[BLD]

Have you ever lost your brakes on a steep, loose downhill? I did a couple days ago and I learned a lot! This seems like the most appropriate place to post this...

I was riding with some friends Sunday and lost my front brake due to an air bubble in the line, on a steep, silty/rocky downhill. We were only a part of the way down the canyon and it was our first ride of the day, so we headed back to bleed the line. By the time we got up the hill my brakes had come back some, and we could not bleed them out without draining the master. I could not open the master due to a stripped phillips screw on the cap to do a proper flush either. We were hours from home and I did not want to pack it in...

We packed the 8mm wrench and set off again with the intention of bleeding the front once they faded again. Unfortunately we never got them all the way back. We only made a slight improvment overall. I did not have to pump them any more to get a response, but they went to the bars before they began to shed any speed...

Now for the fun part. Since we knew I had already made it down the worst grade with no front brakes, we headed back to the canyon to make it to the sandy wash at the river (fun spot to play if no one is camping). The second trip down was much better since I did not have to pump my front brake to get any response. I kept it in 1st, and learned how much I could let the rear slide and still maintain control downhill, so having a bit of front brakes made the second trip much funner. I was never very confident going down hills so this actually built a lot of confidence in what my bike can do while sliding downhill. In fact my only fall of the day was climbing a hill, and the brakes had nothing to do with it lol!

After the steep canyon ride we spent the rest of the day exploring new trails. I was very hesitant coming into blind corners, but eventually learned to use my rear brake more and managed to ride faster than I did previously with good front binders! I realized that my bike actually shed a lot more speed than I thought with engine braking and a little rear. This was like when I realized I was braking too soon at the racetrack on my R6... very liberating when you realize you have the traction to carry more corner speed!

Overall I am very pleased I stuck it out and altered my riding style to accommodate my mechanical failure. By not packing it in and learning to adapt, I learned a lot about my bike and myself. With that said, I hope to never again experience the panic that comes with your front brake going to the bar, with no response!!! I will be much more careful with my brake pads from now on when I remove my wheels for service!