12 Common MTB Disk Brake Maintenance Mistakes & How To Avoid Them
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 มี.ค. 2021
- We've seen it all over the years when it comes to brakes! From emergency bleeds with olive oil to serious pad contamination by over spraying unsafe chemicals where you just shouldn't! Doddy has compiled this list of maintenance to avoid when it comes to working on your all-important stoppers, with some good advice for how to properly approach the task at hand too!
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Seths Bike hacks used baby oil and tested it a year later...worked fine Shimano!!
That shot in the eye was brilliant on so many levels 🤣
Dirty Bastard! 😂
thats what she said
I contaminated my brakes, went on a long fast decent and heated them up and they work fine now.
Awesome, comprehensive brake tech with Doddy and reggae beats!
Thank you Doddy. Just replaced my mtb pads today. Your presentation confirmed I did it right, including bedding the brakes to the rotors.
Oh good, doing a tire swap with this playing in the background.
* quietly reroutes the front brake hose *
did cq
So many guys harp about brake pad contamination... but it's not harping, it's real. It's difficult to know how much or how little oily stuff on your pads will make them squeal, sometimes a lot, sometimes a little. It's not just squealing either, you lose a tremendous amount of braking force. Best to follow this advice and be careful, even if it seems overly cautious on the surface.
Cheers Doddy for this video, it couldn't have come at a better time. Today I am changing out my brake pads and bleeding them, but I never knew about the free stroke adjuster. I also have the XT brakes so knowing that is really handy. Thanks :D
I bought a Bossnut V2 (from UK) in 2017 and I rode an entire season with the front brake on the wrong side (right) until watching one of your maintenance videos. After seeing how easy it was the change, I switched the sides and went through a full brake bleed at the same time!
I‘d ask Seth about the thing with wrong fluid😂Just sayin...
I have green aftermarket oil in my magura mt8's and they are smooth as butter.
"...a little bit different, but kinda the same" :D
Well I have both shimano and magura brakes on my different bikes.
I only have 1 bottle of magura oil tho XD
I do try my best to get all shimano oil out of the system when bleeding so that I am not mixing different types of oils.
I have used just straight mineral oil in Shimano brakes before. Worked perfectly fine.
@@FLiPtgc mineral oil is mineral oil only the colour is "a little bit different , but kinda the same"
Great video as always Doddy! Just changed the brake pads for the first time on my Stumpjumper and the front felt a bit suspect on my first ride after. I had to let a small amount of fluid out to get the pistons back to allow the new pads in which I thought may be the problem but after watching this, I think they might not be bedded in properly. Will try that and the bite point adjustment first before a bleed... Cheers!
Great video! Lots of good advice and well explained.
Thanks for this video - VERY instructive!!!
great vid with lots of great info
Thanks Doddy super too avoid the pitfalls with some knowledge gained 🇿🇦
Great and very helpful video!!!
I'm comfortable knowing this advice comes from an accomplished bike rider. Mahalo Doddy. You da man. Aloha. 😎🤙
13:55 front on the right, rear on the left is a new one for me. I've never seen a bike like that.
Please do a vid on tips and tricks to optimize SRAM brakes... They're the ones that I need help with... 😬
Step 1: throw em in the trash
Step 2: buy Magura or Shimano
(Had the Code R for over a year myself)
Step one: they're not that bad if you have newer models
Step two: do not hesitate and use your warranty, if you got a bad set
(Pretty much Shimano fan, but not a fanboy)
Buy shimano ones, with their well known wandering bite point issue and no modulation.😋
Henry did 2 excellent vids on exactly this last year, full of great tips for sram, but also other brakes... try a search through
@@rupedog deore and groupless 5-series have no modulation or bite point problems. You should try running cheaper stuff too...
Definitely need to use the tyre levers on the pistons after changing my pads recently - bit of catching going on!
you the man, man.
Useful and entertaining. Thanks :-)
1:45 on behalf of all the Polish: stop using us! 😛😂
#freethepolish
@@th_js#STOPpolishAbuse #metoo #NOmeansNO #CanLivesMatter 🤣 (spray can)😂
LOL :D
13:50 I would also check the wheel bearing tolerances. Sometimes the bearing tolerance may be slight too loose and that can cause noise if you try to move the bike with brakes applied.
