How To Maintain Disc Brakes - 5 Pro Tips For Your Road Bike Disc Brakes
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- čas přidán 9. 07. 2024
- If you're new to disc brakes or considering them for the future, here are the 5 key ways to keep them working perfectly.
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Disc brakes may seem much more complex to maintain than cable operated rim brakes. But, the reality is that they aren't. Disc brakes are much more resilient than rim brakes and far easier to fit and forget - a difference that you'll definitely notice if you're riding in winter conditions.
1. Keep oil away from disc rotors.
2. Don't pull on the brake lever when the disc isn't in.
3. Take care of your disc rotors.
4. Know how to re-align your brakes when they're rubbing.
5. Have the right bleed kit and know how to bleed your brakes.
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"When lubricating your bike, take the rear wheel off to reduce contamination"
Simon then sprays WD40 on the front rotor....
Matt Buckley lol
.....and the picnic table.
Cool, let's debate this for a few weeks until we've both proven to the internet that we're both wrong.
jlebrech I don’t care what wd40 is. It will still make brakes useless.
you'll lose your mind when you find out that he bathes his bike with wd40
# 6: I leaned this the hard way. NEVER squeeze the brake lever when the bike is upside down. Even with the wheel in place doing so will pump air into the system and cause partial or total brake failure requiring bleeding out to correct. Big problem if you are out in the middle of nowhere.
Oh geesh cheers for the information. I’ll make sure I never do that lol
Thanks for telling me I always work on my bike upside down
I have been a bike mechanic for 42 years and I just love this guy!!!!
Just bought my first road bike a couple of days ago. Looking forward to putting all of GCN's tips and hints to good use. Keep up the good work guys!
Keep up the amazing work new to this channel and I'm loving it
So happy to see you guys again....was a long winter!!!
Ha, I needed this video almost 2 years ago, took my cyclocross with disc brakes on the plane and had terrible rub afterwards, spent an hour to try to fix it, while I should have just unscrewed the caliper. Thanks for the future tips though :-)
I've just found this channel, so much good information. Thanks.
I'm glad you guys are talking about (hydraulic) disc brakes on roadies, but I wish that you guys could also talk about mechanical disc brakes. Quite a few things that apply to hydraulic brakes, self adjusting, brake bleeding, don't apply to mechanical ones.
Catman Agreed. GCN's tip #2 doesn't apply to mechanical disc brakes either. On my TRP Spyres, you can pull the brake levers while the wheels are removed and the pads will just spring back to their initial positions.
It could be argued that for the next five years most people getting their first disc-braked road bikes will most likely be on mechanical disc brakes.
TypeVertigo, I just purchased TRP Spyres, and that’s a good bit of info! Thanks.
Kristen Georges an advantage of the yep spyres is there is an adjustment bolt for each calliper that lets you move the pad inwards as the pad wears
Maybe because no one likes mech disc brakes. why are you not hydraulic?
needed this help thanks!!
Thanks very much for that video GCN, no more disc rub as I try out different wheels and tyres on my new Surly!
You can even use drywall sanding screen to take the top layer of grime and contaminants off of the brake pad. Works really well to help get your friction back and get rid of any extra noise.
Thanks again for the awesome advice! :)
Thanks for the tricks!
Great and helpful video
Thanks for the Info for the Disc Brakes 😊😊💪
thanls for recommendation at 01:06
i wish i had watched it afew months ago when i messed up the pistons on my bikes.
you just helped me stop my new wheel from rubbing on my cross bike. thanks
good info thanks!
Oh, a disc brake video on CCN. Let the hate begin in the comments section. Kudos to you guys for promoting this obviously better technology in the face of so much negativity.
That was helpful even though I have a scott aspect MTB
Wow! I can’t thank you enough for posting this video. I spent 4 hours on a holiday trying to adjust the brakes by eyeballing the brake pads it while screwing in bolts on the caliper. This got me nowhere and is the worst method! I do not recommend it! The 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. Good tip with also suggesting that the wheels properly be in the drop outs too.
The best takeaway here is that the entire drivetrain must be beautifully coated in WD-40 before any bike can function.
If lube contamination on your pad is minimal (but noticeable,) before taking the blow torch route, find a small, safe downhill and while descending, mash hard and let go your brakes numerous times. You heat up the pads with friction. You can do something similar on the flats and if you have limited 'space', go into your easiest gear and pedal while mashing the brakes at the same time.
LOL the oil spray at 1:00 is hillarious!
So in the winter- when roads are full of oily gunk- i should change my pads every time i want to ride outside???
If the rotor is slightly bent, then maybe you can use an adjustable wrench to bend it back.
