Wow! I can’t thank you enough for posting this video. I spent 4 hours on a holiday trying to adjust the brakes using the very last method you mentioned, which is to eyeball it while screwing in bolts on the caliper. This got me nowhere and is the worst method! I do not recommend it! The first, easy method you mentioned, which is to hold the brake down while screwing in the bolts, is the best method by far. I got so pissed off and extremely discouraged by continually failing using the “eyeballing it” method that it spoiled my mood for the next 3 days and I was mean to those around me. Folks, if you can’t figure it out after half an hour, give it up and try something else! Or take it to your local bike shop. Nothing is worth you overloading yourself with failure and disappointment. Again, when I watched your video and saw how easy it was, and then was able to successfully fix my brakes, I was beyond grateful for having seen your video. Thanks for posting it.
Hey Clint! Just wanted to thank you for taking the time to make all the helpful and easy to follow maintenance vids... For some reason some aspects of bike maintenance are 'enshrined' in a kind of 'probably too complicated for me' veil, but you make things look reasonably attainable and this inspires me to give them a shot. MTB-ing is a heck of a lot of fun, but being able to tackle the basics of bike maintenance makes the whole experience that much better! Big Thanx and keep those good videos coming! Greeting from the Netherlands.
Glad I watched this video. I was riding the other day in a light rain and heard a light rubbing sound that was driving me crazy. I had no clue where it was coming from. My new bike has disk breaks (never had them before) and it never occurred to me that my breaks weren't centered. I'll tackle that job this weekend thanks to your helpful video. Thanks a lot!
Clint thanks so much for this video. I’ve been messing with my front disc for months with no avail. The business card did the trick although I only inserted it on the side that was always rubbing. Thanks again 🙏
If these techniques don't work, it never hurts to check and see if your rotors might be bent a bit. Oftentimes when changing tires or transporting your bike the rotors can bend a bit. Great video as always Clint! I only run Shimano Brakes because of the easy maintenance and bleed techniques from your videos.
The breaks on my new E-Bike were driving me nuts with the squeaking, and I'm no pro so I wasn't sure how to handle it, but this video made it incredibly easy to re-align my rotor!
had a issue with brake rub on my front brake when I put on new wheels. I never have issues centering brakes in the past. I saw you mention the shim tool and I completely forgot I had one of those...boom, brake centered. :)
Great video ! I have an issue with my h brakes the space between rotors and pads is wider than a business card I adjusted both a couple times but the space still same, pads are like halfway down, the bigger space the less accurate braking right? What else can I do?
+Predator7 7 after you center the brakes you should be able to pump the lever and have the pads be in the right position. As long as your lever does not go too close to the bar you should be fine. I would not say the braking is less accurate. If you find the lever going to close to the handlebars then you're going to have to bleed the system.
Ok thanks for the vid Clint. I replaced my rear pads on my SLX disc brakes but had trouble centering them. I tried all these methods including business cards. One side was still rubbing and the other had a big gap. I eventually got them to only slightly rub (probably slightly out of true) by putting 3 business cards on one side and nothing on the other.
I like the way Gibbs explains things. I tried the 2 business card trick today, after the bike shop installed my new pads off center. (After making sure the cards were the same thickness.) Works great! I also employed his "1.09X" rule for my saddle height last week, and that worked great too.
Left and right adjustment is important but don't forget about the height adjustment, look at the old pads and make sure 100% of the friction material is wearing evenly , the braking force can greatly suffer if the caliper isn't seated low enough on the brake disc. So all friction material is making contact with the disc . The brakes my feel fine just after replacing pads and get worse as they wear .😮 Dont forget to measure disc for thickness and replace when out of spec .
If you are experiencing alot of issues with the brake-hold, tighten-screw method (or no success with any method), check that your screws, (washers), mating surfaces are all flat and clean! If you have a ding or embedded rock chip, paint flakes, bent/dmg'd screw this may become darn near impossible to achieve so check your hardware. Sometimes you, or stores have accidents and drop stuff so they might be bent or have dent.
