V brakes have to replace?

[jon.mithe]

Hi,

Sorry, another punt for help , I'm unsure about brake service / replacement. I have v brakes on my bike, one of the cheaper shimano deore v brakes (I have a bike thats inbetween a hybrid and a racer).

First time my brakes pads wore down I took my bike to my LBS they replaced the v brakes with new ones (it cost like £30 to buy 2 new v-brakes). Then in december 2008 I bought a new set and replaced them myself, so another £30 odd. 2-3 months down the line, my rear brake is completly worn out and my front brake is getting close, so they need replacing again, :/

Is it really necessary to buy/replace the whole v-brake? I see you can buy brake pads for £10 a pair, much cheaper. Or is this sort of brake I have just meant to be thrown away and replaced? I replaced my brake cables + housing in decemeber, will proabably need to sort the rear one out as I think the gritting a few weeks ago has taken its toll and GT85 is not fixing it.

Is there any point in paying for more expensive breaks / pads? - thinking if an increase in longevity of the brakes will make it cheaper in the long run. I looked into disc brakes but looking at my forks doubt they could fit some.

Thanks for any help,
Jon

 

[tyred]

I find it very hard to believe you need to repalce the whole V-brake. Surely the pads should unscrew?

 

[jay clock]

When you say replace the v brakes do you mean all the bits you can see in this picture? http://www.outsideoutfitters.com/po... V-Brake&src=images/product/large/4956_1_.jpg

If, so then certainly not. The pads (which are commonly just the rubbery bit that slots into a holder) are usually all that needs replacing. If just the rubber bit about £7 and look like this http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/Cycle/7/K...gra~105_Pair_Of_Cartridge_Inserts/5300005952/ if the whole thing also £7 and look like this http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/Cycle/7/Avid_20R_Pair_Of_Brake_Blocks/5300003335/

That does make £14 (rip off I know), and they may charge a min of 30mins labour, so that could be the cause of your £30.

 

[jon.mithe]

Yeah that picture, they definitely replaced the whole v brake system, the 2 arms with the pads attached with the metal things ontop. Sounded quite excessive to me at the time but trusted them as was new to cycling... thought they were just cheap "disposible" type brakes you swap over lol :/ Payed a bit more than £30 as I'd originally brought my bike in to get the gears fixed, he seemed to basically charge me to fix / setup my gears and fitted the brakes for free (but I had to pay for the brakes).

I remeber when I fitted my second set, the pads had allen key screws and seemed replacable.

But thats all good now, I can pick up some new pads and screw them in myself for cheap

Thanks

 

[Cranky]

Yeah that picture, they definitely replaced the whole v brake system, the 2 arms with the pads attached with the metal things ontop. Sounded quite excessive to me at the time but trusted them as was new to cycling... thought they were just cheap "disposible" type brakes you swap over lol :/ Payed a bit more than £30 as I'd originally brought my bike in to get the gears fixed, he seemed to basically charge me to fix / setup my gears and fitted the brakes for free (but I had to pay for the brakes).

I remeber when I fitted my second set, the pads had allen key screws and seemed replacable.

But thats all good now, I can pick up some new pads and screw them in myself for cheap

Thanks

I don't think I'd use that LBS again. What a waste (of perfectly good brakes and your money).

 

[HLaB]

I don't think I'd use that LBS again. What a waste (of perfectly good brakes and your money).

+1 I can't believe a couple of months the whole set needed replaced, especially not after just a few months. Other than greasing the pivot points and replacing the pads and the occasional cable on both of my bikes that have v's I've never had to replace my brake units.

 

[Ivan Ardon]

To be fair, some of the V brakes fitted to cheap bikes are awful. Replacing them with Deore quality components when they wear out may be exactly the right thing to do (which is what the LBS appear to have done).

The OP's subsequent replacement is what appears to have been un-necessary.

Oh, and +1 to the pads supplied with Shimano Vs being a bit rubbish.

 

[Black Sheep]

I hate to tell you this, but Deore are actually very good budget components - yes there are better ones for more money but i've never seen the need to buy anything more expensive than deore. always been quite fond of my deore v brakes

my other bike came with cheap un-branded shimano v brakes and i only ever replaced the pads, they were fine.

i'm afraid you've been had...

 

[jon.mithe]

Unfortunately the bike actually with came with deore and he replaced them with the same breaks, I just assumed that was "normal". Live and learn I suppose.

Yeah I've stopped going to that shop now, specially after I went to an evans cycles for some GT85, there was a guy there who talked with me for quite a while about bike maintenance and how to set up my gears, obviously customer service depends on the shop/people, but they certainly made me want to go back there again.

Now I have the lovely task of cleaning up my bike + chainset / cassette...

Thanks again.

 

[Radius]

Just another thing, if your rear is much more worn than your front perhaps it shows you're using it too much. The front brake reduces momentum much more effectively, and a combination of both is best when coming to a complete stop. This is on the road, of course.

 

[jon.mithe]

Hi, thanks for the tip. Yeah I read a while back back that something like 70-75% of braking comes from the front. So I tend to use the mostly back brake + a little bit of front for casual braking (approaching a traffic light or something) to basically to keep my front brake from wearing down to much / keep it in good nick. I cycle into london every day and people once or twice a week always step out into the road right in front of you without looking, so I like to keep my front brake in good condition for when I have to slam it on

 

[e-rider]

This is insane - Deore brakes are decent enough quality and I've been running some for several years now. I change the pads ever 6-8 months or so. They are a rip-off at £7 a pair, but to change the entire brake is complete madness!!

You should name and shame that bike shop - absolutely awful!

So now you know - just change the pads.