Seeing the shimano XTR cassette just makes me relaxed for some reason.
Thankfully I didn´t do any of these, I just today upgraded from MT200 to 520- what a difference! And I ride the same way: front/right, rear/left.
The manufacturers think otherwise, every bike I worked on it´s opposite- I hate that.
Every motorcycle has the front brake right. Why not adapt that good standart? Less pain involved when kids go from cycle to bike.
Also, good to check the brake alignment with the mounting bolts, i.e. loosen the brake mount bolts, spin your wheel, apply pressure to the brake corresponding brake lever and tighten up to spec.
Squealy brakes when riding in and through wet - not much one can do about that.
Fairy is awesome for washing the bike, car, dishes, windows, dog. ;)
usually gotta make sure the wheel/rotor is "pushing" forward on the caliper when you tighten it, too. If it's pushing backwards then it will be slightly toed outwards when you release the brake, which can cause poor braking and squealing.. Toeing your brakes is key, it increases stopping power significantly and helps prevent squeaks even on wet or greasy brakes
7:27 continuity error. :D Doddy has blue gloves on when approaching the door. No blue gloves after exiting the door.
I use subway napkins to cover my disk brakes when i use the muc-off bike protect
If I even just THINK about trying to fix my brakes, they get 50% worse. I just gave up and now I take it to the LBS for anything brake related. Getting brake work done is really cheap anyways. Brakes are just way too dang sensitive!
Helpful video. How often should you bleed the brakes? When do you know it's necessary? Is there a Rule of thumb? Thanks!
The dragging/uneven calipers can sometimes also be that the coating on the pistons themselves (and also the bore/square seal in the caliper) are also worn and no resetting will fix it. Only a rebuild or replace at that point.
Another great video. Thanks!
BTW, some people watch at 12:35 for reasons other than bicycle maintenance.
Tsk, tsk, tsk.
great great video
"mineral oil doesn't absorb moisture from the air, like DOT fluid does"... brilliant, I was wondering this, thanks!
9:33 My issue addressed, no power in rear brakes even after cleaning the rotors & pads with alochol & using sand paper(320grit??) to remove any glazing..etc, will remove the rotors & pads for the third time to try the clean method described & return
Shimano asked you. Good one. Same old rehashed crap week in week out.
I have gotten lube on my Rotors once....
I run waxxed chains now. Lasts longer before it needs to be redone and the chains also last longer. Also the drivetrain stays clean as mud doesn't stick to it.
I also had my brake line not tightened enaugh and pushed the lever while working on the bike. Thankfully didn't loose much fluid.
I run my brakes in slightly different positions. My rear brake lever is a bit more flat with a later bite point, because I use the rear brake more when I hang of the back of my bike. My front brakes is 3 degree more down compared to the rear brake and has a earlier bite point, so it is in a better position for switchbacks und stoppies
Sounds legit. Here's a few more pro tips. Cut your handlebars 10 mm shorter on the left and offset its angle from the fork by 1 degree so you can turn right a little harder. And how about running flats on the left and clipless on the right with your helmet backwards for more aero?
@@frankthetankricard If you have a shoulder injury you maybe have to do that
@@frankthetankricard my right sitbone is actually more forward than my left one so I run my saddle a bit to the left
i like to have a notably earlier brake point und the rear break because i used to pulled the front brake too hard. now i drift a lot because i brake harder on the rear. it's fun but my rear tires and brake pads wear way faster.
@@frankthetankricard Dude, you are my hero. I thought I was a good heckler. I'm not worthy.
Here's another valuable tip - pay attention which brake lever you put the bleed cup on and check which caliper it goes to. I once put the bleeder cup on my front lever and tried to bleed the rear caliper. Needless to say, the hose kept popping off and oil went everywhere before I realized it.
One tip I would give is to never over-tighten your brake lever bleed screw. Just finger-tight is enough. Been there, done that.. you can replace your entire brake lever if you over-tighten and screw up the thread 😢
I have definitely contaminated brake pads by accident a few times, and the rotor included by spray of muc off. Getting mineral oil squirted on Doddy's face was so brilliant for entertainment purpose, and thank goodness I run mechanical instead of hydraulic brakes.
mechanical brakes sucks ass.
