Hi,

My bike won't take disc brakes. I'm running XTR V Brakes at the moment but at times they just don't seem to want to stop me!

I was thinking about HS 33's. However, all the reviews seem to be from Trials riders! I have a ti hardtail frame so it's failry "flexy". Mainly XC trails riding but I do like a bit of sktchy singletrack from time to time.

Any opinions or advice? Are these brakes an all or nothing brake ie they wll simply lock onto the rim and prevent the wheel turning or can you dab the brakes for controlledriding on technical stuff? Sorry for the essay!

My advice is stick with the V's and spend time setting them up properly.

Well set up V's should work better than hydraulic rim brakes and will give you more modulation and control. Hydraulic rim brakes feel very wooden and IMO have no power advantages.

I ran V's for some years and always found that they felt more powerful if set up so that the arms were parallel and at 90 degrees to the wheel axle when the pad came into contact with the rim (if you imagine the arms and the adjoining cable forming 3 sides of a square when the brake is on).

Making sure the cable outers and inners are clean and lubes with light oil will also help and allow you to put more power into the brake with less fatigue in your hands as you aren't fighting resistance in the system.

Also make sure the pads don't get contaminated with anything and that the rims aren't too dished/worn. This can make a difference and could also leave you with an exploded wheel and a long walk.

Happy fettling!

Funny, I had an exploded tyre a few weeks ago! Blamd locking out the fork and riding ona steep hill. Damn near killed myself! Could you explain the causal connection between the brake set up / exploding tyre?

if not set up straight the blocks rub against the tyre and wear it away until...POP!

Nope, this happened fairly soon after I had started riding again. The bike had not been used for a while. It definitely wasn't a gradual thing.

dosent need to be an over night thing mate.

it hapenned to me when i put a 1/4 inch dent in my rim at the start of a ride.

20 mins later BOOM.

Yep, you could have a point! The tarmac hill I was on was so steep that after the tyre blew, I had to roll on for about 50 yards before I could get stopped!

when you set them up next, spin the wheel but be sure to squeeze the brake just to make sure that when your feathering them they dont rub slightly.

Yep. Bit annoying as this happened the day after I had paid a well known bike shop £30 to service my bike!

you live and learn mate.

we all still are :)

i bought "zinn and the art of MTB" and found it the best way to double check stuff LBSs done aswell as a guide as to what i thought i could do myself.

I'm a bit kak handed when it comes to all things practical but I must learn!! No mdecent bike shops within 40 miles!

My chain snapped on my ride this morning. Wouldn't have a clue how to fix it. May check out the book you are talking about.