Disc brake lost performance

CandT <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

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After a particularly liberal use of bike cleaner and water dispersant, the

bike

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looks great - but I think I've contaminated my disc pads. The brakes feel

right

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- in that the levers still hit the hard resistance after an inch, theres

no

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spongy feel, but the front and rear will just not lock up at all.

I've removed the pads, and cleaned with methylated spirits, and the rear

is a

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little better, (I can skid now), but the front just doesnt want to provide

that

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'throw-me-over-the-bars' type stopping power like it used to.

I've cleaned the rotors with a proprietary disc rotor cleaning spray, and

when I

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removed the pads, theres no extraneous mineral oil or other visible contamination. The fact that
both brakes were poor when I rode on Sunday

leads

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me to believe it was my cleaning that did it..

Any tips for cleaning the pads, or am I going to have to replace them...??

Cheers,

CandT

Hey there - It does indeed sound like you've got some [censored] on them that they don't like. What I did
with mine when I got them _covered_ with fork oil (leaky fork seal - happened a few times before I
sorted it), was I took the pads out, scrubbed them with dishwash liquid and water, heated them with
a hot air gun (blow torch will do, but _don't_ over do it or the pad material _will_ separate from
the metal), then I sanded the surface. I cleaned the rotor with nothing more than dishwash liquid,
hot water, and a green plastic pan scrub.

I put it all back together, and covered the rotor with fine (stone free!) wet mud. Rode, braked,
more mud - repeat until they bite again.

Like I said, the problem happened a few times, and each time, this saw me regain full brake
performance (Hope Mini).

HTH!

Shaun aRe

Shaun Rimmer said:

HTH!

Shaun aRe

Help, yes - what I wanted to hear, no ;-)

better crack out my scrubbing brush I guess.... I've got no blowtorch, but will a gas burner of a
cooker work? I could use pliers to keep it at arms length...

Cheers

CandT

Find a good hill and heat the hell out of your brakes. Three or four hard stops from 50 mph on my
forty-ish pound bike carrying my 220 pounds and the [censored] is cooked out. The first one will be scary
due to the contamination but things will get better. The distributors know about this considering
that they're charging $20 for what used to be $10 pad sets.

"CandT" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

After a particularly liberal use of bike cleaner and water dispersant, the

bike

Quoted message said:

looks great - but I think I've contaminated my disc pads. The brakes feel

right

Quoted message said:

- in that the levers still hit the hard resistance after an inch, theres

no

Quoted message said:

spongy feel, but the front and rear will just not lock up at all.

I've removed the pads, and cleaned with methylated spirits, and the rear

is a

Quoted message said:

little better, (I can skid now), but the front just doesnt want to provide

that

Quoted message said:

'throw-me-over-the-bars' type stopping power like it used to.

I've cleaned the rotors with a proprietary disc rotor cleaning spray, and

when I

Quoted message said:

removed the pads, theres no extraneous mineral oil or other visible contamination. The fact that
both brakes were poor when I rode on Sunday

leads

Quoted message said:

me to believe it was my cleaning that did it..

Any tips for cleaning the pads, or am I going to have to replace them...??

Cheers,

CandT

CandT <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Shaun Rimmer said:

HTH!

Shaun aRe

Help, yes - what I wanted to hear, no ;-)

Why? - I told you that your pads are likely reclaimable.......

Quoted message said:

better crack out my scrubbing brush I guess.... I've got no blowtorch, but

will

Quoted message said:

a gas burner of a cooker work? I could use pliers to keep it at arms

length...

Yes, but as I mentioned (and I stress this!), do _not_ get the pads too hot! I used pliers and held
over a gas cooker the first time, and managed to burn all the oil off. Brakes worked _perfectly_
straight off, until my 3rd or 4th hard braking test, when the friction material separated form the
metal and launched across the street - I'd damaged the glue/resin/stuff that holds them on with the
heat (why I used an air-gun the last times).

It's possible the mud alone will work (it _is_ quite miraculous in its brake bedding/contamination
removing properties - at a _guess_, I'd say it abrades the surfaces (well, not guessing here!), and
as it dries, absorbs the oils a little before dropping/flaking off).

Shaun aRe

Yep. Aluminum foil

"David Kunz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:b%aUa.119312>

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I ended up making a disc cover for my rear rotor so that when I clean my chain, the cleaner/old
chain oil don't get on it.

David

(Doug=A0Huffman) said:

Find a good hill and heat the hell out of your brakes. Three or four hard stops from 50 mph on my
forty-ish pound bike carrying my 220 pounds and the [censored] is cooked out. The first one will be scary
due to the contamination but things will get better. The distributors know about this considering
that they're charging $20 for what used to be $10 pad sets. "CandT"

This was a joke, right? you aren't actually suicidal enough to descend like this on less than
perfect brakes?!

May you have the wind at your back. And a really low gear for the hills! Chris

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