How to Clean Mountain Bike Brakes - Cheap Brake Maintenance Hacks
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ก.ค. 2024
- This cheap product will do wonders to keeping your brakes clean and working well. If you suffer from brake fade, noisy brakes or regularly put your bike in messy conditions, give this video a watch.
We'll discuss what brake pad compounds you should consider, how to resurface your mountain bike brake rotors and pads, and what not to do!
Brake pads are easily contaminated by oils so we talk about a few key ways to protect your bike's braking power while avoiding contamination. Be sure to treat your rotors well, use Isopropyl regularly to keep surfaces clean.
Chapters
00:00 - 1:25 Introduction
1:26 - 2:59 Brake Rotors
3:00 - 4:38 Brake Pad Compounds
4:39 - 6:47 Big No No and Contamination
6:48 - 8:53 Brake's Best Friend and Resurfacing
8:54 - 12:15 Rotor Deep Clean
12:16 - 14:46 Closing
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Old video but here's a great pro tip - Get a box of dollar store shower caps. they slip right over them. Great for helping keep contaminants off.
i've saved oily pads with alcohol and lighter . resurfaced pads and rotors with dremel attachments . being that the oily chain /cassette is like 3 inches away its out-of-touch to think people can afford to replace them if they get oily . And i get it that shops aren't in the business of being performance frugal .
Good detail and nice takeaways- Appreciate the effort - subscribed 👍🏽
Thanks and welcome
Brake Clean in a can... its specifically designed to.... Clean Brakes!.
I have used it on my motorcross bikes from the 90's on, and MTB's for the last 20+ years...
In fact as I only really started proper downhill in 2020 (retired from trail riding on the ol YZ) and got a 2nd hand Giant Faith with oil soaked pads (You can hear them in my 1st 3 videos)
After those test rides, I got a new shock and just cleaned the pads... Alternating between Brake clean and soaking/shaking in a small jar of Meths... finished with brake clean (wiping & soaking away debris with paper towels throughout).
Two and a half years later... same 2nd hand pads (ok so I did replace the rotor with a 2nd hand one from the local tip shop where I got a complete wheel for $5 to do a mullet experiment).
Ok also I can barely ride black trails.. but that does mean I'm on the brakes a LOT... no noise... 1 finger braking. (in fact changed to 1 finger for 1st time ever on 1st ride after the clean, never went back)
These are heat sync pads (Shimano BRM785) and I'm as cheap as I am Mediocre so I wanted to save them if I could... YES!
(Resurfacing... I use sandpaper and running water... The water will do nothing to the pad but washes the dust away... I glue the sand paper to a bit of wood.. but better is a bit of glass (watch those edges) if you want a precision flat surface. (You can use self adhesive sandpaper available at most hardware stores for disk sanders... some even have vent holes but I the prefer water method which also washes the pad so you can see instantly if the surface is good...
Again this came from doing pads on things like my YZ250 and with a big enough sheet of sandpaper and an old window I could also sand down the rotors a little (you can make high spots on an MTB rotor doing this as pressing in one point on a thin disk will sand just the point below... a motorbike disk is about 3mm thick so no where near the flex when sanding them...)
Very little video of my MX bikes but some pix of the old IT200 trailbike circa 92 on my 1m drop video (very end). Wish I could jump an MTB like I used to jump trailbikes... but then again a smashed wrist put me off doubles on the YZ... sigh.
Good info. Don't forget to clean your master cylinder and pistons so you don't end up with leaks too.
Super informative - Great Video!
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.
Great stuff - so helpful!
Thank you we’re glad to hear it.
If brakes start squealing again after a short while with new pads and clean rotors then you may have leaking pistons. It can be hard to spot as even a tiny leak creeps around the dust to contaminate the pad. Not cleaning your pistons before pushing them in to change pads can cause this.
I had a bike in the past with this issue, I had to clean them ALL THE TIME. Finally I invested in some new calipers, and then a new bike.
This is just happening to me and confused about the leaks
That's why hydraulic stinks, they will ALL eventually leak. Long live mechanicals.
Great video guys! It is very timely as I was working on my rotors last night. Will definitely revisit my rotors again and use some of the tips yall gave.
Great thanks for watching.
