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bike brake failed me for the last time

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-seven years and one million words

The other night as I was cycling home in cold but dry conditions I hit the one patch of my route that's always a little different. It's where I fell last autumn, crossing wet railway tracks while gently applying my rear brakes.  This time, the same bridge was slightly damp, and as I again applied both brakes the rear tire started to slide. Rear brakes are only any good under very limited circumstances, and this was a classic example of when not to use them: ever. I eased my hand off the brake line (I find it no good to ease off immediately) but then the brake handle went slack: the cable had popped off the handle. I repaired it easily enough standing at the side of the road, but it just popped off again.

I'm going to remove the the thing all together.

I've been meaning to do some work for a while anyway: while riding my "old" bike in Japan last month I recalled the pleasure of not having a front shifter to worry about. So this morning I started an exploratory tweaking of my bike by removing the front shifter. I left the derailleur in place, it'll act to keep the chain in place. But I never use it and I can keep the handlebars symmetrical by remove the rear brake and front shifter, move the handles in another notch, and add my handle-bar ends. Woohoo!