Good video I took mine to a bike shop they cut the top mirnal fluid cable witch was leaking I had really bad crash handle bar right in my chest I had to go hospital because of a bike shop called decathlon I paid 170 pounds and they nearly got me killed because I reckon they don't no what there doing iv order d new breck fluid cable with all the parts I bought 1 little of hydrolc mineral fluid not used yet until I get my bleed kit once got the cable I will do myself to be honest I wish I never to my hydrolc mountain bike to un qualified fools I could of died all my life iv had different mountain bike s I all was fix myself but hydrolc as anyone no s different from cable breck s I will try what you just did thanks for good information video my friend peace 👍
Tried a few different techniques to sort the incredibly annoying scraping of my brakes. The business card technique worked a treat! Thanks for uploading, really helpful 👌
i ride an ebike. got rid of the squealing with your method but the braking power is shit now...make sense since with credit card you space much more the pads
Squeezing the brake didn't work for me. Once it was loose I used one hand to move the caliper to the side I thought it needed to go to, and tightened the bolts with the other hand, and that did it. This video did get me on the right track though so thank you.
One thing you left out is make sure your rotor is true if not true it up in a wheel jig it's easy to do and make sure your rotor is tight on the wheel.
Hey Clint, I've been following your tutorials for a while, and must say that yours are always really clear and helpful. Thanks for sharing and helping many of us solve our bike problems.
Just got charged 20 bucks to have this done at a bike shop. Asked them what they did and came home to look it up. Can’t believe they stole 20 bucks from me for 2 mins of work🤬
Hi Does rider's weight could be a cause for the noise from front rotor especially during sharp turns, I am having this issue on my brand new bike with hydraulic disc brakes. Thanks in advance ☺
I don't think weight really has much of a factor in the noise. There's a chance you have metal pads versus resin. If that's the case, metal pads are noisier than resin. You may want to try some resin pads if you don't ride often in wet conditions, as they wear down faster. Resin pads also have better modulation but less initial bite and less power.
New bike with less than 50 miles. I developed sudden rubbing/humming sound from the front disc brake after stopping at the traffic lights. I think one of the calipers didn't seem to retract properly. I left the bike to stand for a few hours and the spacing between disc and caliper seems to have normalized? It this a problem with the centering of the discs? Or something else inside the brakes?
Unfortunately, the "90% of the time" method didn't work for my wife's bike, but surprisingly, the frustrating method of eyeballing it did work. Thanks for posting this useful video!
Very helpful video and very clear visual and explanation. I had this problem with my rear caliper on a new bicycle and the sceaching noise when pedaling even when pushing the bike was horrible, then I was shown the two screws as you showed to loose and realign the calipers and that solved the problem. I definitely will by the tool that you just showed for future problems that may come up. Thank you for the video from Oregon state.
Hey, thanks for the video! I'm wondering why is that happening with my brand new Kelly's cliff 90, that I adjust the brakes there is no contact at all and after a 10 minutes ride it starts to make contact noise again?
Thank you for this clear cut information, I did the first, second and finally the third one worked, the disk was a tiny bit bent and so I straightened it out with a crescent wrench. No rubbing whatsoever now. I think this happened when I put the wheel back on the frame. Thanks again.
I've used the first two methods on old Deore BR-515 Mech Discs. Except with two business cards that I don't touch with bare fingers. The rotors I clean with Canadian Tire brake cleaner. A little TLC and your methods keep them from screaming like a witch.
Not sure you still read these comments, but you have helped me once again. Shimano's info did not help. Your video + the business card trick did the trick. Thanks from Köln Germany, Clint. You da man!
I keep doing on doing the card method and it works fine but once i press the brake again after I’ve done the card method i hear the pads rubbing again???
Thank God for this video! Even my local repair shop can’t do this right. Now I can do it myself, have the satisfaction it’s 100% correct, AND save $100+ and 48hrs in the shop. And it’s so easy… thanks Clint!
Thanks a lot! Unfortunately It didn't work without credit cards, but with that i configured my brakes perfectly :D For a next time I'll buy a tool which u have :)
The business card trick worked for me after two frustrating days of trying to get the calipers aligned. Thanks Clint.
Thanks Clint, I’m shithouse with my hands and even I can follow this. And it worked! 😆
Squeeze centering has never worked for me. I dont know why. I always have to set it by eye for it to not rub.
Same with me Iatuman
It's worked for me.
you need to use that Hayes or similar gadget and squeeze. The squeezing without the tool did not work for me.
rear yes front not
@@adityadafre4672 What advantage is there using the tool or business cards - how does this differ than just squeeing the brakes on the disk alone?
This was so helpful to me in learning how to center the hydraulic brakes on my recumbent trike. Thank you!!
that was very helpful thank you, the credit card trick worked for me.