Great videos
Good informative video...I use 3M 400 grit wet sand paper ..on the rotor have great results...to bed in new pads.....
Thanks for sharing
I'd love to know the difference between trp and Tektro in brakes and if things like the Tektro Orion's are any good
My TRP DHR-Evo metallic pads run sooo quiet!! Couldn’t be happier with them 😁
Awesome to hear it.
running TRP DHR Evo and the backs are quiet and the fronts are howling. Gonna try this
It’s the brake pad material that gets embedded onto the rotor during the embedding process that makes the pads grip. Removing that with alcohol requires you to bed the brakes in all over again. Sand your pads all you want, but Leave the rotors alone, unless they become loose Beverly discolored due to uneven bedding in of pad material.
What the heck is Beverly discolored?
@@AmyRoc-iw3mi predictive text bomb! Meant to say 'unevenly discolored' as the key to getting max power is to evenly distribute pad material all the way round the rotor. Which is why coasting downhill and applying firm (not too hard) pressure at at the brake lever to heat up the disc allows an even application of pad material to disc surface (don't lock em up when bedding in either). a squirt of water beforehand on the rotor/pads helps accelerate the process. repeat as necessary.
What about non chlorinated brake cleaner spray?
What grade steel wool did you use? Could you give a closer up look at dirty vs cleaned pads?
Medium grade works fine.
Organic
Sintered-Semi
Kevlar
Ceramic
Metallic
Can anybody compare trp to shimano saints ?
Some steel wool comes packed in an oily rust inhibitor
Question here, can i use trp rotors on shimano calipers? Nearly reaching the limit on my current rotors and 2.3 is a tons instead of shimano 1.8s, Thanks
Don't think he knows
But I would assume so since I think you get 10mm room each side, even if 5 each side I think you should be able to fit it
So how do I get the pistons in my calipers moving freely again?
Do a nice rubbing alcohol cleanse and lubricate the pistons with TRP's mineral oil and you should be good to go.
Is it worth having resin pads in the front and metal in the back. To get the best of both worlds.
So people mix pads in the same caliper by going metallic and resin
Where is the bed-in video you were linking "down below"???
He had to go out and get more tattoos
If the brake rotors get wd-40 on them do you have to replace them?
It depends on how much... The safe answer would be yes, as well as the brake pads. However, if they have not been ridden with the WD40 on them, then you could probably save them but following the steps here. Sanding, cleaning etc... But definitely change your pads.
In extreme situations I've heard of people soaking them for a couple minutes in gasoline, that should get rid of everything.
Doesn’t steel wool have oil on it? Seems counterintuitive to “clean” rotors with that stuff.
Did 2 seconds of research… brixwax steel wool claims to be oil free
Thanks very much! Appreciate it.
I have had nothing but trouble with trp brakes. Also, customer service absolutely blows.
My quadiem g-spec have been trouble free for almost 18 months on the dh bike. Not as powerful as my old Formula Cura 4 set was, but more reliable.
Do you need to bed brakes in after every time you use IPA to clean the rotors? Wondering if TRP said anything about IPA removing the brake pad material that was transferred to the rotors and therefore losing friction.
No not after iso. Only after sanding/ resurfacing or pad swapping…which also requires resurfacing or new rotors.
@@TheLoamWolf thanks!
How about using an ultrasonic cleaning bath?
Is car brake cleaner No good?
Not ideal as some of them can leave a residue and may not be carbon safe.
Works well, but you want to completely rinse it off, and make sure your re oil any of the bearings at it may get on
Why did TRP say people were using WD40 on their brakes?
To stop them from making noise.
@@TheLoamWolf Hahaha- that's hilarious! Imagine the disappointment.
At the bike shop I work at this is a monthly occurance, customer will roll in a bike with the rotors covered in nasty black guk...Yep new rotor and pads time pal lol
@@NerdsonDirtMTB Wow- unbelievable there are so many people who don't understand how brakes work. Hey...I'll occasionally accidently get a little contamination on my brakes. I can usually burn them clean with a blowtorch, but that didn't work last time. Is that only effective for the lightest of contaminations?
You can get rid of oil on rotors and pads. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Don't use your oven find a crappy toaster oven and use that instead.
Gas camping stove until they stop smoking works (30 ish seconds). However, although they're designed to heat up, I question how good it is for the pads and therefore if it's safe.
