Front Brake Total Failure

[Pukmeister]

Haven't ridden my bike at all recently since it was in the shop for its first service/check due to my suffering with a chest infection. Went out today for a nice local trail ride after feeling much better, got about 15 miles in and went to stop in a wooded section when the front brake lever came back to the bars with no brakes, used the rear to come to a stop. Pumped the lever but still no brake feel so I rode carefully out of the woods back onto terra firma. Flipped the bike upside down to check the front pads, only to find no pads, no split pin retainer and the pistons fully out touching the disk. Cut my losses with the ride and rode home VERY carefully. A phone call to LBS and rushed the bike back in, their tech was off being a Sunday but the lads behind the counter swapped my entire front brake setup with a shop bike as they weren't happy with my front calliper. No doubt the store manager will have something to say about it tomorrow, I suspect somebody forgot to put the split pin back in after checking the pads, we all make mistakes but it could have been serious. A few fast downhill road sections I had been on earlier between trails could have been very different if the pads had fallen out sooner.

From now on, I take nothing for granted and will blindly trust nobody 100% with my bike. When I get it back from a service I will check every last nut and bolt and do my pre-ride checks properly. Lesson learned.

 

[Shifty]

You learned that Adrenalin is actually brown. Hope the mechanic gets a rocket up his ar$£ Monday.

 

[GrandPaBrogan]

From now on, I take nothing for granted and will blindly trust nobody 100% with my bike. When I get it back from a service I will check every last nut and bolt and do my pre-ride checks properly. Lesson learned.

This is the very same reason why I always hesitate taking my bike in for a service... even if the LBS has a senior mechanic. You just never know who's gonna be working on your bike.

I'd rather do it myself... I've got all the tools accumulated over the years.

 

[Pukmeister]

As an update to the story, my Mum paid us a visit yesterday and as she looked down at my driveway she found a nice shiny steel split pin lying there in the dirt. On examination it fits my Trance front brake perfectly and had not been peened over. Must have fallen out as I loaded my bike into the car boot. I'm no Sherlock Holmes but I would say case closed m'lud.