Learned this trick from a friend who rides MTBs. Did this trick to the disc brakes on my Yeti, spins much better now.
Haziq Rahmat Ali you don’t even need a special tool. Any pliers will work.
One of the funniest segments ever. Where did the blow torch idea come from, Dan I'll bet?
If your pads are brand new, and they are either glazed or contaminated, the blow torch method works, and then rubbing them over concrete or with some rough sandpaper will make them work so much better.
I was having some disc rubbing on the front brake only. I tried to just loosen the calipers, hold down the brakes, and then retighten them with the brakes on. That didn't seem to work. When I took out the pads, it appeared the front tire had not been seated properly, and that there was excessive wear on one side of the pad, towards the back. Do you think I should just replace the front pads only, or both the front and rear pads? Is it possible to not replace the pads, but make it so they don't rub on the rotors? Also, when do you need to bleed the brakes? Is it part of general maintenance or only when you get a spongy feel when braking?
The more videos I watch about disc breaks on road bikes, the more I start to favour this kind of break system for my next road bike.
ketchop123 go for it, you'll be amazed!
very good brake system but can be hard to maintain...
Mate I swear by hyd discs .... Calipers are obsolete
Hey guys i have a little problem i have hydrolic brakes and i sprayed some lubrifiant on my chain and some drops hit the disk my rear breaks are not working as they were what should i do just wipe the disk ?
I've never laughed as much as the- "shutting the boot of your car, and it doesnt quite go, so you lean on it? don't do that...." heheheh :)
What kind of oil I should buy for bleeding service? Ty
i got a good increase in braking power by using compressionless housing on my top spyre. hydraulics are top notch
Hey GCN,
I noticed that on some of the road bikes you ride you have deep rims/aero rims, and i was wondering if you could make a video on how to true those because on some the spoke nipples don't show, and i'm planning on investing in some, and have a truing stand, but unsure how to true them.
hey man. can u make a video on replacing the rear wheel with a bike on disc brake setup? cheers!
How do we know when to bleed the brake fluid?
what’s the best disc cleaner to use to stop squeaky brakes
Use ful
T-t-thank You!
With my low end Shimano disc caliper breaks I've had rotor rub due to my one piston not retracting. I used muc off bike wash and toothbrush to clean the pistons when pads out and then silicon grease to relube the piston. Using old pads (thin) and large flat head screw driver I was able to retract the pistons and work in the silicon grease. I'd like to make my old brake cleaner. Muc Off Brake Cleaner ingredients (alcohols and Acetone) are on their safety sheet and this is very different to Fenwicks Brake Cleaner. Can I make my own or use the Mc1 car disc brake cleaner? #TorqueBack
What do you think about the cheap bike from Decathlon? Like rockrider 520?
If disc does have small wobble in it then the best tool to fix it is a good old fashioned adjustable spanner - adjust it to width of the disc and then use the spanner as a lever to make small bending adjustments to the disc until it no longer rubs - but be careful.
isopropanol might be useful for cleaning grease off brake rotors. It's organic, so it should dissolve the oil easily and it's low vapor pressure means it will evaporate off of said rotors quickly
I have mechanical disc brakes on my new cyclocrosscommuter.
Rim brakes on my old commuter sometime stopped working, when temperature fell below zero. Seems like ice got on rims. They probably got wet and then froze.
The guy at a bike shop said that this wont happen with disc brakes. I actually did not believe him, but.. Well, I still got bike with discs, because I have never had them before. And I wanted something new.
Will see at next winter, if that guy was right. So far.. I think they are good. Only thing is that to get real wheel on needs a bit more attention. I need to watch, that the rotor would also slide to right place..
What if your mechanical brakes are sort of squealing? Is that normal for the 'burn in' period?
Real brakes finally come to road bikes. Performance can't be beat, especially if you do much mountain descending, not to mention in wet weather(ok, I guess I just did mention it). Love mine. Wouldn't consider going back. Extremely low maintainence and changing pads is so easy I showed my eight year old nephew how to do it. He's a pretty good little mechanic. Can true wheels too
Thanks!, my discs have been rubbing.
Just did some cleaning maintenance on my bike two days ago, took it out for a ride today and noticed my front brake was essentially obsolete...found this video and discovered I was guilty of spraying tons of lube on my front disc brake. Is it cheaper to take to a bike shop to have them take a look at it or just go ahead and try to replace the disc/pads myself? thank you
100th comment!
Nice vid gcn
@globalcyclingnetwork
I bought a Trek Verve maybe less than a year ago. It’s my first bike with disc brakes. When I go get a tune up or disc brake maintenance, what exactly would I ask for? And what exactly needs to be done at least in terms of yearly maintenance? If that’s even a good time parameter.
