More Fruits Of The "Harvest", After Work

Today brought more of what we've had for the past couple of days--and what meteorologists are forecasting for the next couple of days:  summer warmth and early autumn light.

All right, they didn't forecast the light, except to tell us what time the sun will set.  But the sun is taking on an early twilight glow and, as I mentioned yesterday, I am seeing a few trees start their color changes.  It's quite lovely:  the first signs of autumn hues haven't yet brought the melancholy that comes later in the season (which, by the way, I often enjoy). 

Another day in the cusp of two seasons gave me another opportunity to relish my harvest, so to speak: I took an after-work ride to Coney Island.  While I enjoyed the ride, I did notice it more when I pedaled into the wind today than I did yesterday or on Monday, when I rode to Connecticut.  Perhaps it was a result of riding late in the day, after work.  Or it may have just been a matter of riding my  Schwinn LeTour instead of one of my Mercians.

Whatever the case, I had an easy ride back.  And it was interesting, to say the least, to see how much difference a week and a half makes on the number of people who go to the beach:

Some folks, like the ones in the photo, will go to the beach on any day the weather is remotely summer-like--and sometimes not-so-summery.  They are the ones who have decided it's still summer (which, of course, it still is--at least officially).  They are not like the ones who don't ever go to the beach after Labor Day or before Memorial Day, whatever the weather.

I guess we have equivalents to both kinds of people in the cycling world.  Some hang up their bikes as the days grow shorter, while others take any opportunity, at whatever time of year, to ride.

As for me, I will continue to enjoy the "harvest" for as long as I can--and continue to ride as long as the streets aren't covered with ice.

The Harvest Begins

The other day felt autumnal.  It wasn't just the cool, crisp air or the fact that I was in Connecticut.  I couldn't pinpoint exactly why I felt the fall had begun, or was well on its way, but I think I now know why.

Today the temperature reached 31C (88F), but the day still seemed autumnal.  Granted, we didn't have the sauna-like humidity we had during an earlier heat wave. But there was something else.  At first I thought it was just a feeling, but I realize now it was as visual as it was visceral.

Before going to work, I managed to ride by the Concrete Plant Park along the Bronx River.  I could swear I saw the first tinges of yellow and orange in a few trees:

And, because there is less daylight every day than there was earlier in the summer, the sun isn't as intense, and the ground and buildings don't have as much time to absorb the heat. So, while the air temperature climbed over 30C, the heat didn't feel as oppressive as it did a few weeks ago.

There's one more signal of Fall, for me.  My rides, whether to Connecticut or the college, seem easier now.  That is one of the things I've always loved about cycling in September and October, at least in years when I've done a decent amount of riding:  I can climb hills in a gear or two higher than I did in, say, April or even June.  Also, on my ride the other day, I was pedaling into a 20-25 KPH wind most of the way to Connecticut and barely noticed it.

Since I have never farmed (and probably never will), the kind of cycling I've experienced this week is probably the closest I will come to a harvest:  I am enjoying the fruits of all of the pedaling I've done over the past few months.

Disc Brake Failures, Now And Then

A few days ago "The Retrogrouch" alerted us to a disc brake failure reported on Bike Radar.  

One of BR''s test riders was riding a Specialized Tarmac Pro with Shimano R 785 disc brakes through Rocky Mountain National Park, on a course with some long and steep climbs and descents.  It's really not the sort of ride on which you want to lose your braking power.

The rider, Ben Delaney, describes what happened on a descent:  "I felt my rear brake go soft for perhaps 30 seconds, with the lever feeling mushy, and then go out completely.  Pulling the lever all the way had zero effect on the rear caliper."




Fortunately for him, he didn't crash and his front brake still worked well enough for him to complete his ride, and he wasn't hurt.  After the ride, he contacted Shimano and they retrieved the hose and caliper.

According to Shimano America road product manager Dave Lawrence, the failure was the result of an oil leak caused by a crack in the right side piston.  That crack wasn't caused by heat generated from braking, according to Lawrence's report.  The investigators observed slightly higher-than-normal disc pad contact with the rotor. "We have made several machine and riding tests in similar conditions, and we have not been able to replicate similar damage to the piston", the report continues.

What, exactly, caused that piston to crack is a fair question:  one that neither Shimano nor anyone else seems able to answer.  To be fair, that alone is not a wholesale indictment of disc brakes or Shimano.  However, it does beg the question of just how sensible or necessary disc brakes are for bicycles. 

On the few occasions when I felt my cable-and-caliper (i.e., dual-pivot or single pivot sidepulls, centerpulls, cantilevers or V-brakes, all of which I have used at some point or another) losing power or modulation, I didn't completely lose my braking ability and, when I stopped, I was able to spot and fix the problem quickly.  And, even when riding with loaded panniers in the Alps, Rockies, Pyrenees, Adirondacks and in the Green Mountains, whatever caliper brakes I used were sufficient as long as my pads and cables were good.

Now, I've worked as a mechanic in bike shops. But even before I started doing so, I'd taught myself how to fix my brakes, as well as other parts of my bike.  A cable-actuated caliper brake system can be adjusted with a minimum of tools:  In fact, most can be done without specialized bicycle tools (although said specialized tools certainly make the job easier and faster).  There is certainly something to be said for such simplicity when you're 100 kilometers from the nearest village.

Also, as "The Retrogrouch" points out, hydraulic disc brakes in cars and trucks are larger and more robust, and more protected from the elements, than any disc brake that could ever be fitted to a bicycle.  The ones scaled down to fit bikes will be more finicky and thus more prone to breakdowns--not to mention adding weight and complication to the bicycle.

The disc brake failure experienced by Delaney of Bike Radar, and relayed to us by "The Retrogrouch" is also not the first such failure.  In fact, bicycle disc brakes were failing in the 1980s, long before Shimano ever thought to manufacture them.

In those days, high-quality racing tandems were usually fitted with front and rear cantilever brakes, while touring tandems added a third caliper brake (usually a sidepull) on the rear.  A few tandems, usually custom-made, came with a drum brake attached to the rear hub.  The best of them was made by Arai in Japan.

Arai drum brake on Fat Chance tandem, 1985

For a time, some custom tandems came with this rear disc brake made by Phil Wood:

Phil Wood disc brake, 1980s

It's certainly an impressive piece of machinery, as most of Phil's products are.  Trust me; I know:  I use some of them,


The disc, made of an asbestos composite, was attached to the hub by a series of splines.  Those splines were prone to stripping, which caused a loss of braking.  To Phil Wood's credit, they responded to the situation rather quickly:  After only a few reports of incidents (none of which resulted in injury), the brakes were pulled from the market.

Again, I emphasize that while I question the wisdom of using disc brakes on bicycles, I do not believe that the problems or incidents I've mentioned are an indictment of disc brakes themselves.  Rather, I think they show that Shimano is trying to make something work 30 years after Phil Wood--known for making bike components that work better and  last longer than others--couldn't do it.  Not all technologies are transferrable from automobiles (or aircraft) to bicycles, and disc brakes might be one of those technologies.

N.B.:  Phil Wood discs were manufactured before the ban on manufacturing asbestos products was enacted in 1989.  That ban was overturned only two years later under pressure from lobbyists for the asbestos industry.