Mountain Bike

[TimberWolf]

However the nice to have's cost more, such as hydro disk brakes and nice forks.

I quite fancy better brakes, especially for the wet. The rim ones you get on bikes are shockingly poor in my experience, not stopping you anywhere near as fast as you are used to in a car, though no doubt better materials exist than what I've got on mine. They are nice and simple though.

[DaveB]

I quite fancy better brakes, especially for the wet. The rim ones you get on bikes are shockingly poor in my experience, not stopping you anywhere near as fast as you are used to in a car, though no doubt better materials exist than what I've got on mine. They are nice and simple though.

Bike brakes are also limited by the amount of grip you get from the tyres. It's not much use having really grippy brakes if all they do is lock the wheels up and cause you to skide/slide. Admittedly this is more of a probem for road bikes with their narrow tyres but the same applies on an MTB, especially in the wet.

Just keeping the brakes properly adjusted can make a big difference as well. Poorly adjusted brakes mean you only get the last few mill of pull on the levers actually pressing the blocks onto the rim, which limits the effectiveness susbtantially.

[gingerjedi]

My ride

NSFW

[TimberWolf]

My ride

NSFW

That guy looks like he's going to come off.

[TimberWolf]

Just keeping the brakes properly adjusted can make a big difference as well. Poorly adjusted brakes mean you only get the last few mill of pull on the levers actually pressing the blocks onto the rim, which limits the effectiveness susbtantially.

Yeah, my brakes aren't particularly well adjusted - there's a largish gap between the rims and pads when they're slack. I've tried adjusting them to be closer, so that less use is needed of the lever, but this never seems to quite work without rubbing or binding occurring on one or both sides of the rim. Probably you need wheels and everything else connected to the braking to be in good order to get them really close like when new.

[Spacecadet]

Yeah, my brakes aren't particularly well adjusted - there's a largish gap between the rims and pads when they're slack. I've tried adjusting them to be closer, so that less use is needed of the lever, but this never seems to quite work without rubbing or binding occurring on one or both sides of the rim. Probably you need wheels and everything else connected to the braking to be in good order to get them really close like when new.

Your wheels will need to be true - you can get a spoke tool to help you straighten out small deviations
http://www.bikemagic.com/news/article/mps/uan/3041

Brakes usually have a small screw/allen bolt in the side which adjusts the return spring tension, you can use that to make the brake pads sit the same distance from the rim on either side.

Well adjusted brakes should have 1-2mm clearance from the wheel and be slightly closer at the front than the back

This is a bit old but should still be relevant
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/canti-rollercam.html

[deckster]

Yeah, my brakes aren't particularly well adjusted - there's a largish gap between the rims and pads when they're slack. I've tried adjusting them to be closer, so that less use is needed of the lever, but this never seems to quite work without rubbing or binding occurring on one or both sides of the rim. Probably you need wheels and everything else connected to the braking to be in good order to get them really close like when new.

What kind of brakes do you have? Only the really old-style sidepull brakes are difficult to get adjusted right. Modern caliper brakes as fitted to road bikes are side-to-side adjustable normally with a small allen key, and v-brakes that you get on low-end MTBs have grub screws on each side that do a similar job. It's definitely worth spending 30 minutes or so getting the skills to set up your bike correctly.

Modern brakes - and aluminium rims, steel ones are terrible - should give you plenty of stopping power even in the wet. As has been said, modulating the braking power to avoid skidding is normally the issue.

[TimberWolf]

What kind of brakes do you have?

I don't know, but they are ancient (with new pads) and I should really update them. I doubt a bicycle - using rim brakes - could stop as quickly as a car with disc brakes though.

[Spacecadet]

I don't know, but they are ancient (with new pads) and I should really update them. I doubt a bicycle - using rim brakes - could stop as quickly as a car with disc brakes though.

It can

[TimberWolf]

It can

Well yes, you could given the right materials.

With ordinary rim and pads, can you apply enough braking force to skid the front tyre at speed on dry tarmac?