If you have done the "mini bleed lever flick" thingie with the wheels still on the bike, then you will have overfilled the system and will need to remove the reservoir bleed screw before you push the pistons back when doing a pad change to give the extra fluid somewhere to go... if you don't, you will not be able to get the pistons back and more than likely will break one of them trying.
Especially with somewhat worn pads
Having problems with squealing/contaminated brakes? then give them a good cleaning with a dash of Acetone on rotors and brake pads(please un-mount rotors and pads so you don't get acetone on any other parts of the bike) scrub the parts with an abrasive sponge cleaner thingy.. then rinse the acetone off with either brakecleaner/isopropyl alcohol (or both in that order).. this is the only thing i found that truely works
LHM PLUS 💪
@cyclingTwoVlogger is it ok to use it? Like Total LHM PLUS? Green one?
@@IvanFSM I use Febi LHM Plus on all my bikes. It's also green. I think there is no a big difference between Febi and Total LHM Plus.
Super, super vid guys!! Really helpful 👍Myself and my son are beginning to learn to work on our own bikes and are currently faced with a couple of potential break issues so this is well timed! Thanks again.
One question though if I may... we have a light squeal situation at present. Specifically when the bike is moving forward and back ever-so gently there's a fairly prominent but low-res squeal. It's not happening when active on the trail however. Could this still be a contaminated component?
Prob pad micro moving in caliper when rocked. Check everything is tight, and forget about it.
pre bleed adjustment of lever and stroke travel, lever is fully out, yes but I've heard conflicting opinions about the stroke, some older brakes would not bleed with out these things done.
I think using a spirit level to align the levers is inprecise because most of the time the floor or the service stand which the bike stands on are uneven making the spirit gauge inaccurate. Instead I use a piece of packaking strand (or a thick sewing thread), span it across the levers finding the same support points, tension it, and look for a level point of reference with bear eye, usually the stem clamp bolts.
I want that Shimano Ice disc😂🤗🤤
Thanks for the helpful video, just in time, I will do a full brake bleed in the near future. I already bought some "Royal Blood" brake fluid but I have Shimano Deore XT brakes, same as in your video. So you dont recommend to use "Royal Blood" but Shimano fluid instead. How much fluid do you approximately need for a full brake bleed front and rear (xc bike). Or would you recommend to just remove the air out of the system? How often do you replace the brake fluid?
Nice video. I would add that you should be careful when tightening oil screw in brake handle. I stripped thread in brand new one. That sucked big time.
Hey, Great Advice!
you can clean brake pads with isopropyl alcohol... some other things you can use, are steel wool, a torch, dish soap, gasoline, etc.. isopropyl and a microfiber cloth works best for me.
My biggest problem is shimano stating a certain torque for the brake hose bolts then not leaving enough space to get a torque wrench in the space.
Have you ever used the blow lamp method on contaminated pads ? I’ve done it plenty of times without issue
What is the blow lamp method? My brakes seem to be contaminated just from city riding and I can't afford to replace them :/
@@drewlop I use it too ✋Just remove your brake pads, set them flat on a non-flammable surface with the braking compound towards you and just boil them with a blow torch.
That will burn any grease or oil on them, if the compound catches fire, it's that they were contaminated 😂
After a wash with dish soap and a scrubber, I bake my rotors and pads in a toaster oven at 500F to turn the oil into carbon. Critical that you get the specific oil beyond its smoke point. Using a torch on a rotor can heat it unevenly and warp it. Scuffed with 1500 grit in a palm sander and done.
Thank you for showing the cleaning of the pads and rotors as I've found by trial and error. Boiling water does work great in addition to isopropyl and even sanding. I have had glazed brakes that I simply had to chuck out though.
You forgot to mention never to mix different versions of DOT fluid. Some can be mixed but it’s best to just remember not to do it. E.g. do not mix DOT 5 with DOT 5.1
Dot 3/4 and 5.1 will work
I'd also add that DOT fluid can eat paint, clean it up if you spill it on your frame or fork.
Only DOT 5 cant be mixed with the others DOTS, because its silicone based...DOT 3, 4 and 5.1 can be mixed, regardless of brand. SRAM only uses 4 or 5.1 tho, as 3 doesn't meet performance needs.
In my area of the world, acquiring manufacturers brake fluid and pads has been a 'magical' trick. All using the 'fits all' excuse.