Wow! I can’t thank you enough for posting this video. I spent 4 hours on a holiday trying to adjust the brakes using the very last method you mentioned, which is to eyeball it while screwing in bolts on the caliper. This got me nowhere and is the worst method! I do not recommend it! The first, easy method you mentioned, which is to hold the brake down while screwing in the bolts, is the best method by far. I got so pissed off and extremely discouraged by continually failing using the “eyeballing it” method that it spoiled my mood for the next 3 days and I was mean to those around me. Folks, if you can’t figure it out after half an hour, give it up and try something else! Or take it to your local bike shop. Nothing is worth you overloading yourself with failure and disappointment. Again, when I watched your video and saw how easy it was, and then was able to successfully fix my brakes, I was beyond grateful for having seen your video. Thanks for posting it.
+Biker Girl 👍
I know about moods after trying something that’s suppose to be easy and I end up screwing around for hours.
Hey Clint! Just wanted to thank you for taking the time to make all the helpful and easy to follow maintenance vids...
For some reason some aspects of bike maintenance are 'enshrined' in a kind of 'probably too complicated for me' veil, but you make things look reasonably attainable and this inspires me to give them a shot.
MTB-ing is a heck of a lot of fun, but being able to tackle the basics of bike maintenance makes the whole experience that much better!
Big Thanx and keep those good videos coming!
Greeting from the Netherlands.
+dwinemetamorph thanks for sharing. It's my goal to help people enjoy cycling more so I appreciate your feedback.
Your technique of loosening the bolts on the brake assembly worked perfect for me. Thank you!
Glad I watched this video. I was riding the other day in a light rain and heard a light rubbing sound that was driving me crazy. I had no clue where it was coming from. My new bike has disk breaks (never had them before) and it never occurred to me that my breaks weren't centered. I'll tackle that job this weekend thanks to your helpful video. Thanks a lot!
Clint thanks so much for this video. I’ve been messing with my front disc for months with no avail. The business card did the trick although I only inserted it on the side that was always rubbing. Thanks again 🙏
Simple, clear, concise. Thank you, Clint.
excellent....watched upwards 10 videos without getting the right info...finally a good video, thanks man !!
Tnanks man. My bike runs silky smooth again .
Thank you sir. Very helpful diy. Cheers from Doha, Qatar.
If these techniques don't work, it never hurts to check and see if your rotors might be bent a bit. Oftentimes when changing tires or transporting your bike the rotors can bend a bit. Great video as always Clint! I only run Shimano Brakes because of the easy maintenance and bleed techniques from your videos.
The breaks on my new E-Bike were driving me nuts with the squeaking, and I'm no pro so I wasn't sure how to handle it, but this video made it incredibly easy to re-align my rotor!
Followed your instructions however I’m still getting a rubbing sound. This is a new ebike just received with hydraulic brakes.
Check out these 2 videos as well:
th-cam.com/video/j_-sv94eQ4E/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/4C9R_H_GLKI/w-d-xo.html
had a issue with brake rub on my front brake when I put on new wheels. I never have issues centering brakes in the past. I saw you mention the shim tool and I completely forgot I had one of those...boom, brake centered. :)
Great video ! I have an issue with my h brakes the space between rotors and pads is wider than a business card I adjusted both a couple times but the space still same, pads are like halfway down, the bigger space the less accurate braking right? What else can I do?
+Predator7 7 after you center the brakes you should be able to pump the lever and have the pads be in the right position. As long as your lever does not go too close to the bar you should be fine. I would not say the braking is less accurate. If you find the lever going to close to the handlebars then you're going to have to bleed the system.
Thanks, this video was exactly what I needed! Good-bye brake rub!
Omg. Can't believe there are things that Park Tool videos won't be able to help me.
Thanks for the business card method! 💯💯
Great timing for that video I have been having that noise since upgrading to new stan's wheels. It worked perfect for me cheers Clint
you have to aligned the wheel (particularly if you have quick release system)then do as Clint tells
thank you man, right now i will go and adjust my Shimano 365 :-)
Ok thanks for the vid Clint. I replaced my rear pads on my SLX disc brakes but had trouble centering them. I tried all these methods including business cards. One side was still rubbing and the other had a big gap. I eventually got them to only slightly rub (probably slightly out of true) by putting 3 business cards on one side and nothing on the other.
Bent discs ? Bend back with wrench
Thanks for sharing. I'll try the screwdriver technique next time I have to center the brake pads ;
it's been 2 weeks I had tried to adjust my pad... only today I found this video ... thank you!!!!
