Bicycle brakes.

Atelier

Also think about joining the local LETS scheme. Our local one has a large number of people who will maintain bikes and you pay by exchanging skills/services.

HTH

ukjoel wrote: »

May not sound very MSE but have you thought about another bike.
They are not the easiest item to post so as a result there are real bargains to be had if you do a local search on ebay. Quite regularly see £400 bikes going for £50 or less. Some of them in top condition and really looked after.

Bearing in mind some places can charge over £100 for a full bike service its worth a look. Freecycle is worth a try too - see 3 or 4 bikes a week offered on ours.

fluffymuffy

Good News. - I've found a solution that works in terms of getting the bike to stop. I bought a pair of Raleigh brake blocks and fitted them (myself!) on the back wheels. They're much deeper than those that were there and it doesn't take much movement of the lever to get a good grip on the rim. The new blocks seem slightly less hard too. The main benefit is that now with the brake on full I cannot rotate the wheel at all - that was the big problem before and throwing my self into the bushes had become a regular activity. I'm going to get some more blocks for the front wheel now - that was my best brake but now I'm not happy with the way it only slows but doesn't stop the wheel.

verybigchris

Don't forget to keep your wheel rims clean. Just a wipe with a damp cloth, then a dry one to make sure there's no residue left behind - it will make a big difference.