tdubz Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 hello guys got a brake second hand off the forum few months ago found now that it was water bled and has frozen due to the cold weather we have had last night forzen stiff, lever wont move, pistons touching rim so cant even roll the wheel is it just a case of allowing the brake to thaw out or has some serious damage been done thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liam n Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 water expands when frozen and as there's no air in a water bleed there's no where for the frozen water to expand into therefor i reckon you piston and maybe lever are f**ked from the inside hope this helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikeperson45 Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 I thought it was more of a 'put it by a radiator than go on a ride' sort of thing so it's not damaging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3dd Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 Say goodbye to your brake! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukasMcNeal Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 It may be shagged. Theres only one way to find out, thats to let it thaw so only time will tell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the trials mop Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 mine did this and was ok, keep it inside in future though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bikeperson45 Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 http://www.trials-forum.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=66024&hl=water%20bleed%20frozen&st=0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
try-all blade Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 shouldn't of water bled it lol i would think that it would be ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davidbarr Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 shouldn't of water bled it lol i would think that it would be ok. I was talking to a guy who bled his brake with a mixture of water and anti-freeze stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l33th3tr33 Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 I was talking to a guy who bled his brake with a mixture of water and anti-freeze stuff. Indeed. A Must for winter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N.Wood Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 A lot of good info in this thread 1. Brake should be fine - Mines frozen and after it thawed it it was fine. 2. Can bled with water / antifreeze mix. Probably 50:50 ratio, but whatever. Brake will be fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
max-t Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 A lot of good info in this thread 1. Brake should be fine - Mines frozen and after it thawed it it was fine. 2. Can bled with water / antifreeze mix. Probably 50:50 ratio, but whatever. Brake will be fine. Beat me to it Nick. Brake will be fine buddy, leave it by the radiaor for a bit, then re-bleed it with a bit of antifreeze. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welsh_side_2003 Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 my bike lives in my car, both brakes bled with water. and ive been riding it all day with no problems. but id go down the anti freeze route to be safe!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibbon on an Orange 2 Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 water expands when frozen and as there's no air in a water bleed there's no where for the frozen water to expand into therefor i reckon you piston and maybe lever are f**ked from the inside hope this helps There shouldn't be any air in an oil bleed either... Baring in mind the pressures the system is put under when in use (Imagine how hard you yank the lever while riding) the seals and hose can take a fair amount of pressure before something being damaged. Just bring the bike inside (Don't try and remove the brake or you could break the hose since it's got solid ice inside) and put it in a warm room. IMO it's God's way of telling us not to ride in this weather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannytrialskid Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 Right. This happened to my brake today at the Essex Bike Trial Comp! - DO NOT PULL THE LEVER! I did and it snapped the washer inside the brake. I think it's fixable if you send it to Tarty possibly? - I'm just using it as an excuse to get the new 2011 one. I am no longer going to bleed with water after this experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Burrows Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 Right. This happened to my brake today at the Essex Bike Trial Comp! - DO NOT PULL THE LEVER! I did and it snapped the washer inside the brake. I think it's fixable if you send it to Tarty possibly? - I'm just using it as an excuse to get the new 2011 one. I am no longer going to bleed with water after this experience. What washer? There's nothing wrong with water if you are sensible like everyone else and mix it with anti-freeze. I just went out to check my brake and it is perfect despite the -4 degrees in the garage! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yorkshire Dale Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 give over with the poor lad! its happend to mine a few times and its been fine just needs to be thawed out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannytrialskid Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 What washer? There's nothing wrong with water if you are sensible like everyone else and mix it with anti-freeze. I just went out to check my brake and it is perfect despite the -4 degrees in the garage! Didn't have anti-freeze in there. Didn't have any with me Not sure, but my Dad said thats what he thinks has gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark W Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 Baring in mind the pressures the system is put under when in use (Imagine how hard you yank the lever while riding) the seals and hose can take a fair amount of pressure before something being damaged. Just bring the bike inside (Don't try and remove the brake or you could break the hose since it's got solid ice inside) and put it in a warm room. It's not even about the amount of pressure it can take, it's more that when the fluid expands all it does is push your pads out. If they touch the rim, then it might flex your rim or frame a tiny amount, but that's it. There's not really much water in the brake at all so it's not going to be able to expand enough to do anything much at all to it. If you just leave it alone and warm it up it'll be fine. Ali's brake froze last night as we rode back to the car, and then again tonight (lazy foo' didn't anti-freeze bleed it), and it's done no damage to it at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Burrows Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 Didn't have anti-freeze in there. Didn't have any with me Not sure, but my Dad said thats what he thinks has gone. I'd just let it thaw out and then try and rebleed it. I think you'd struggle to snap any of the internals just from pulling it when frozen, it might be fine after some TLC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannytrialskid Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 (edited) I'd just let it thaw out and then try and rebleed it. I think you'd struggle to snap any of the internals just from pulling it when frozen, it might be fine after some TLC. Well, when it happened the lever just flopped. Basically you can pull it in with one finger straight to the bar with ease. It's as if the TPA is turned all the way down. Although it's turned all the up. And also heard a snap sound. Edited November 28, 2010 by dannytrialskid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark W Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 Just taking the lever blade off should show you what's broken if it's lever end (which it probably will be). EDIT: If you had your TPA all the way on, then it's probably just broken that as there's nothing really supporting it much, so when it couldn't move the piston the weakest link - the plastic threaded section - will have shit the bed, so to speak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamKidney Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 This sounds stupid but i wanted to find out myself. I left my bike outside, water bleed unfrozen, left it for an hour and came back to it. All that had happened is the pads had been pushed out due to the expansion that happens when water freezes and the wheel wouldn't move (due to pads touching the rim). Brought it inside, let it thaw out and theres nothing wrong with the brake at all. Pads returned to normal and brake felt the same and then re-bled with water and anti-freeze. I'd say to save yourself the hassle, re-bleed your brake with a 50:50 mix of water and Anti-Freeze and your onto a win Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannytrialskid Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 Just taking the lever blade off should show you what's broken if it's lever end (which it probably will be). EDIT: If you had your TPA all the way on, then it's probably just broken that as there's nothing really supporting it much, so when it couldn't move the piston the weakest link - the plastic threaded section - will have shit the bed, so to speak. Just checked it! - Nothing is broke What I did was pulled the cylinder out more, because they were touching the rim when frozen. Then it worked for a bit until it froze again. So what I reckon happened is at the top of the hose was a layer of ice and that was what 'snapped'. Therefore the cylinders needing to be moved in again, because the ice had thawed out during the day. Going to try it tomorrow, hopefully it's A-OK! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannytrialskid Posted November 28, 2010 Report Share Posted November 28, 2010 Just aligned the brake back and it works!!! Just needs bleeding. If I bleed it with dilute anti-freeze, will that be ok yeah? - Basically water and anti-freeze anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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