I like the way Gibbs explains things. I tried the 2 business card trick today, after the bike shop installed my new pads off center. (After making sure the cards were the same thickness.) Works great! I also employed his "1.09X" rule for my saddle height last week, and that worked great too.
Thanks - watched video - job done!
Thanks for the straightforward tips!
Left and right adjustment is important but don't forget about the height adjustment, look at the old pads and make sure 100% of the friction material is wearing evenly , the braking force can greatly suffer if the caliper isn't seated low enough on the brake disc. So all friction material is making contact with the disc . The brakes my feel fine just after replacing pads and get worse as they wear .😮 Dont forget to measure disc for thickness and replace when out of spec .
If you are experiencing alot of issues with the brake-hold, tighten-screw method (or no success with any method), check that your screws, (washers), mating surfaces are all flat and clean! If you have a ding or embedded rock chip, paint flakes, bent/dmg'd screw this may become darn near impossible to achieve so check your hardware. Sometimes you, or stores have accidents and drop stuff so they might be bent or have dent.
Good video I took mine to a bike shop they cut the top mirnal fluid cable witch was leaking I had really bad crash handle bar right in my chest I had to go hospital because of a bike shop called decathlon I paid 170 pounds and they nearly got me killed because I reckon they don't no what there doing iv order d new breck fluid cable with all the parts I bought 1 little of hydrolc mineral fluid not used yet until I get my bleed kit once got the cable I will do myself to be honest I wish I never to my hydrolc mountain bike to un qualified fools I could of died all my life iv had different mountain bike s I all was fix myself but hydrolc as anyone no s different from cable breck s I will try what you just did thanks for good information video my friend peace 👍
Great tip I am ordering that tool because sometimes you just can't get these thing to line up
Very helpful video. Your fix took care of my issue. Thanks again.
And i am throwing my business cards away ...no more :) .
Question: why did you not clean off the spacer with rubbing alcohol? After touch it with your fingers, you slipped it up between the pads
Tried a few different techniques to sort the incredibly annoying scraping of my brakes. The business card technique worked a treat! Thanks for uploading, really helpful 👌
I usually use the third method because of hopes floating rotor...
Thanks, the business cards worked a treat :-)
i ride an ebike. got rid of the squealing with your method but the braking power is shit now...make sense since with credit card you space much more the pads
Business card worked. Appreciate this brotha.
If your brakes have a bunch of dust/dirt careful resetting your rotor, you can push that stuff inside and cause them to stick.
Squeezing the brake didn't work for me. Once it was loose I used one hand to move the caliper to the side I thought it needed to go to, and tightened the bolts with the other hand, and that did it. This video did get me on the right track though so thank you.
Thanks! Makes perfect sense
Yeeeeesss!!
Finally it goes !! Thank you good sir
I seem to be alone in this, but I just can't see how putting the same thickness filler on each side of the rotor will change the center.
PUSH THE BRAKE BODY LEFT AND RIGHT TO PUSH PISTONS BACK
Someone should send this to Froome’s mechanic...
business cards did the trick! Thank You!
Thank you so much. Very helpful.
One thing you left out is make sure your rotor is true if not true it up in a wheel jig it's easy to do and make sure your rotor is tight on the wheel.
I did the ol trustee eye method and worked out really well and quickly! Not a big deal at all.
You used your bare fingers on the alignment tool ✌
Great video. Thanks Clint
Many thnks sir.i fix it finally!
Legend. This worked a treat - many thanks
Hey Clint, I've been following your tutorials for a while, and must say that yours are always really clear and helpful. Thanks for sharing and helping many of us solve our bike problems.
Thanks I did this and no running but now my brakes no bite now and lots of travel on the lever, any ideas?
You may need to bleed the brakes.
Dude you are a genius you save my life thanks a lot
Thank you so much! It helped!
perhaps screws were out to far. side to side ok but up and down can be out as a result
Thanks, told me just what I needed.
What if one brake pad is worn down a little and the other one isn’t then it won’t be even?
Thanks for the refresher Clint!
I just align the wheel to the middle and lock it down
Very helpful! Thanks!
Killer tips , appreciated
Just got charged 20 bucks to have this done at a bike shop. Asked them what they did and came home to look it up. Can’t believe they stole 20 bucks from me for 2 mins of work🤬
Thanks this really helped me with my myb
2:31....i did that to my new MTB.....i did't knew about it.......can u plzz explains what it actually does to the breaks and what is the fix to that!
