[Dickie]

It could be any number of things. If the bike sits in the rain the cables might have rusted causing them to bind or grab the casing. You can release the cable at the brake end and see if you feel any resistance when you pull on the cable from the lever side (don’t pull the cable too far through however as you don’t want to have any frayed ends disappear into the housing). If you feel something grab, or it is has unusual resistance check to see if you have any kinks in the cable, if so, try straightening them out an then apply some lube. If you feel no grabbing or resistance then the brake itself is sticking. You can also check this easily now the brake cable has been released by manually closing the brakes against the rim and seeing if you feel any kinks or resistance, again when you release as well. More likely than not your guess is correct…. road gunk, dirt, and lack of lube on the pivot points and spring contacts is most likely causing the problem. Nice thing about brakes is that problem solving is relatively easy and simply a process of elimination. best of luck.

[Dickie]

@dasgeh 41447 wrote:

Good call. Done.

Hey dasgeh, I just got an email from one of the organizers wanting me to put together a list of people here they could reach out to personally. Would you mind PMing me Megan’s contact info so I can pass it along?

[Dickie]

@KelOnWheels 42460 wrote:

Do your wheels spin in the opposite direction?

it has certainly felt like that lately!

[Dickie]

Hey Steve.

Are you brakes caliper or cantilever style? Whenever I have had a sticking brake pad it has almost always been with cantilever brakes. Last week I had a similar issue as you described. When I took a close look I noticed my pads had worn enough that they were not hitting the rim in the same spot anymore, causing the pad to ever so slightly bind/grab the rim, almost as if the pad was getting pinched between the rim and the tire. A quick adjustment of the pad and it worked fine again. When the pad sticks,does it take just a small amount of pressure to release it, and does the spring then work as normal? If so, the spring is not the problem. In terms of lube I always use Tri-Flow, and I apply it as you mentioned. I also use it on the springs and pivot points on the brakes themselves. Hope that helps.

[Dickie]

@TwoWheelsDC 42463 wrote:

Wow, guess I won’t be riding out there….

I’m considering making the trip, I’ll keep you posted if you want to consider car pooling.

[Dickie]

Damn that sucks. I live in Rosslyn so I will certainly keep an eye out. So sorry!

[Dickie]

@TwoWheelsDC 42446 wrote:

And now I might finally see people I know, since I’m finally riding in the the “normal” Arlington<>DC direction.

So now I’m back to being the only one riding in the wrong direction again… it’s the curse of being British isn’t it?

[Dickie]

My favorite bib knickers are on sale here for an excellent price:

http://www.bicyclinghub.com/castelli-sorpasso-bibknicker.html

As with anything Castelli, order a size larger than you would in any other brand… apparently Italians think we are giants!

[Dickie]

@KelOnWheels 42427 wrote:

I got my new jersey in the mail! They sent me the Speedy Milan.

They’re having a sale through the 1st so you can get the same jersey for $46

Nice! Careful though Pete might steal this from you! I can’t believe I missed the post about the Ugly Jersey return…. I have so many to give back… Oh so many bad bad decisions over the years!

[Dickie]

Complaints aside, I think the forum is a pretty marvelous place to waste time and be totally unproductive, even having to type in an answer is a better way to spend my morning than building some god-awful dining table for a client with no taste… I thank all the administrators for their hard work…

I do miss the quick reply button though

[Dickie]

I will gladly donate one of my Handle Bar mustaches to the rider deemed most polite when encountering another rider not so polite… nominees must be suggested from the least polite folks on this forum!

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[Dickie]

Who’s gonna be the first to be spotted doing the Peewee in this sweet skin suit?

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[Dickie]

@mstone 41687 wrote:

I recall it being hard to find. Try searching for “washington area bike forum”

Well apparently I am an idiot….. searched everything, even the domain name and got nothing… tried your suggestion and “It’s a Bingo!”… cheers!

[Dickie]

@jopamora 41670 wrote:

I could see putting this barometer in the kitchen. I imagine it’ll be pretty easy to ignore the tube side which makes it just another silly dohickey.

Love this post… gotta get one! The Tube in London is FAR more reliable then our metro and trains run far more frequently so as you suggested the “Tube” side would be pretty useless here.

[Dickie]

@DaveK 41672 wrote:

This is exactly what I needed. Thanks!
I’ve also replaced the front brake with a mini-V for better stopping power. Surprisingly I haven’t found the need to replace the saddle, the stocker is actually pretty comfortable for me.

I bought the Caadx6 with Tiagra as I got a stupid year end deal on it, but the brakes like yours are the only real issue for me. They actually work better in the wet but are pretty bad in the dry. I’m gonna try some new pads first but I might hit you up on some suggestions if I decide to switch out the actual calipers. Love the changes you made, ambitious! Post a pic when you can. I switched out the saddle to my favorite Selle Italia as I had an extra lying around.

[Author]

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