Brakes: build your stopping power

Well-tuned brakes make you go faster. This might seem like a contradiction, but it’s true. In order to be able to go fast, you need to be able to control your speed safely. Crisp, reliable brakes will make you feel more confident and get you out of trouble when you push things too far.

Brakes are very satisfying to work on. Their performance tends to deteriorate slowly, with pads and cables getting slightly more worn and dirty with each ride, but not usually so suddenly that you notice them getting worse. The good thing about this is that when you come to fit fresh parts, or clean and service units and cables, your brakes will feel significantly better – always very satisfying! Brakes are obviously a mission-critical safety component. Always check them very carefully after you’ve done any work on them so that you can be sure you’re safe to ride away. Make sure both brakes are working properly, then go back over all your nuts and bolts and check that you’ve tightened them all up. Anything that’s left a little bit loose will…

You're reading a preview of

Bike Maintenance Tips, Tricks & Techniques (Digital) - 1 Issue, Bike Maintenance Tips, Tricks & Techniques 3rd Edition

DiscountMags is a licensed distributor (not a publisher) of the above content and Publication through Zinio LLC. Accordingly, we have no editorial control over the Publications. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including those made in Publications offered on our website, are those of the respective author(s) or publisher(s) and not of DiscountMags. DiscountMags does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, truthfulness, or usefulness of all or any portion of any publication or any services or offers made by third parties, nor will we be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on information contained in any Publication, or your use of services offered, or your acceptance of any offers made through the Service or the Publications. For content removal requests, please contact Zinio.