It left me with a tricky problem. Do I keep the new brake, on the off-chance that my fix isn’t permanent, and I might need a replacement, and for the possible excitement of fitting a shiny new thing, or do I return it and get my money back?
In the end the fix wasn’t perfect, around about 80% as far as I could tell, and there was still some sticking after braking which still wasn’t a perfect friction-free ride. With some big rides planned for the summer (more on that later) the temptation of a new, clean and fancy new part proved just too much. I fitted the new brake.
This brings me once again to my bug bear about fixing thing yourself. Yes, I wasn’t able to totally fix the sticky brake – but with more patience, I would have had something perfectly serviceable for a good while as long as I kept up the maintenance. There’s often more life to be had from the most disposable of parts with a bit of work.
Even when you do choose to replace the part it’s often a lot more simple than you think. Changing an entire hydraulic brake system was a case of about four allen bolts, something even the least mechanically minded of cyclists should be able to manage.
Mind you that apparently makes them easy to steal, as we heard recently. A work colleague literally had the brakes stolen from his bike while it was left at a station during his day at work, He only discovered the missing brakes when he was on the bike and was lucky to avoid a serious crash at the first junction. It’s hard to see how to prevent that happening aside form keeping an eye on your bike. His solution was to find some bolts with custom cut heads, a little like the locking wheel nuts on a car. Perhaps that’s something to consider for all your vulnerable parts.
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