Did the pistons pop out? If so you need to put them back in and do a full brake bleed. You might need to take it to the bike shop to be repaired.
use a spacer made from an aluminium can one on each side
Hi
Does rider's weight could be a cause for the noise from front rotor especially during sharp turns, I am having this issue on my brand new bike with hydraulic disc brakes.
Thanks in advance ☺
I don't think weight really has much of a factor in the noise. There's a chance you have metal pads versus resin. If that's the case, metal pads are noisier than resin. You may want to try some resin pads if you don't ride often in wet conditions, as they wear down faster. Resin pads also have better modulation but less initial bite and less power.
New bike with less than 50 miles. I developed sudden rubbing/humming sound from the front disc brake after stopping at the traffic lights. I think one of the calipers didn't seem to retract properly. I left the bike to stand for a few hours and the spacing between disc and caliper seems to have normalized? It this a problem with the centering of the discs? Or something else inside the brakes?
You may have a stuck piston. Check out this video in case it helps
th-cam.com/video/4C9R_H_GLKI/w-d-xo.html
great video, helped a lot!
Unfortunately, the "90% of the time" method didn't work for my wife's bike, but surprisingly, the frustrating method of eyeballing it did work. Thanks for posting this useful video!
Very helpful video and very clear visual and explanation. I had this problem with my rear caliper on a new bicycle and the sceaching noise when pedaling even when pushing the bike was horrible, then I was shown the two screws as you showed to loose and realign the calipers and that solved the problem. I definitely will by the tool that you just showed for future problems that may come up. Thank you for the video from Oregon state.
Excellent video, thank you, where i can purser the brake caliper alignment tool from ?
If you have a good local shop they should be about to order for you. Or you can order one from competitive cyclist
THANK YOU. I watched numerous videos and finally the business card trick is what worked. I really appreciate your detailed help.
Clint i have a question just got a new Orbea Occam TR with all xt components my front and back brakes are really mushy lots of play in them any ideas?
+Arnold Chaudruc Yep, sounds like you need to bleed the brakes. I made a video on how to do it: th-cam.com/video/QciJbZf6Bqc/w-d-xo.html
Hey, thanks for the video! I'm wondering why is that happening with my brand new Kelly's cliff 90, that I adjust the brakes there is no contact at all and after a 10 minutes ride it starts to make contact noise again?
Thank you for this clear cut information, I did the first, second and finally the third one worked, the disk was a tiny bit bent and so I straightened it out with a crescent wrench. No rubbing whatsoever now. I think this happened when I put the wheel back on the frame. Thanks again.
Im extremly bad with handy work, and it WORKED. Thanks !
You're a lifesaver!
Are you using new camera? Much more clearer than previous videos. Thumb up!
+Jimmy Vo thanks. Yes, in trying to increase the quality with a nicer camera and lighting.
I've used the first two methods on old Deore BR-515 Mech Discs. Except with two business cards that I don't touch with bare fingers. The rotors I clean with Canadian Tire brake cleaner. A little TLC and your methods keep them from screaming like a witch.
Easy peasy, thanks!
Not sure you still read these comments, but you have helped me once again. Shimano's info did not help. Your video + the business card trick did the trick. Thanks from Köln Germany, Clint. You da man!
And what if you DO squeeze with no brakes in there !!!!!!
If you squeeze them too much the pistons can pop out then it’s quite difficult to put them back in and you’re doing a full brake bleed.
Dude thank you.
I keep doing on doing the card method and it works fine but once i press the brake again after I’ve done the card method i hear the pads rubbing again???
This may help th-cam.com/video/4C9R_H_GLKI/w-d-xo.html
Thank God for this video! Even my local repair shop can’t do this right. Now I can do it myself, have the satisfaction it’s 100% correct, AND save $100+ and 48hrs in the shop. And it’s so easy… thanks Clint!
WOW THANKS BRO. EASY
It works!! Took 40sec. No more rubbing. Thanks dude
Thanks a lot! Unfortunately It didn't work without credit cards, but with that i configured my brakes perfectly :D
For a next time I'll buy a tool which u have :)
Thanks so much
You solve a big problem that I had. Você resolveu um grande problema que eu tive.
Excellent video. Thanks so much for your clear and simple walk through. Great job!
I'll try your methods later. I can't sleep because of it. Thanks for this.
Works great for front brakes but my back brakes are different. How do I do the back brakes which are Shimano BR RS785?