Cycle Systems Academy are offering employers a government funded NVQ apprenticeship training programme.

The scheme, the first of its kind in the capital, allows employers to take on an apprentice and have them train as a cycle mechanic for free.

Cycle Systems Academy is the brainchild of Sean and Julia Lally, who in 2007 realised there was an opportunity for a mobile cycle mechanic outfit to service the needs of large organisations.

The company also offers a full accreditation in the City and Guilds VSQ in Cycle Maintenance and Repair.

A launch event for the apprenticeship scheme is being held at 7pm on October 21 at Cycle Systems Academy’s state-of-the-art north London premises: 51 Eagle Wharf Road, N1 7ER.

In many cases replacing breaking system components is the best course of action but there are occasions when it is possible to repair or service certain pats of the braking system instead. Below we attempt to differentiate the two:

Cables

Lubing a cable is often a good idea and can help to prolong its life – a tired and old cable will appear dirty and therefore probably lost its galvanised sheen. This said however, if you find that you’ve applied plenty of lube and that the improvement of the cable performance is not noticably better, it is probably time to replace that cable.

WORKSHOP TIP: It is important to lube and replace cables regularly – i.e. cables should be lubed monthly and replaced at the bike’s three monthly service, or at the very most six monthly intervals (if the bike has been well looked after and the cables regularly lubed.) All cables have a service life – once the cable reaches the end of its life it will snap. Usually this happens next to the barrel end and results in total braking failure.

If the cable is frayed you must also replace it as nothing can be done to repair it in any way.

Brake Blocks and Discs

Classically, brake blocks are replaced when you can no longer see the groove on the pad. Brake pads need replacing often as they wear so fast.

With discs, the general rule of thumb is to replace them when they have 1/2mm of pad left on them. Experienced mechanics can distinguish this by simply holding the wheel up to a light source, pulling the brake lever and peering into the disk caliper to test for wear. We would recommend taking the disk out however and having a good look for yourself.

WORKSHOP TIP: It is very dangerous to let the pad wear down to metal as, when it rubs against the rim which is also a metal surface, grooves are worn in the braking surface. Over time, this can make the rim slightly concave, and the rim may collapse under pressure while being ridden. Rims will often have an indicator in the braking surface to show when it needs replacement – for example many rims have coloured dots in them, and when these dots disappear you know it is time for replacement.

Brake Studs

If the brake studs become very rusty you will need to replace them. The problem with this is that some bikes (i.e. BMX forks) do not have replaceable studs and the whole fork would need to be replaced. It is possible to replace the studs on cantilever brakes.

Likewise, many older cantilever brake forks were manufactured with 8mm threads of the brake studs, whereas most modern machines now take 10mm studs. It can be difficult to find the replacement for the older technology and may result in you having to also replace the whole fork.

Calipers

Generally, you would not attempt to repair high end racing bike brake calipers or disk brake calipers. This is because, if you dismantle them, they are made up of many different parts and are very complicated to put back together. Also, the spring tension in them is often machine set and impossible to reset back by hand. Replace these calipers if you assess they are a part of the braking problem.

With other types of brakes however such as Cantilever, V Brakes and BMX U brakes, you can service the calipers first. If you do this however and still find that there is very little braking power, you are probably going to have to replace the caliper anyway. Most bicycle workshops would replace the caliper as a matter of course if they thought it was playing up.

WORKSHOP TIP: Many cheap bikes are fitted with plastic calipers. Plastic is a material that will eventually bow and buckle under the constant pressure of the cable. You are much better upgrading such a caliper when you can – it is really a false economy as these components make the bike cheaper, but they do not stand the test of time.

Rotors

It is possible to true a warped rotor as discussed in the servicing task. However, when a rotor is well and truly warped into an S shape, or simply it is taking so much time to tinker with to get right that it would be a more economical solution to simply replace it, then it is recommended that you just fit a new one.

Truing rotors can be a very fiddly task and, unfortunately, they often come straight out of the packet slightly bent from transit. A workshop mechanic can often find themselves trying to remedy this problem.

Cable Housing

Obviously if the cable housing is ripped in any way it will not be able to offer the protective passage that the cable needs in able to do its job properly – it may get snagged or impede the cable in some way.

Likewise, if the cable housing becomes clogged with dirt and old grease it will also prevent the cable from moving freely. It is not an expensive part to replace and we would recommend that you do so at a bike’s 3 monthly service. See Cable Housing Preparation and Measuring the Cable Housing.

Noodles

If a noodle is bent or broken in any way it will kink the cable inside. Cables need to travel in as straight a line as possible to the brake and if it is caught on the inisde of the noodle then the noodle must be replaced also.

More brake related maintenance articles…

Assessing your brakes

Common brake problems

There are potentially a few different issues that can be encountered with brakes which are not functioning correctly, but more often than not they will fall under one of the following descriptions:

Spongy Brakes

From time to time, if one brake caliper is working more effectively than another on the wheels rim, the rider will experience a sense of “sponginess”. In other words, the brakes do not feel like they are applying consistent pressure when applied. There can be a variety of causes creating this problem. The most obvious one perhaps is that the wheel may be buckled and offering less surface to the brake pad. Of course it may also be that the brakes pads have not been aligned properly, nor the caliper arms set up to offer even application to the rim.