I would just ask for a brake service. All bike shops will know what that means and it'll involve checking brake wear, bleeding the brake system and generally making sure they're working perfectly! If they're cable disks they would usually replace any worn cables too.
Please do a compilation of Matts laughs haha
My brakes are rubbish,i bled them,cleaned them,the pads are fine and i still have to squeeze really hard if i want to stop fast. I read reviews that my brakes hayes stroker ride are crappy but are they that bad ?
whilst removing the wheel is a great idea before using aerosol lube on rear mech / chain / whatever ... perhaps covering the caliper to not get oil on the pads is an idea.
Simon "the pelvis" Richardson.
I don’t know why, but I’ve just got an urge to buy a medium sized bag of walnuts
One more maintenance for disc brake is keep an eye on the rotor wear and tear. Though it takes a long miles to wear it out.
did he use wd-40 on the rear derailleur? I've always heard don't use wd-40 on bikes as a lube. if you need to get some water out then yes but not as a oil/lube
i have never used disk brakes before but after today's mishap a little after 630am in the pouring rain when my rear derailleur kind of exploded and sent shards of metal in many directions - i am just going to believe you.
I just upgraded to disc brakes today! Only a few years late
Do i need to buy a bleed kit for my shimano Sepeda excel 500 with V-Brakes? I don’t know what is hydraulic brakes and if my ones are hydraulic or not!
Also importantly, not contaminate rotors is well understandable but what about *derailyer* and any other part? Are they too unsafe or good to lubed?
Thankyou this was really help full.
blow torch sounds like more fun though
i use my camping stove and hold the pads in pliers. they glow.
I use the blow torch. Anything less hot is useless.
The trick is to hold the pads with pliers as close as possible to the blowtorch without blocking the fire "exit". Do this until you see smoke coming out of them. Wait for them to cool down, place them and they're as good as new. (Use protection glasses as Sparks may come flying out of the pads, or the unlikely chance you heat them excessively and crack them.
My flame thrower usually does the trick but, talking from experience, don't do it indoors 😁
I find disc breaks work much better when in wet conditions compared to the more traditional break levers. And they need much less cleaning and maintenance depending on how punishing you are while riding.
I kind of miss my old mechanical disc brakes- they had inboard/outboard adjusters, if anything wasn't working you could fix it with the rotor in place. With the magic of hydraulic self-centering, when they work you don't know why- and when they don't work, you also don't know why.
They can be a pain, for sure, but they're worth it for the superior performance, in our opinion!
Anyone know what the plastic adaptors are called to stop the break pads from touching when the disc/wheel is off?
www.worldwidecyclery.com/products/shimano-br-m985-br-m785-br-m666-br-m596-disc-brake-caliper-pad-spacer?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIxJOOw_CV3QIVVJ7ACh1WSg0zEAQYAiABEgIqIfD_BwE
0:57 take the wheel out to spray oil on the pads directly?
@gcn when i adjust the brake lever reach the pads start to rub, which goes away if i move the levers back out. I have small hands so id rather move them in if i could, to do this do i simply just adjust the levers and then try adjusting the callipers as you do here? also, when you say contaminated, to what extent do you mean? like if you get spray aerosol on it once or twice is this enough to warrant taking out the pads to clean them or even worse have to replace them? thanks :)
hi, without seeing it's very hard to offer any advice. we advise you to visit your local shop. thanks
Jon
That front rotor got sprayed, lol
year old comment yet I well reply. it was a hit on people who "can't be accurate enough when spraying oil on".
@@asin1890 3 year old comment yet I will reply
cmdrfunk 2 week old comment yet I will reply
@@FootyEd1ts 2 month old comment yet I will reply
Gray Filtered 1 month old comment yet I will reply
Thank you! I put oil on my brakes and they aren't as good now and they make a loud noise. I won't put anymore on 😅, I should've watched this video first.
Hope you get them sorted Sebastian! Glad we could be of help
When you guys video "This bolt and that bolt" we on this side have little idea where it is, very poorly filmed, being a complete amateur i learned a little, but not the essentials, which is the practical work
He is referring to the bolts that mount the caliper to the frame. The holes in the frame are threaded (obviously) but the holes in the caliper are slightly oval allowing for minor adjustments.
I have a brand new Cube Attain GTC Pro Disc.....Only rode it 3 times and found some oil on the chainstays just below the disc calipers. Is that normal?
hi, best to take it to your local shop for a check
okay, was afraid you would say something like that lol..... I have no local bike shop :/ not one that has any experience with hydraulic disc brakes anyway
2:31 love these guys , soo funny ... :) /deadpan
I've got a star shaped nut on my disc breaks, two of them I'm confused ?
