V Brakes...

[chrisuren]

Today I was going through some woods on a toepath and had to use the rear brake (V Shimano brake) and It just exploded between my legs, I was pressing it quite hard but there fairly new on my bike.

So on my way home, I popped into my LBS and they said it'd cost £27.95 (£3.95 labour )I asked him about converting to disk brakes, and he reemed off a load of 'training day garbage' and dodged the question completley.

So, Is it possible to convert V brakes to Disk Brakes, and how much is the whole job going to cost?

Had a look in Halfrauds on the way past becasue I had to get some gloves (The ONLY thing I'd get from there) and had a look round and there brakes where £23 for the 2, Is that good or bad?

Any help would be very much appreacited.

Thanks.

 

[Crackle]

Unless you've got Braze ons for disc brakes no. Even if you have you've then got to consider changing your axle to one which will take a disc. So either not possible or a lot more expensive than the cost of the discs.

Replacing a V-Brake is not so difficult. Here's an adjustment guide and removing them is just a matter of undoing that hex in the middle, taking off the old one and replacing with the new one.

V-brakes can be bought individually, look on Wiggle or a few others for prices.

 

[chrisuren]

What bike is it, and what were the brakes that failed and how?

when you say they're fairly new, is that because the bike is fairly new? If so, take it back. If it's just the brakes that are fairly new then what do you mean?

My Bike is a Raleigh Boston , they where Shimano V Brakes and I was going down a fairly steep section along a toepath, and Needed to brake, so I pressed the brake lever firmly, and I just heard a massive pop thing from behind me (like stamping on a ribena carton) I looked behind, and the two brake arms (Where the pad is attached) where just hanging there, Also the cable that runs from the handlebars to the back is loose.

I've had my bike for about 2 years now (Looking to get a new one) and I replaced my old brake's about 2 weeks ago because the other one's had worn.

Thanks for the advice everyone

 

[eddiemee]

I had a noodle pop out of its link on my brake a while ago. In that case the brakes were about five years old and the bit where the noodle goes into the link had slowly widened with the pressure of the cable. Eventually the noodle slid all the way through rendering the brake useless. Fortunately I noticed this before I needed my brake, unfortunately in the process of pulling over to fix it I fell off. But I digress. Check the link and see if the noodle fits into it snugly and that there is only the tiniest of gaps at the top of the link. If the noodle can move about inside the link then it could potentially squeeze its way out under pressure. If it's not that then I'm out of ideas without seeing a photo of the damage.

 

[chrisuren]

The whole brake system (The Lever, The Cable, The 2 arms) are broken, My LBS (Cycle Life) said they need to replace the whole brake system.

I would get a picture, but none of my USB ports are working.

 

[RedBike]

I think i've just managed to google the bike

By the looks of it discs are out of the question.

Just for the record you REALLY want to avoid cheap cable disc brakes. The Avid BB5/7 are the only cable discs I know of that work.

I've no idea if £27 is a good price or not because i've no idea what he's fitting. If it was me I would either fit a set of Deore arms and save myself a new £'s or for the same sort of money fit a set of LX brakes. http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/?fn=product&productId=652&categoryId=90

The Deores aren't too bad at all but the LX brakes feature an extra pivot that keeps the pads correctly aligned with the rims as the pads wear (Better braking on worn pads).

 

[palinurus]

I can't imagine how the entire brake assembly can fail in one incident (although not having seen the problem first hand I can't really comment). Maybe the LBS just think it's worth an upgrade? I'm stumped.

 

[chrisuren]

Okay, Tomorrow I'll try and sort out my PC to get all the USB drivers working, and to upload a picture.

Thanks for all your help.