BRAKES:
THE ONE PLACE YOU WANT FRICTION

Your brake pads wear especially fast in wet, frozen riding, and you can eat a pair of V-brake pads in one long muddy ride.  The thing to remember is that the pads’ partner in braking, the rim, wears, too.  So inspect your rims, especially the rear rim, for excessive wear and cracking.  Ultimately, the rim flanges will crack away from the base of the rim as the brake shoes wear right through the flanges.  Rim replacement is the only answer.  Always replace your pads when you put on a new rim, or your old pads might score your new rim.

The friction between the rim and pad is the only friction you should tolerate in your brake system.  To eliminate it everywhere else, REMOVE THE BRAKE UNITS FROM THE FRAME AND FORK PIVOTS, AND CLEAN AND RE-LUBRICATE ALL THE BUSHINGS AND PIVOTS.  With the cables unloaded, check them for friction.  If they are sticky, the best answer is to replace them, preferably with low-friction cables like the Ride-On cables from Gore.  If you can’t swing the cost, clean and lubricate the cables and housings before you re-install them.

If you want to go hassle free: NEW WIRE WILL MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER

If you haven’t changed them in a while (six months or longer), it’s not a bad idea to put on new cables and housing, at least for your derailleurs.  Brakes can usually go a little longer.  Anyway, it’s a pretty simple process if you’ve got the right equipment.  Shimano makes a good housing cutter, and if you’ve got the extra cash, Felco makes a really good model as well.  If you can afford it, buy Ride-On Gore-Tex cables.  Take your time and install them according to the instructions and you’ll have super-smooth shifting for a really long time.  If you have to save a few bucks, go with standard cables and housing.  Insist on Shimano for both – it does make a difference.  (Don’t be fooled by the “It’s made in the same factory” marketing ploys of some of the lesser-priced competition.)  We recommend using the older style, 5mm-diameter housing.  If offers better durability than the new, smaller-diameter stuff.  CUT YOUR HOUSING SO IT ALLOWS MOVEMENT OF YOUR HANDLEBAR WITHOUT BINDING AND, EVERYWHERE ELSE, SO THAT IT IS AS SHORT AS POSSIBLE WITHOUT REQUIRING ANY ODD BENDS.  Cut your housing flush; make sure there are no burrs and use the proper ferrules.  Shimano sealed ferrules are a good choice.  Using lightweight grease, grease your cables where they go through the housing, and wipe off the excess.