I am buying Road bike from halfords from my bicycle to work scheme and not sure and never use disc break any idea will it be better as compare to v breaks
After seeing all this disc brake stuff I'm glad i have rim.
i thnk you forgot that the break callipers are a part of the breaks, and house the break pads! cover them up when lubing your chain/drerailuer!
I know it's been said, but I fucking LOLED when Si nuptied and sprayed everything on the bike except the rear rotor with his favourite on and off the bike lubricant.
You need to make a vid on top road bike with disc break
First time I'm trying this, but I would like to see a how to on replacing interior helmet pads.
Whoo hoo thanks 😂😂😂😂
Does the self-adjusting bit apply to both mechanical and hydraulic, or just hydro?
Just hydraulics. As the pads wear down, the fluid in the hydraulic system will cause the pistons to push further out of their bores in order to maintain the same brake lever feel. On a mechanical (cable) operated disc brake the user will have to the adjust the brake pads as they wear. This itself is not that difficult of a task; it normally just requires the use of an Allen key. Although Mechanical Discs are not as convenient as hydraulics they should both work very well! Hope this helps!
Daniel Elner Cheers mate.
Does anyone know a good video showing how to install disk brakes on a road bike?
How do you make sure both brake levers are equally stiff ? One of my levers is softer than the other and it's pissing me off. The brake pads are fine. Do I need to bleed the brakes to make sure there's enough pressure in the system to make it firmer ? Please help
Adjust the distance of the pads from the rotor.
I will stick with rim brakes for the moment I think mainly due to weight these add.
Cool explanation... Brits are cool
the one about holding down the brakes when adjusting them NEVER works for me on my mountain bike. it gets it close, but there will be brake rub for sure. i always have to align by eye :( i guess this is why cheaper brakes are bad, *cough* Tektro *cough*
People who stress about not getting contamination on their disc breaks must cycle in a air conditioned bubble.
So much is sprayed on the bike when on the road or off road, a little finger grease or wd40 is minuscule in comparison.
These breaks work because of simple physics- the contamination is rubbed/ burned off by heat.
Global Cycling Network Why are the big bike brands spending time developing aero frames with integrated hidden brakes if they want to move to discs?
1:39 did this last night lol
What size for someone 5’7”
He kind of looks like Bill Nye the science guy... If he were younger and was a cyclist.
Lucas Michael-Angelo Davis Bill is in fact a cyclist. He used to work in a bike shop even!
How about that!!! Chris WSK
Is anyone else with discs on their road bike burning through pads like crazy? I've gone through 2 sets of pads in about 1200 miles and on my way through the third set. I love the way discs feel but going through pads like crazy is becoming an issue. (I weigh 128lbs so it can't be the weight, its the much higher speeds that seem to be doing a number on them thats not experienced on cx bkes and mtbs?)
no need to blow torch. buy a can of brake cleaner (product used in the auto industry for cleaning brakes and many other uses. evaporates instantly and leaves part dry).
I have never successfully removed enough oil from pads to render them as good as new. I have tried boiling them, lighting them on fire, soaking them in alcohol and none of this removed all of the oil. The best thing to do is to clean your rotors with alcohol and replace the pads.
Disk brake vs Regular brakes? what's better and recommended?
*In regular typical California weather
+Fixie Man Disc brakes all the way
Its super silly, but you should pay the up most attention when cleaning the disc, I ripped my nail in half when just cleaning them with a cloth. It is way to easy to catch anything a little bit and with enough momentum alot of damage can be done.
Please can you show me when your gears are worn out please if you can on a 7 gear bike
random stuff funny use a chain wear guide on your chain, if that indicates that your chain has worn out (i.e the bearings in each link have worn out and the chain has 'stretched') then you should replace both rear cassette and chain. you might also consider changing the chain rings too but these don't wear as fast. if you regularly check your chain for wear you might only need to change the chain when it is first indicated to be worn out. if you do this, in general, you can get maybe 2 chains to one cassette
is it alright if some degreaser gets onto the rotors when i'm trying to spray it on the cassette?
2:55 if only things were that easy...
how do you stop a front brake on a dice bike from squeaking?
jordan stuart try different pad material.
jordan stuart try resin pads (instead of metal pads).
jordan stuart
1) Check if the pads are not worn out (and therefore scratching the rotor, which is very NO NO).
2) Clean your rotor with a brake cleaner / degreaser.
3) If they still squeak, clean the pads as well to be sure.
4) If it still happens after a bit of testing period, you should probably get new pads. After they're replaced, you should do a "bed-in" - do a google search how to do that.