Chalo said:
I can think of a few ways that can happen with cable brakes. If you had old worn cables, the cable knob could break off at the lever. It's hard to macgyver a fix for that one... need a new cable. I pay attention to my cables, replace them before they get frayed. I have certainly seen many customers come in with that problem from neglect when I worked in bike shops.
Sometimes, the cable breaks at the other end, too. Back in the canti brake days, some people would have the cable break at the straddle clamp, and then the straddle cable would get caught in your tire, and flip you over the handle bars! Shimano came up with this http://www.treefortbikes.com/product/333222394764/1234/Shimano-BR-CT91-B.html?gclid=Cj0KEQiAqqO0BRDyo8mkv9y259EBEiQApVQD_aiTYjAEuwNiQExXNpJSKCOzXuD9ZGzm_XPRym2LGI8aApGm8P8HAQ to solve the problem of people who don't maintain their bikes, face planting when their cables broke.
I have been riding hydraulic discs since 98? The very first Hayes Mags, before they had IS brake mounting standards figured out. I ride mountain bikes. Used to race DH bikes, had season's pass at Whistler, etc. Like to go fast, ride as steep and rugged trails as possible. Strong brakes that don't fail are vitally important to me. Through out the years, I have had several different models of brakes, mostly hydros, but have used BB7's before, too. Current hydro discs are super reliable. I am pretty tough on bike parts. The shimano XT brakes on my bike are 4 years old, and the oldest parts on my bike. They have been used first on a DH bike, shuttling up 3000ft mountains in pickup truck laps for two seasons. Two seasons on trail bike, where a typical 90min or so ride is up 1200ft mtn, down. A bigger, 3-4 hour ride would do 3000ft. When they were on the DH bike, went through maybe 3 sets of pads a season, bought the same for tires. Trail bike sees less descending, and you tend to ride less steep trails that milk the elevation more, less braking, so get almost a year out of pads. The finned brake pads last way longer than the old kind. They are pricey tho.
The hydro brake is a pretty simple system. There is not much to it: lever with one simple piston. caliper with two pistons and an o-ring sealing the caliper halves. and the line.
I ran the BB-7's cuz I had some XT 8spd shift/v brake levers I was attached to. They worked pretty good, though I did have to adjust them pretty frequently for cable stretch, pad wear. Had to replace cables a few times when they'd get dirty. I do appreciate that you can adjust your whole brake setup with a 5mm.
Nice thing about hydros is they are self adjusting for pad wear, and the lines are sealed, so don't get contaminated by moisture/mud the way cables do. In practice, they are pretty set and forget. And the hydro lines don't really wear out, barring extreme crash damage. The main risk of brake failure, is big crash, that spins your handlebars around a bunch of times and tears the line/cable out of the lever. I have had this happen to both cable and hydro operated bikes. Ruins your day. Avoiding big crashes is best fix
Hydro lines are pretty tough... they can take a pretty serious crash/yank without damage. I'd say the amount of force you need to yank a hydro line out, is about the same as what it takes to rip a brake cable out of the lever. For general use, I think hydros are more reliable, less maintenance, cheaper long term than bb7's.
Shimano deore hydros are like $80-90 for the pair, levers, line, caliper. They come bled out of the box. Just bolt them on.
BB-7's are like $100 for pair, for just the caliper. Still need cables and housing, $10-30. And levers.
I generally put new cables on every time I replace worn out brake pads. I definitely think the avid's benefit from premium compressionless housing, so that's extra $20-30 every time you do brake pads. I do think it's a good policy to do full bleed, replace fluid every two brake pad changes or two years, whichever comes first, especially if it's a DOT fluid brake. Mineral oil brakes, the fluid doesn't degrade like dot does. There are lots of people who never bleed their brakes, and get 5+ pad changes before anything goes wonky.
I the course of the life of a set of BB7 brake pads, you prolly adjust the pad position 5 times, might need to tighten the cable a few times. Yes, it is easy to do, but it's still something to do. Hydros, no adjusting life of the pads.
The bleeding procedure is pretty easy, just like a moto, really. A lot of people are intimidated by hydraulics, but there is not much to it. You just need that $5 bleed cup, and fluid. $15 for a liter and you will have fluid for life.