I understand the concerns of using other type of mineral oil in the brake system, but what about using automotive LHM fluid. Its made for citroen braking systems, and i have compared the proprieties of both shimano and TOTAL LHM and not only the LHM has higher boiling point but also lower freezing point and similar viscosity.
i have been using for 1 year and not only its cheaper but also better in almost every aspect and u can get it in any car parts shop.
Any toughts on this?
I'd love to use Shimano mineral oil, if it was in stock anywhere!
Squeezing brakes: just cleaning the pads is not enough. Oil is embedded inside the pads. What works is to boil it out by placing the pads on an oven 10min at 200 centigrades. If it smokes than the embedded oil is leaving the pads.
The money shot!!!
Hey Doody what about using mineral hidraulic oil from car? Like total lhm plus?
Just a side note dot 4 and 5 don't have the moister issue not that you should use them in your bike brakes. Also you can use the the right automotive disc brake clean and it will work correctly at a more economical price and if you do scrub or wipe of your disc or pads you should hit them with brake clean one more time.
Ive used olive oil, it works but gathers air fast, its a long term problem when used but inly gives a short term fix just buy some unless your a chemist.
10:20 I would argue that you rarely need to replace rotors because those shouldn't be able to soak oil or grease. The pads on the other hand are pretty porous material and if you get oil in the pads, it will be there forever.
If you know the boiling point of that oil, you might be able to heat the pads above the boiling point and keep the pads at that temperature for long enough. It might turn out that the boiling point of the oil is more than what the pads can take, though.
@J B Contaminated with what? Are you claiming that something entered *inside* the metal material of the disks (rotors)?
Did you use real brake cleaner fluid to clean the rotors? Even car brake disks come with oiled surface from the factory and you must degrease the brake surfaces before brake pads touch the surface. Do you think your rotor "contaminant" is worse than oil?
i contaminated my rear brake in morzine once, riding down the hill and always braking solved the problem for me. but then again, it doesnt require much force to lock up the rear.
Shower caps from pound shops make good disc brake covers 😉
Second! Btw I loved the scene with the M&S Sesame oil :D Cheers from CZ!
Everyone parks their bike like it's a bad girlfriend, then blames ME for their bent rotors.
Nice intro metal in the background!
I bought a used carrera kraken today because it used shimano hydraulic brakes... wish I hadn't now. Cable disks were simpler.
I think new pads needed but are they as easy to change as cable disks? I'll have to find out.
Been running 2$ mineral oil from the drugstore for years no issues
Baby oil works fine never had any problems and alot cheaper than the red dyed oil from shimano
Pro mechanic: “hey don’t do this thing”. Customer with brake issues: “yeah I know more than you”
Front brake on the right? Madness!
hey im new to mtbing woulr really appreciate some help figuring out what goes into upgrading the drive train on my 2021 marlin 6 . ive already done front sprocket but dont know about cassette and mech . thanks
I like the rear brake on the right lol
The money shot thumbnail tho 🤣🤣🤣
You forgot "lazy pistons " My bike sounded like an ambulance after changing breakpad. I bled them, bedded them, cleaned them, bedded again, removing and cleaning the rotor, and yet rear break kept squealing like an ambulance. Had a friend look at it and found a there was lazy ass piston. Exercising just one piston is a drag on quad breaks...
I've tried all sorts of fluids in all the tektro I removed from new bikes, dot definitely doesn't work with mineral oil seals I can confirm.
But yeah pure mineral oil from the hardware store or Amazon works just fine, bonus point since there's no dye in it 😂
I have XTR 9120 brakes on my bike, but have never ever seen the free stroke adjustment do anything...
I definetly sprayed frame protector/moisture displacer on my disc brakes. They definetly should put a warning on it... as a first time user i had no clue
I believe they do have warnings if it's a specific bike product.
Wow
I have a Montague Paratrooper 26" folding mountain bike. It's a great, sturdy bike--they're used by US Army--but I absolutely hate disc brakes. Traditional center-pull brakes (which grab the wheel's rim) works best for me. They have their downside, compared to disc brakes, but I can easily change the pads in one or two minutes with minimal tools, and adjust the tension. Disc brakes are just too damn complicated. I want to enjoy riding my bike, not spending a whole month trying to figure out how the disc brake system works.
