When riding fast on a road bike (say 40-50kmph down a hill) I always have in the back of my mind, ‘oh shit, what if the brake fails or the tyre blows off the rim or something, i’d be in trouble!’.. I think on an mtb you would be able to control it as it is a lot more stable and ‘planted’ but on a road bike I just think you would end up out of heckin’ control and probably die a horrible death!

Luckily I wasn’t going 50kmph down a hill this morning but I was gunning it to make it through some lights that were on green and I wanted to get through before they turned red, they turned red as I was approaching so I put the brakes on… quite strongly, wouldn’t have been enough to skid but firmly enough anyway. What happens? The front fails?!?! Here I go thinking oh f******K!! with only the back brake working I end up in quite a length skid, through the cycling stop box, past the stop line, through the pedestrian crossing area but luckily the actual traffic now passing perpendicular to me was far enough way I didn’t get involved! (and the pedestrian crossing was still on red). So along with my skid marks on the road there were a few other skid marks when I got changed later.

So if you were waiting at the lights on Kennington Road where it crosses Kennington Lane in london this morning around 9am and saw some blithering idiot come skidding through then… hi! That is why.

What had happened? You can see below in the pics! One of the pivot bolts on the front brake caliper has stripped its threads and popped off! It wasn’t loose or anything, just stripped out its threads. I kind of feel like writing to Campagnolo and saying oi! Your brake failed and nearly killed me, but then maybe it was my fault? I don’t think I would get very far/is it even worth it.

In other news, has anyone got a Campagnolo brake caliper that would fit my bike I could borrow please?

[url=https://flic.kr/p/SzQj3x]IMG_20170413_092544[/url] by Willy Gibson, on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/Sx7YEj]IMG_20170413_092602[/url] by Willy Gibson, on Flickr

Brutal, lucky you are ok though!

TBH, it doesn’t look like the bike is kept in the best condition so I doubt Campag would be at fault.

ferrals – Member

TBH, it doesn’t look like the bike is kept in the best condition so I doubt Campag would be at fault.

Dang. Glad you are okay. Skids are for kids BTW 😆

I would maybe drop Campagnolo and/or their UK distributor an email with the pics. They may come back with a response like the above or they may be sympathetic, especially if you don’t go in with the smell of freshly sharpened pitchfork in the air …

If you;re not using Campag levers then you’d need to get a caliper with integral QR (as you have currently) as Campag brakes don’t have them (the function is part of the lever).

Those aren’t Campag brake calipers, they’re AN Other manufacturer.

Quick- lottery ticket for you!

(GIF noted too for future use 🙂 )

Oi Ferrals cheeky bu**ar!

Yeah I don’t clean it every week but it is at least kept in sound mechanical condition.

Yes good point aP, is that gonna be a pain in the arse to find to buy do you think?

Brake’s not Campagnolo – it’s a Bianchi Reparto Corse made by FSA. Knowing what a sloppy brake caliper feels like, I’m surprised you didn’t notice and feel this previously – expect you’ll find somewhere in the instructions for your bike that it needs regular maintenance…..

Just go into a bike shop and ask for a standard front brake caliper – Shimano 105 or something like that, or the equivalent SRAM version. Other manufacturers also are available 😉
Shimano Tiagra front caliper

ah right siiiiick

That was easier than I thought… can I live with unmatching brakes though 😳 I read that the pull distance of a campag lever is different to what is needed by other brake calipers anyone got any real world experience of that? does it make a different or is it not really that noticeable?

Dovebiker – that is kind of the point, it didn’t feel crap, it was tight and just failed suddenly.

If it’s any consolation, your forum name makes me snigger.

The photo of the caliper appears to show some fretting of the thread showing that the arm was loose for a bit – the retainer / pivot screw usually has a secondary locknut / grub-screw to hold it firmly in place because it’s such a safety critical part.

Just buy a proper Campagnolo brake. Centaur or Veloce will be fine.

Possibly two – and then you can replace the crappy FSA one at the rear as well…

And then apologise to Campgnolo for dissing their brakes when you don’t have one on your bike. 😀 But might be worth dropping Bianchi a line though to point it out – might be a recurring thing with there faux brakes.

I have two of those Reparto Corse callipers in as new condition – ridden for about 25 miles on new bike before replaced with better ones. I’ve no idea what they are worth but £10 plus postage and they are yours. Message me if you’re interested 🙂

Discs are the only solution here… 😉

Seriously – sounds like a nightmare moment. Glad it ended without incident. I’ve a similar junction on my commute, and the same thought has crossed my mind as well.

take lustyd up on their offer – what’s the worst that could happen?

Yeh soz campagnolo, clearly thinking my bike is more middle class than it really is 😳 poor peasant spec bike

Looks to me like very little thread engagement, bit of a poor design – not necessarily a lack of maintenance/user error… Commuter bike in “covered in crap” shocker!

Anyway, that’s not the worst nightmare. Worst nightmare is the bike snapping in half. Glad you’re OK!

Lucky escape, I’d buy some lottery tickets! 😆

Discs are the only solution here…

But if disk’s had failed he might have sliced off the leg of an old dear or eviscerated a small child.

If I were your brakes I’d wanna be as far away as possible from those weird tyres too.

If memory serves me correct

Did you get a video for the crash reels?

If it’s any consolation, your forum name makes me snigger.

What would happen should we introduce Dorset_Knob to anus? 😯

Yeah I don’t clean it every week but it is at least kept in sound mechanical condition.

Clearly 😉

Lucky escape, glad you’re ok. Can’t believe a small amount of dirt and people think it’s badly maintained, does anyone clean a commuter after every ride?

Can’t believe a small amount of dirt and people think it’s badly maintained

You’ve seen the tyres?

Dorset_Knob – Member
If it’s any consolation, your forum name makes me snigger.

A case of a knob calling the anus black, if there ever was one!

Lucky escape mate! Relax and enjoy your weekend! Thanks for helping Jesse and Scott btw 🙂

Oi stop slaggin off me tyres! Nowt wrong with them.

Superfli – I’m on the train on my way to meet Jesse now! Are you Dave? Or if not do i know you? Or if not maybe see you this weekend?

For anyone else I’m marshalling/helping out at the southern enduro champs on Exmoor this weekend! I’ll likely be wearing some stupid sunglasses, an orange jacket and a headband so feel free to say hello!!

Hi Will. Yes its me Dave. Would love to be joining the fun, but Easter with the family+ I’ve just had the snip 😳

New saddle required due to a large fore/aft crease?

Glad you’re ok. Eduardo has a circle of hell set aside for you, that frame is minging.

“What would happen should we introduce Dorset_Knob to anus? “

Esselgruntfuttock ,or something like it I would imagine . 🙂

Oh hey Dave *waves* , Shane you can’t make it, would have been cool to see you! We’re half way to Minehead by now.

Sandwich who are you talking to? Me or Dave? What i don’t like the sound of this circle.. or frame