Frankenbrakes and brake improvement discussion
- Thread starter Udi
- Start date
My front pads were pretty low, but I honestly didn't notice any difference at the lever.
As for my rattling pads. It's been a none issue here in Alberta. The trails are rocky enough so I just can't hear it. That at I had them ripping hot on a steep trail. Wow they were loud.
I definitely find that I need to replace pads that are not fully worn to get the best performance from different brakes (SRAM, shimano, and TRP). Once the pads get down a bit you get too much piston extension, causing other issues. Shims are an interesting idea that might help extend pad life while retaining performance.
Sounds like a job for a beer can, some snips, and a drill. Let us know how it goes!
Got 3-4 sets of pads almost down to the spring without any change of feel at the lever.
I'm with you... pads are typically 80-90% word by the time the wear begins negatively effecting the lever, and at that point, I feel I've gotten my money's worth out of the pads!
FWIW, I was underwhelmed with the Galfers on the Shimano RT86 rotors. Just couldn't get any grab out of them. They worked brilliantly on the Hope rotors I had though. Not sure why there would be any difference really.
I'm also finding the Shimano rotors more prone to warping than other brands.
Local Enduro Expert
would a quick MC bleed probably introduce the extra needed fluid to comp for the pad wear?
ex: anything that uses a cup at the lever: install bleed cup w/fluid, pump a few times, viola?
ex: anything that uses a cup at the lever: install bleed cup w/fluid, pump a few times, viola?
Yes, but be sure to open up the bleed screw before pushing the pistons back when you install new pads. Some diaphragm damage might occur otherwise. Especially with Shimano, but no surprise there.
EBC do some I think
I mean like do Saints fit in Dominions?
They don't, but maybe some other pad shape does...
I think I've gone through half these new metal pads in a few days here in BC.
Still have another day Kicking Horse and a few at Revelstoke...
I mean like do Saints fit in Dominions?
They don't, but maybe some other pad shape does...
I think I've gone through half these new metal pads in a few days here in BC.
Still have another day Kicking Horse and a few at Revelstoke...
Ali Express!
Can they deliver tomorrow?
If his account goes quiet we all cross Red MTX off the list and start recruiting a new guinea pig.
Thats what everyone tells me, galfer is the best.new galfer shark discs slightly bend out of the box
Galfer still a no from me.
If you can't make a pad that works with the most common midrange rotor in the world...
FWIW it was an icetech RT86 203mm (they're still made in Japan), seems to work fine with other pads.
Galfer Pro / Green = didn't bite very well
Galfer Red = didn't bite in wet conditions
If you can't make a pad that works with the most common midrange rotor in the world...
FWIW it was an icetech RT86 203mm (they're still made in Japan), seems to work fine with other pads.
Galfer Pro / Green = didn't bite very well
Galfer Red = didn't bite in wet conditions
Anyone able to compare MTX Gold vs. Galfer Pros on Dominions? I have run Golds on Code RSCs in the past, and just put Pros on both my pairs of Dominions. The Pros felt great at first, but seem to be wearing out incredibly fast (like... 2 weeks and I'm already starting to have to constantly fiddle with the reach adjust). From what I remember on the Golds, they lasted forever, but I also remember I had to fiddle with the contact adjuster on the Codes constantly, so they might not be any better in that regard than the Galfers.
I did a road trip up to OR last weekend, and 1/4 pairs of Galfer pads shit the bed somehow on the trip up there. I can't say for certain it's the pads' fault, but I do know that after 3 rounds of iso, sanding, iso on both the rotors and pads, they were still honking like a demonic goose. Every time I'd go to bed them in, the pads would get really dark, black smears would appear on the rotor, and honking would start as soon as soon as bed-in finished. I tried 2 different rotors too. Only thing that made it go away was going to a fresh set of Hayes 100 sintered pads. It's possible that it's just some road gunk, but seems odd that the rest of the pads/brakes were fine.
Just noisy and dirty or they also didn't stop well?
I have never touched the shitty Radius cable disc brakes on my fat bike in 3 years (only use it in the winter between 0C and -20C basically), and with 180mm rotors it's enough to stop me in the snow. My friends are always fiddling with sticky pistons or levers with their DOT or mineral oil brakes, and I just ride.
I must say that I carry my fat bike in the car though, as road grime in the winter destroys everything and I don't feel like cleaning it after each ride.
So @Andeh, it could be a contamination issue from the road maybe? I usually cover my rear rotor when lubing my chain and when hosing my bike and make sure to clean the rotors with IPA before braking again. I don't doubt your meticulousness at all, just wondering out loud.