@@nhanlon4756 I have done it many times and haven't had any noticable problems. I usually do a complete refresh with light sanding, cleaning, and bedding in. I picked it u somewhere when I was a teenager in mx.
I use harpic🤣🤣
Disk break r to much maintenence, bring back regularly pads on the actual wheel. First time I've had disk break and all I get is breaking issues. Even when buying new pads. Old school pads on the actually wheel lasted me years no problems.
brake vs break
@@vashon100 oh macbeth here.
I did everything and my breaks don't work.
brakes vs breaks
Isopropyl alcohol is nice, but doesn't come close to a proper automotive brake cleaner. Of course it's a harsher chemical and you should wear gloves and not spray it on your bike.
It certainly is a harsher chemical, and it does work great in some instances, however as our interview with TRP (live on the website) states, there are several of those products that do leave a slight film on products, which isn't a big deal on massive car/motorcycle brakes, but is a problem on small bicycle brakes. Plus ISO is a whole lot cheaper and is guaranteed to completely dry, film free.
@@TheLoamWolf Brake cleaner is a solvent that evaporates so there isn't any film left behind. These solvents are stronger and more effective that ISO and will remove more contamination per given volume of solvent. Anything that is left behind is solute (the oil or contaminant) that you might not have flushed adequately. The same thing would be left behind with ISO. A can of CRC brake cleaner costs $3-4 so it is more expensive than ISO but it doesn't break the bank by any means.
There's reasons not to use brake clean such as. You don't have gloves, don't have adequate ventilation in your work space, it can mess up a paint job if used carelessly, it can damage o-rings. On the other hand when used by a competent individual it vastly outperforms ISO when cleaning brakes.
I also use automotive brake cleaner, although I do find I need to go through the bedding in process again after this to build up a layer of friction material on the rotors again. Then they work really well.
@@lokmtb8503 as a former car mechanic, all brake cleaner leaves a small residue.
@@yzedf In my experience as a motorcycle mechanic I have not found this to be the case. I've filled glass cups with brake cleaner so I can dip qtips in the solvent for detailed cleaning and had no residue left in the cups. As I said above any noticeable residue is solute that was not adequately flushed by the solvent.
My first suggestion.... address your audience, guys/ or gals/girls. As a shop owner myself, if I were to say that in my shop, I would have customers that do not return. Thanks for sharing!
After watching for just a few minutes and seeing trails and the environment destroyed because you think speed is necessary part of off-roading....I turned you off. Respectful riding in wilderness, forests and deserts should be a core belief of all riders. I control my descent speed with no skidding or dragging tires. Proper use of front and rear brakes makes this a reality. I use simple inexpensive Tektro mechanicals, to do the brake work. And they work. What is "powerful" brakes. My cheap brakes have the power to lock my wheels on the most adhesive surface...pavement. More power does nothing. Braking is therefore limited to the traction between the tires and surface. You don't need expensive brakes for this, and there is no such thing as "powerful brakes", only powerful traction.
Not every one is out to destroy the environment. But being light on your brakes can glaze them degrading performance requiring this type of service to be carried out.
By me being careful on the trails my brakes have glazed over.
@@JakeyDill I ride in the vast wilderness of Northern California, the most climbing and altitude in America. Brakes and braking for 30 minutes to one-hour descents is a daily task. I use Tektro Mechanicals, with Aquilla my favorite, no glazing, no brake fade on long descents, high heat, rotors are hot enough to boil water when I cool them down half way. No problems, use my pads to the limit and buy new. I pump the brakes, I don't drag on them all the way down. Also I will alternate the braking front and then rear. I brake all the way down and control my speed, and control my impact on the environment.
Just had to use an ebike huh. Couldn’t help yourselves. SMH.
Sort of like you and your anti-ebike comments. Guess we're both just too predictable. Haha. Thanks for staying consistent.
Do us a favor, in the future, when you finally get an ebike and start having way too much fun, will you be sure to write us a comment? We'd love to know which one you ended up getting. Unless you're gonna keep riding a rigid singlespeed for life. In that case, mad respect!
Love my levo Pro! I go riding twice as often now, and for twice as long because it's so much more fun! I've gotten significantly better at my technique and riding skills because of my levo!
Best purchase I ever made!