Hi – anyone having problems with the above. When I rode home this AM my front brake was behaving very strangely. The squeal was horrendous and lever feel was very strange. It felt like the rotor had suddenly got twice as thick as there was almost no lever travel. Just got up so not got round to see if one of the pads has become dislodged. Just wondered if anyone else has experienced a similar problem though. My brakes as BB7s.

Cheers

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/freezing-temperatures-and-shimano-hydraulic-disc-brakes

I started the thread pointed to above as I was having problems with my Shimano hydraulics in sub-zero temperatues. Apparently the seals harden in the cold causing the issues. I can’t imagine what’s happening with your cable discs unless the cables themselves are contracting in the cold, which presumably would pull the moving pad closer to the rotor.

I had a similar issue with my BB7s last week. It’s probably just because I keep my bike in the house, and going out caused moisture in the cables to freeze. It sorted itself completely once I was home, but a few sharp pulls on the lever kept them working while I was out.

oops, never read the BB7 bit 😳

Similar with my BB7s, 5 hours in snow the other day. My theory was the disk was warping from the cold.

Didn’t stop them working ok though the noise was a nuisance.

My Tektro IO’s are fine in the snow. Makes an annoying noise sometimes, generally if I haven’t touched my brakes for a few minutes. Never lost power or been difficult to pull.

Also have Tektros and apart from making a terrible noise they are fine.

my hopes work fine in the cold and snow

Also have Tektros and apart from making a terrible noise they are fine.

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Its better not to pull the front in the snow anyway, cos it generally causes front wheel to loose traction and you inevitably, fall off.

I suspect that they are a sh1tload better than my vee brakes!

My rear didn’t appear to be working too well this morning (tho in low traction I didn’t test it very much) and were making a right racket shimano XTs, but yeah way better than the rim brakes I was using last week – which were fine until you splashed a bit of water on the rims then you’re using ice as a braking surface – nice 🙂

I’ve had a look at them and the pads haven’t budged and now the bike has been sitting in the house since 6 this AM they feel fine when pulled. There was no problem going to work at 10 last night as the bike had been in the house all day. The problem was on the return journey. The bike had been locked up outside work from 22:00 to 05:30. So maybe it is something to do with the exposure to the low temps for such a long period. I rode all through winter last year without this effect, but the bike was never stored outdoors. They did work, just not quite as well, the squealwas REALLY horrendous and there was this strange “packed” feeling. Obviously just going to have to live with it as long as I have this temp job and the weather persists in being cold (next 10,000 years?)

Cheers

Water/ice in the mechanical bits or cables?

Just thought that I’d update. Didn’t do so yesterday as I slept through most of the day and then forgot to do so.

No problem with the brakes since. I feel that part of the “packed” feeling was from the heavier gloves I was riding in. But since Tuesday AM the brakes have behaved themselves as per. Even the terrible squeal has died down. I’m wondering if the snow actually was acting as a slightly abrasive cleaner and the rotor and pad surface are now treated.

Anyway – service restored.

i should imagine the noise is just extreme cold and wet, something our disc brakes dont really ever have to endure…so the noise will clear generally once warmed up or after braking for a while….

as for the brakes working in cold, my xts were superb last night, even down a rocky snowfilled descent they stopped me dead when i feared i was going to fast and expected to just skid the front wheel braking and fall off, stopped me like in dry to be honest if not better…..

mine did warble a bit from time to time thgouh, like it was juddering, but again that must be the temps, as once brakes were used again they were totally silent and warble free….