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    Bought used bike, rear brakes sucked. Adjusted front and rear the same, alcohol cleaned rotor and filled pads down and still suck

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    14 Comments

    1. BTVthrowaway442 on

      Those radius brakes are gonna be spongy and not great no matter what you do. I would suggest getting some BB7’s.

    2. Comfortable-Way5091 on

      TRP double piston are the next best thing to hydraulic brakes. Compressionless cable housings help.

    3. somewhatboxes on

      when you say they sucked, can you say a little more?

      rear brakes are inherently weaker than front brakes. the physics of braking is such that the front brakes will always be considerably stronger.

      it’s also worth pointing out that you’ve got cable-actuated brakes. i haven’t had cable-actuated disc brakes in a while, but they’ve always been a bit infamous for lacking the power and modulation that hydraulic brakes offer.

      in my (distant, aged) experience, i would say that rear cable disc brakes should drag a bit and eventually bring you to a stop if you hold them long enough, but if you need to stop in a hurry you should use your front brake

    5. Critical_Beat7309 on

      you mentioned you cleaned the rotor and sanded down pads. did you also adjust the pads’ distance relative to the rotor? as pads wear they move further and further from the rotor. many other things could be the issue: parktool video about mechanical disk brake adjustment was useful

    6. elginhop on

      Have seen nothing but trouble with those radius brakes on a friends bike. Zero stopping power despite multiple attempts at adjusting/cleaning/bedding. They’re just spongy trash that can “slow” the bike, but couldn’t lock up the wheel with full strength. 

      Night and day difference from the Avid cable discs I’ve used in the past where it’s easy to lock up or feather brakes with one finger.

      It’s a shame that they sell new bikes with these. Would be 100% better off with low or midrange rim brakes than garbage radius discs. Worse performance than a Walmart bike. 

    7. lewisc1985 on

      Swap pads and rotors front to back to see if it’s a wear item issue or a set up issue?

    8. WheelsnHoodsnThings on

      Radius brakes are terrible, replace them if you want better performance.

    9. Frosty_Chicken7264 on

      I’ve built so many sale bikes with these and they all kinda suck. I’m gonna get flack for this but you want these brakes to rub a bit when set up. The biggest thing for setting these up is not letting them flex the rotor.

    10. New-Bread2730 on

      I had to get them through 5 different mechanics to be able to get a lock on the rear brake, ask where you bought it, they are probably the most likely to be able to fix it.

      if not, you can try compressionless housing, tighter setup and using the bottom of the screw to get a smaller radius on the brake arm.

      nothing more to add. This is what you get when you cheap out on components

    11. housepantalones on

      Shimano MT201 hydraulic brakes are like $70 for front and rear and are a 30-60 minute install. I recommend them for about 90% of riders who are unhappy with their disc brakes.

    12. kohltrain108 on

      These brakes were on my wife’s Electra ebike and after fucking with them for a while I threw on some TRP HY/RDs and it’s night and day (obviously)

    13. Even_Clerk3905 on

      Oh ho! Marin San Rafael Ds1 right? Change the brakes to some cheap Shimano m200 my guy. Thank me later…

      I have BUILT this bike and almost changes all of the main components on it. AMA

    14. ChardNo5532 on

      The rotation of the rear wheel brake rotor might need some thought the caliper is in a descending position

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