Nemonix Posted February 17, 2011 Report Share Posted February 17, 2011 Hi Guys. I recently took the wheels off my bike and after I had put them back on, the brakes didn't have as much bite or hold as before. I've got cable discs front and back (pre-fitted by manufacturer). I tweaked around a bit with them and it was worse. Then I thought i'd give them a clean. I cleaned the pads and the discs but after that, they were even worse! The pad were not naturally "grippy" at all. They were smooth and almost shiny. I've been thinking about possible solutions to get more bite and hold back in them. 1) Buy new brake pads Is this necessary? The pads don't seem very worn down but then i've never owned disc brakes before so I dont know what to look for really. 2) Use some coating on the discs I've heard that tar is not advised on disc brakes as it is on rim brakes. Why is this? I was thinking of some low cost alternatives that wouldn't damage my discs but would still add extra grip and stickiness such as coke or squeezing the juice from an orange. What is your opinion on using products to add extra grip to disc rotors? Any thoughts very welcome Cheers Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Revolver Posted February 17, 2011 Report Share Posted February 17, 2011 THe pads are shiny, so they need to be roughened. Sand them some more, use some rougher paper, not wet and dry. You can also bung some muddy water in there whilst riding them around, but I'd sand them first. If you change your pads or disc at all on a disc setup it seems like it needs to bed in again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franksx2005 Posted February 17, 2011 Report Share Posted February 17, 2011 Hi Guys. I recently took the wheels off my bike and after I had put them back on, the brakes didn't have as much bite or hold as before. I've got cable discs front and back (pre-fitted by manufacturer). I tweaked around a bit with them and it was worse. Then I thought i'd give them a clean. I cleaned the pads and the discs but after that, they were even worse! The pad were not naturally "grippy" at all. They were smooth and almost shiny. I've been thinking about possible solutions to get more bite and hold back in them. 1) Buy new brake pads Is this necessary? The pads don't seem very worn down but then i've never owned disc brakes before so I dont know what to look for really. 2) Use some coating on the discs I've heard that tar is not advised on disc brakes as it is on rim brakes. Why is this? I was thinking of some low cost alternatives that wouldn't damage my discs but would still add extra grip and stickiness such as coke or squeezing the juice from an orange. What is your opinion on using products to add extra grip to disc rotors? Any thoughts very welcome Cheers Mike Clean disk with brake cleaner, sand the brake pads, make sure the brake is set up right. dont try putting anything on your disk, it wont work, and probably make it worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j-bonham@hotmail.com Posted February 17, 2011 Report Share Posted February 17, 2011 Are they new pads anyway ? It's definatly a case of sanding the pads, clean the rotor and let the pads bed in again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamR28 Posted February 17, 2011 Report Share Posted February 17, 2011 What did you clean everything with first time? If the pads are shiny then that's fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ9604 Posted February 17, 2011 Report Share Posted February 17, 2011 (edited) sand the pads then go find a big hill and start at the top pouring some water on the brakes as you drag them on the way down Edited February 17, 2011 by AJ9604 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrialsMan Dan Posted February 17, 2011 Report Share Posted February 17, 2011 with cable discs you need to ensure the caliper is completely square. Best way to do this is loosen bolts on the adaptor and caliper (not the direct mount to the fork/frame) align the caliper by eye them pull the lever on. Now nip up the bolts with the lever still on. Once done let go of the leverage, spin the wheel to make sure it spins freely and the brake should now lock well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemonix Posted February 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2011 Are they new pads anyway ? No. I bought the whole bike 2nd hand. Its a 2010 model bike so probably isn't more than a year old, and I know the bike wasn't ridden very hard for that year. What did you clean everything with first time? Just a cloth wet with tap water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemonix Posted February 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 17, 2011 Thanks for all the feedback guys. Seems like sanding the pads is the way to go then. Why isn't it a good idea to put tar on your disc rotors then? I'm sure there is a reason but to me it seems like a good idea lol. Can anyone shed some light on the reasoning? Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamR28 Posted February 17, 2011 Report Share Posted February 17, 2011 To be honest I would leave the pads, if the brake isn't making a squealing noise they should be fine. Disc brakes work on a totally different principle to rim brakes, everything needs to be flat, smooth and free from contaminants (oil, tar, dirt, even the oils in your skin will reduce brake performance!). My advice would be to check the set up again - pads hitting squarely, at the same time, no rubbing etc - then go outside with some cold, clean water and chuck some on the rotors. Scrub the brakes on and off lightly and you will probably start to see black gunk dripping off the rotors. Clean this off (loo roll works great), apply more water, and repeat until the water stays clear. That should clean them up nicely Very difficult to diagnose stuff like this without the bike, but give that a go and things should improve... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin M S/c Posted February 18, 2011 Report Share Posted February 18, 2011 One idea is to get the disk hot by riding around with the brakes on or finding a steep hill and go down with the brakes on slightly and then put cold clean water on so they steam and this burns the crap off. It works great on the motorbike and you regularly see the top motorbike trials riders doing this in the paddock at big events. It gives them some bite Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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