Brakes Sticking

You pull the brake lever and nothing happens. Or the brake strikes the rim but will not release. Check the brake cable housing – is it split or rusty inside? If so the cable will not be able to move freely and the housing must be replaced. As cables are not galvanised, it is recommended that you replace them also. (Of course if the cables are frayed you will have to replace them as you will not be able to feed them back through.) However, if you are able to/need to re-use the old ones then you must at least lube them well.

Another reason for sticky brakes are dirty or seized calipers. Generally, this problem is also accompanied by the lever feeling slack and floppy when you release it.

Brakes are Slack

You are applying pressure to the brakes and very little is happening. Most likely this is because the cable has not been properly tensioned. It could also be however that the cable is slipping through any fixing bolts on the caliper arm and the bolt will need to be tightened.

Squealing Brakes

If the brakes are making a squealing noise – the kind where people turn and stare and hunch away from you slightly on the street like you’ve just scratched a blackboard with your nails next to their heads – its time to give the braking surfaces some attention.

Your first port of call is to clean all braking surface areas (rim and pads) with a mild degreaser (lukewarm and fairy liquid will do, or specific degreaser spray). You can go even further by sanding down the pads down to get rid of any stubborn dirt.

Finally, you can try toe-ing the brakes. This means that when the brakes are set up, the front of the pads are marginally closer (say 1mm) to the rim than the back of the pads. In general with modern brakes now it is not necessary to toe the brake pads. But you may use this technique as a last resort to prevent and horrible noises if you choose to.

More brake related maintenance articles…

Assessing your brakes

Replacing and repairing your brakes

Any good mechanic will check the brakes of a bike as a matter of upmost importance. With this in mind pulling the front brake will not only check the function of possibly the most important safety feature on the bike, but it can also be used to check headset tightness in one fell swoop.

The look and feel of different brake types changes between model and manufacturer as well as within the braking system used. Anticipating and understanding this ‘feel’ is mostly down to experience.

Generally speaking though, a mechanic should always put the braking system of a bike through an initial safety check. An initial general safety check can often also highlight many common problems that can be resolved with some fine tuning or simple servicing tasks.

Testing

We recommend undertaking a basic brake test to your bike to ensure that the brakes are operating safely. Obviously, this is important to do on your own bike, but if you are a workshop mechanic, it is even more important to ensure that customers do not walk out the door uninformed of their potential braking problem. The stopping power of the brake can be tested as follows:

Stationary Test

As a rough guide when applying the front brake you should be able to lean all of your weight on the bars without the front wheel moving (the brake can hold your weight with the force your fingers can apply). Push forward with your legs and you will be able to get an idea of the amount of force required to overcome the brake. The rear brake can be tested in the same way by applying force to the saddle, you may find the tyre will skid before the brake is overcome.

This test is only an indicator of the brakes effectiveness as riding the bike introduces other factors. You must also take the bike for a test ride and test each brake separately.

Moving Test

To check the front brake while riding it is important to shift your weight back. This will allow you to pull the lever harder without the risk of going over the bars, its surprising how quickly you can stop using only a front brake while performing this weight shift.

To test the rear brake you should sit on the saddle and try to get all your weight on the back wheel. This will stop the rear wheel skidding. This is easier on some bikes than others!

Full Safety Test

The following can be used as a checklist to start trying to ascertain where the braking problem lies. However, it is also good to run through the list anyway when simply checking the brakes over for any potential problems.

• Is the wheel buckled? (Important for rim brakes)
• Are the pads worn?
• Is the cable housing damaged?
• Are the caliper and lever compatable?
• Is the caliper positioned correctly on the frame?
• Is the lever fitted and positioned correctly?  (You should not be able to pull the brake lever back to the bar or to the point where the fingers limit the action of the lever. This is dangerous and the brake must be adjusted)

If the bike passes all of the above, it is safe to return to the roads.

More brake related maintenance articles…

Common brake problems

Replacing and repairing your brakes

Cycle Systems Academy has launched a competition for one lucky reader to win a free place on a City and Guilds cycle mechanic course, worth £990.

If you’re passionate about bikes and want to learn how to repair and maintain your bicycle then this 10-day course is the perfect opportunity to learn and know everything about your bike from setting up the gears to a complete bike build.

Cycle Systems Academy is the “UK’s premier cycle mechanic training provider. Based in London, the heart of a huge nationwide resurgence in cycling, our mission is to supply the trade with skilled and experienced mechanics to help facilitate this boom. The Academy is a state of the art facility thanks to extensive sponsorship from the cycle trade.”

Enter the competition now.

Bikemagic visited Cycle Systems Academy recently to find out what they’re all about, and you can read that feature here.