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I think it pulled out when I was compressed. I was taking things pretty easy (on my own and first ride since, like, November? We're supposed to be skiing over here), so I wasn't at speed or after any kind of big jumps/drops, so it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been.
The shop I go to was going to pull the shock so they've got a good picture of the what things are happening all the way through the travel and make sure there's enough extra line to make sure there's no chance of it happening again.
That sucks! I lost a front brake with my radics last year in the most muddy, greased owl poop conditions, the kind where the rear brake did nothing due to how steep the trails were... I thought I was on the verge of death all the way down... I bought T4V4'S the following Monday lol. Granted the Radics lost all brake pressure not from a line pulling out but because they hate me lol. I tried to bait Taylor into looking back into his emails after some conversation on PB a month or so ago to no avail. Those beauties will continue to live in the parts bin...
Happier with the T4V4's anyway. Can't wait to get some GR4's and move the T4V4's to the bike with Dominions.
Weren't carbon rotors and pads all the rage about 12 years ago?
What happened? Confused
I always assumed carbon or carbon/ceramic mix brake rotor need higher operating temperature to achieve optimal braking performance. Road cycling heat requirement are relatively small and environmental cooling is high so you are always trying to heat them up. Steel works better at cold temperature and the upper temperature limit in bike brake system would most likely be our pad size and small oil volume.
Nope.
Carbon carbon (F1 stuff) needs high temps. Carbon ceramic (fancy road car stuff) doesn't. And turns out roadies regularly overheat their brakes. They have small rotors, braking events are savage (from over 60 kph to below 20 for hairpin turns) and the cooling you mention is not that substantial.
Yikes. That's just how the Madonna is designed unfortunately. You have to remove the shock and cycle the linkage to make sure it doesn't tug on the rear brake line under hard compression. RAAW build video shows this pretty well. I measured 3 times before finalizing the position and also used electrical tape to make sure the hose doesn't creep back and forth as the linkage cycles over time.
Good call on the tape to keep an eye on things. The boys at the shop got a little creative and I think we managed to figure something out. Ultimately, the zip ties along the chainstays are a little looser and we've got a bit of extra line routed by the BB to allow a bit of movement. I'll have to keep an eye out to see if rubbing becomes an issue.
All that being said, made it out for another ride yesterday afternoon. The GR4's feel amazing. I love the adjustability in the levers. The trail I rode is short (1.2km with a touch over 200m of elevation) and starts fairly steep and technical. Conditions were SUPER loose (almost like it hasn't rained in months. lol), so wasn't necessarily a good test for the capability of the GR4's, but so far I'm stoked with them.
I think it's supposed to drop back down to mid -20c temps by next weekend, so not sure there'll be any more riding on them before spring hits.
Well, after 18 months, 2 warrenties, 2 seal kits, 6 sets of pads, 1 new lever body, 1 diaphram, and far too many bleeds, I've finally called it quits on my T4V4's. That being said, I'm reverting back to Codes for the time being (I'm 140 LB's on a trail bike w 203 Freeza's) and I'm wondering if anyone knows if there's any difference between the older RSC and new Ultimate/Silver Stealth models other than the body angle change and carbon lever blade on the Ultimates? I heard somewhere a while back that they may have changed the Swinglink cam ratio slightly on the Stealth versions but can't seem to find anything else that backs that up.
If you're asking this because you're looking to buy new, this might be interesting: https://www.hibike.com/bike-parts/brakes-and-accessories/disc-brakes/sram-code-rsc-disc-brake-black-bulk-pbd2103d40e8c02d0c5edd36d09788733#var_BAS00123
I know it's European, but 120 euros for a pair of code Rscs might be worth to handle the import if they're more expensive locally... I'm all good with brakes (have RSCs on both bikes), but if I had a lesser set on any of my bikes (particularly GFs), I'd be scooping these up immediately. At this point I'd be more interested to try something stronger if I felt spendy.
quick before king donnie the fat increases the fascist kingdom tax once more
This kept happening to my brother's Magura brakes when his suspension cycled it would ratchet the banjo bolt loose. I'm never working on Magura brakes again, they're not worth any of the headaches.
The feeling when you finally bleed the Magura's perfect is maybe the best feeling in the world!
And then you strip one of the plastic parts of the master cylinder and throw them away.
Luckily I already have a set of used RSC's hanging around, although I wouldn't be against a new set as mine have done their fair share of descending and given the price of seal kits, it's not really worth it to me to replace if they do go out. There's a few sets of takeoff Code silver/ultimates hanging around for $300-450 CAD and RSC's for $250-350, I'd buy the stealths if there was actually a difference.
Unless you look like this, and use common sense /torque, stripping of threads are not a problem
Pretty sure you just posted a picture of a mountain biker...
That can't be me because I only use power tools on my bike.
I know most of y'all don't care too much about Code series brakes but just in case anyone was wondering, SRAM states that there is no difference in the swinglink profile of the newish Stealth series Codes and the older RS/RSC models. According to the email I got back, "There are some subtle differences between a Code RSC and Code Stealth lever assembly, though these relate to geometry changes for the Stealth design/routing and won't affect the actual feel or performance of the brake".
Having owned both Code Ultimate stealth and Code RSC with carbon levers, I can attest there is no performance difference. Just a stupider hose routing design in the stealth series.
Impact drivers i assume? That's the best to be sure everything is tightned 100%.
Just tighten it to the point where the bolt clicks then back it off a quarter turn. Should be fine.
On a tight budget? Try crossthreading.
Natures Loctite.
I've never stripped the threads from a Magura master, but I just serviced some Magura brakes which were handed to me off the bike. Replaced the lever blades, cleaned and exercised the pistons, installed new pads, bled the system. Some might say it was the best feeling in the world... Unfortunately, after all that upon reinstalling it turns out the plastic threads in the lever clamp were already stripped so the master cylinder went in the trash. Yay!
The fact that they use a deep Torx head on the screws perplexes me, Torx signals "I can take high torque, have a go bro!". A #1 Philips head seems more appropriate with the torque spec debossed on the clamp, maybe a shallow 2.5mm hex.
One of the first carbotecture brakes I got to work on had a nagging issue of losing the bleed after half an hour or so of use. Turned out one of the clamp posts loosened up, allowing air ingestion. And I just thought what a silly way to do a reservoir. Then the bleed screw's head popped off when I was securing it and I just thought this experience has pretty much turned me off of em for my own rigs. I mean, I didn't think that I was hamfisting things since I was using a thumb and forefinger only on the screw, but....
I recently bought a bike with SRAM Level T brakes. Bleeding them should never be this unpredictable / random / hard. WTF SRAM.
What seems to be the struggle with them?
Probably cause you’re supposed to bin them straight away
I think the thinking was "one tool to rule them all" as even the pad pin is T25. Honestly I can't fault them at that logic, jumping between different Allen and torx keys to service a brake (or to move bar controls OR remove the stem) is a pain in the ass. But yeah, using a "wood" screw in plastic with a T25 hole is a recipe for disaster.
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