Nice Winter/Everyday Commuter Bike

I didn't know this frame existed! It's beautiful. What's the difference between this and the pompino? Just a bit of a different design?

I don't know if there any differences in the geometry, but the pompetamine has 135mm rear spacing for mtb hubs and it has disc brake tabs.

Out of interest though, is the cable pull longer for mtb or road?

Longer for MTB.

Would suggest using compressionless cable housing for disc brake as they make a significant difference in the modulation (less spongy feel).

Thanks Ed, can you suggest a brake housing? I'm not really clued up on such things.

The rear brake is quite spongy in comparison to the front.

It's quite likely you may need to make sure the housing is cut well, (i.e. each end is completely flat with no bit of metal sticking out) as well as making sure it have no friction, i.e. no tight bend.

I usually test it out by poking the cable through the housing and see if it feel really smooth, if it feel a bit rough, you might need to files it down or cut it carefully again, this is where a dremel will be useful.

The housing I used on my other disc equipped road bike is this, it heavy and you can't have a tight bend, but work flawlessly without requiring any bedding in period*.

*the housing compressed creating that spongy feeling, when bicycle shop said that the cable need stretching as it's new, what they meant is that the housing need to be compressed to get it bedded in.

Yes I have heard of issues due to poorly cut outer's. I did try to get a clean cut on the housing, but it probably could be better. I will give re-cutting it a try and see how it goes. I hadn't considered that the outer could compress, and as it is one complete length of housing from lever to caliper this is quite possibly a factor. I will let you know how i get on.

When you apply the cable and housing, it worth giving the levers a really hard pull to compressed the housing as much as possible.

I usually do that with new bicycles so the customers wouldn't have to come back and get their brake adjusted again.

When you apply the cable and housing, it worth giving the levers a really hard pull to compressed the housing as much as possible.

I usually do that with new bicycles so the customers wouldn't have to come back and get their brake adjusted again.

Sheldon says you should do this anyway to check that the cable anchor bolts are well done up

Brake cable anchor bolts are the most important fasteners on a bicycle. They are small, and many of them have holes drilled through them, so it is easy to strip/break them, but...

             If you don't get the anchor bolts tight enough, the  brakes will appear to work properly in normal use. Then, someday a bus  will cut you off, and you will squeeze the brakes extra hard to make a  panic stop...just when you need the brake to work their best, the cables  will slip and the brakes will fail completely, with no warning. How to  test that cables are secure? Grab each brake lever in turn with both  hands, and squeeze hard. Shift cables aren't subject to as much strain,  but still, shift to the position with the tightest cable, and pull hard  on the lever to check.