Update on Pan Gathering 2010

Well, the boys and girls at Pan Clan are losing no time...  The link I published last week is already out of date.

The new one will take you here.  Bookings are being taken already and I'll be signing up in October at a guess...

Considering a repair strategy.

Having thought on it for a few days, I can only assume that there has been (and still is) some water or other impurity in the brake lines.  It's the only thing I've ever seen cause this binding over time as the brakes (and therefore the fluid) warm up.

I've changed the fluid twice now so it's time to completely strip the system, check all the pipes/joints and clean with some denatured alcohol or similar.  Then get it back together without letting so much as a sniff of condensation back in.

Guess that as a precaution, I should change the seals, too.

Those long winter evenings will just fly past...

Going nowhere. Quite slowly.

Oh dear.  Foiled again.

Removed the rear brake stripped it down and cleaned it out and it wasn't as bad as I had expected.  Popped it all back together and...  no improvement.  Another hastily booked ticket back to Belgium and that's the bike-mending budget gone until after xmas. 

Same symptom, very light contact between pads and disks but the wheel turns freely.  Just like it has since the day I picked it up more than seven years ago.  Just like it does on the front.  15-20 miles of hard riding and it binds.  I'm a bit stumped, honestly.  Mechanically, it all seems fine.  I have changed the fluid twice, second time with brand new fluid from a sealed bottle.  Deeper investigation to follow when I have the time.  Say in January...

Off we go...

Heading off to the Land of Beer and Chocolate now.  Wish me luck...  :)

Brake update

There was nothing much wrong with it, as it happens.  Sure enough, a clean was in order and the slight dragging has pretty much gone away.  But the rear has always made a gentle contact.  Always.

I reckon the brake fluid I had was old/contaminated so I have flushed it again and replaced with brand new stuff.

Tomorrow, the acid test...

Seconds away, round two...

Back to base today and I'll be having a good look at that brake and then try the ride up to Belgium again on Sunday.

Hopefully, it's nothing more than a strip'n'clean on the rear brake and (another) fluid replacement job.

Wish me luck...