|   new to disc brakes - post-ride questions | graeme
Mar 23, 2003 10:44 AM | | I have a pair of hayes hydrolic (6"), and took the new bike out yesterday.
my first question: the rear one squeaks, and i know that this could be from a misalinged pad or something, but i thought these things were "self adjusting"?
question number two: after getting home, getting off the bike and spinning the wheels, i'm getting a bit of a grinding sound, like from sand. i wouldn't expect the seals on the hubs (especially on a brand new bike) to be the cause, so it must be the brakes, right? so i'm wondering, is it common for crap to get in the callipers, and do i have to clean it out every time i ride? if left unchecked, could this damage the pads? the rotors aren't scratched at all.
thanks. |
| re: new to disc brakes - post-ride questions | Sparty
Mar 23, 2003 1:17 PM | | I used to run Hayes hydraulics. Although it was never very bad, I'd get a persistantly infrequent squeal out of my rear brake that I never could completely eliminate during the two years I ran the brakes. It only occurred when I was really bearing down on the right crank, whether sitting or standing. I attempted to center the caliper over the rotor several times but could never fully exorcise that little squeal demon.
So no, they are not 100% self adjusting. You still have to do your best to center the caliper over the rotor. Also check to make sure that your rotor is true. With the bike in a stand, spin the wheel. If the rotor is not just right, wash your hands and then manually bend it into trueness. It's easy to do. (Disclaimer: people will tell you "Never touch your rotors with your bare hands!" Not to worry. It's no big deal as long as your hands are not greasy and you're not sweating up a storm.)
Don't worry about stuff getting into the caliper. I've been running discs for the past 3+ years and have yet to plug a caliper up. And I ride 52 weeks a year in the mud capitol of the universe -- Western Oregon. If you've got a stick in there or something, just pull it out. Occasionally, when your bike is in the stand and the wheels are removed, take the brake pads out and blow some compressed air in the caliper to blast the dust out.
However, if the grinding sounds bad, then patiently search for its cause, isolating each potential source of the grinding sound and eliminating them from consideration one at a time. Once you're sure you've found the source of the grinding, you can then determine the proper method of dealing with it -- if it even requires any attention at all.
--Sparty |
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