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I have shitty Shimano brakes on my fat bike and pretty sure they leak or something.
But they still work - not that they have to do much on snow, it doesn't take much before the tires lose traction.
But yeah, I never put my bike on the rack as soon as they start laying down salt or thay brine stuff on the ground.
The brake technically worked, but it vibrated so much I felt it through the frame. It was really unnerving to try and drop speed before a corner and have the whole bike shake and honk. Luckily it was on the bike I only rode 1 day, and my bike I rode the other 2 days was fine. I didn't wash the bike or lube the chain, and it wasn't raining at all. I mean, it probably was something from the road, but I'd think that 3 rounds of decon would have fixed it. Rotor was true enough not to rub. All the pistons were advancing.
When I put Dominions on my Smuggler the rear was honking quite a bit, though I'd never had an issue with the Hope E4 on that bike. I ended up trying new pads, a new rotor and then replacing the frame bearings (wondered if they were worn and causing a resonance/vibration). In the end I dropped from a 203 to a 180 rotor and dead silence. Not sure if it was the adaptor causing the issue or just something to do with the torque? I've left it like that cos with the Dominion the 180 is heaps for that bike, but will try to find another adaptor and try the bigger rotor again in the future.
Glad swapping pads fixed your issue.
FWIW, I've never really had any luck trying to decontaminate brake pads. Once they're done, they're done IME.
Yeah, I tried both the 220 that was on there (it's an ebike) and a 200, because I thought it might be rotor flex or something weird, but that didn't fix it. My theory is: road gunk got on 1 pad and penetrated deep. Uneven pad grip side to side caused a slip/start vibration.
I agree with it barely being worth the effort to try decon'ing pads... I think I've been successful at it like one time in a half dozen attempts or so, and that involved heavy sanding and lighting the iso on fire. i.e., not worth the effort.
I agree with it barely being worth the effort to try decon'ing pads... I think I've been successful at it like one time in a half dozen attempts or so, and that involved heavy sanding and lighting the iso on fire. i.e., not worth the effort.
I just had a banjo bolt head shear off of my Direttissima C42 which is annoying. I‘ve emailed Trickstuff and I’m sure they’ll ship me a new one but it’ll take a week or so to arrive to the UK from Germany. Has anyone had success using a different bolt in a Direttissima C42 caliper? Maybe a Sram or Shimano?
Shimano, Hayes, Hope, Goodridge, should work, they're all the same with M6x1 thread. I recall the old SRAM code had a slightly different looking screw, not sure what they use nowadays. Magura uses M5 for some strange reason, so defo avoid that.
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Some Shimanos do have the same fittings on both ends, which is just the barb and olive.
But the ones with the banjo bolts, yeah are not replaceable. But the hoses aren't too expensive.
The bad thing is Shimanos cross compatibility list and part number lookup vs model. Once you toss that out the window and realize they all work together, it's easier to find.
Had to try 4 different 203mm rotors until I could find one that was straight enough to not rub from side to side on Hayes A4s, and that is after attempting to straighten while measureing with a dial indicator. They seem to need to be within 0.003". Great brakes but the required rotor tolerances are much tighter than even Hayes seems to produce.
so far i‘m only mildly impressed by the shark discs from galfer. i still have the nc04 in stock, but with those pads they are quite loud.
What rotors did you try?
I have some Trickstuff rotors that are 2.1mm (I think...) thick and at least the front one got warped from heat in BC.
Was going to try Hayes own rotors, as they are ever so slightly thinner.
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FWIW the 3 Magura rotors (203mm) I bought from R2bike were very warped, like a mm or more. I got to put them pretty straight, but it's still annoying. I had two extras from another store that were straight so I used those instead. They probably got bent in shipping, maybe that was the case with yours too @Westy ?
Sram, which were potato chips out of the box and couldn't be straightened enough. 2.3mm TRPs which were too wide for the Hayes, at least with fresh pads. Then I bought some actual Hayes rotors which could be straightened to work in the shop but would get all wobbly after any real application of brakes. Eventually some 1.8mm 2 piece TRPs did the trick. I am guessing being thin out of the box helped. Unfortunate that they aren't compatible with 2.3mm rotors as logic would assume they would be straighter and more stable.
Mine wasn't warped, but it didn't quite measure 2.0 as claimed, so if you need some "bigger than 1.8, but not bigger than 2.0" they might make a good buy.