When using Dot change it with your cars or motorbikes fluid and all of your bikes if possible. You can buy a bigger container saving a few bucks. Granted it is more labour involved, but you only have to remember one date and not start and stop all over again.
And even if just doing bike brakes, auto DOT5.1 is much cheaper than the same stuff sold in bike shops.
@@polbecca just make sure you always use the right dot. Not all are compatible. I believe dot 4 is not compatible with dot 5 but the other way around is ok.
Difference in dot fluid is the boiling point. Mostly for car racing.
Free stroke... haha... I guess they did sponsor the video ;)
How do you decontaminate your brake discs i got Wd40 all over the by accident a while ago and they’ve been way less sensitive since
Any thoughts on using Pentosin mineral oil with Shimano brakes?
So to 12 common a maintenance in #GMBNTech thes disk Brakes guy Doddy. Also thes errors a the so clean in the #GMBN who to avoid to good joop finally for to #MoutainBiking 🤘😀
I bought new disc brake cleaner and it has n-hexane. Is it safe to use? The last one I had was without it and was safe.
Having had a set of Formulas keep messing up, I can safely say I’ll not bother with DOT fluid again. Got a set of Maguras now and they’re 100% better
And does the DOT work in ya car or do you use mineral oil? Cant be that bad! (i run Shimano brakes on my bike)
Whats the fluid got to do with it....nothing. cant blame the fluid!
Magura brakes. I have mt7 pro. They feel strong but the rear vibrates through the bike. How can i stop this? Also is it neccasary to pressurise the fluid in the syringe with mineral oil like you would with dot fluid?
Magura fluid works in Shimano and vis versa…. Even Citroen LHM’works with these brakes as it is a brake and suspension mineral fluid
My biggest brake mistake was over tightening the bleed port screw and stripping the threads of the bleed port☠️
13:42 If it actually is the brake rotor, as it happened to me twice, the fix is using threadlock. I use a torque wrench every time I can and I was puzzled at how tightening the rotors with the spec torque always caused the rear to loosen some rides later. Magura's spec states rotor screws should be tightened at 4Nm, so that's not a lot of torque to keep both the rotor in place and the screws from turning from vibrations, so threadlock is the solution.
All the Maguras rotors that I use tighten at 6Nm?! Where did you find 4Nm? I have Storms and MDR-P with 6Nm mark on them.
Thread lock us ALSO part of the spec. Ur meant to use it. New disc bolts are ready coated with it
@@NotMyFullTimeJob The owner's manual for the MT 2017 series states rotor screws tighten at 4Nm (www.magura.com/media/922405/mt_2017_en.pdf page 5 or page 17)
EDIT: Maybe I should've specified the model I have, my bad. I'm using MT5 front and back.
9:45 I usually just sand them down a bit
@9:45...simple green &hot water FTW
I have a friend who is a mad mountain biker and works in the oil & gas industry when he put the shimano mineral oil in the mass spec "it lined up" exactly the same as very popular brand of automotive power steering fluid...sorry guys..I guess it explains the red colour. The same was done with "Fox fluid" and the results were also common with another product..think heavy weight oil blue in colour...and you'll probably guess it.
Hi doddy what stem is that in the nukeptoof
I have a question so the deore xt brakes have that free stroke i ride two piston deore brake if i put deore xt lever on deore caliper does the free stroke will still do something or it wont on other caliper
5:59 some shimano brake sdont have this feature, but still have the same mechanism, this results in deathtrap if adjusted for child hands and powerful brakes for long fingers.
I think it's silly to have have that without this adjustment. I had m6000 brakes the stock position was perfect fit wise but they lacked power, for full power i had to have them all the way out but that gets more fatiguing.
Most cheap brakes have only the one point of adjustment, and yes, its dangerous to adjust it to the point where you can't get full breaking. If you have small hands the best solution is to buy better brake levers with free stroke adjustment...
However, my 8yr old son copes just fine with stock cheap old brakes?
@@RenaxTM91 maybe he has the brakes with reach adjustment at the lever blade directly, thus reach not effecting the power/ how far piston is pressed.
So these will be powerful. this type is the one that is mostly spec'ed on kids bikes. but not always.
@@mtbboy1993 nope, the bike had mech brakes from factory. So I put a set of old deore brakes I had laying around on it... Reach adjustment just moves the whole range of travel, so if you set it too close to the handlebars you don't get full braking...