcome to our online store.

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