First bike wash, braking issues.

Gibbo3771 · October 2011

Hi,

I had my bike out in the rain yesterday and when i got home i decided to wash it down as it was a little bit dirty, I followed the guide on this site and I have ran into issues with the disc brakes.

My back break is extremely less responsive and front is slightly, I never put any sort of lube or oil on the discs just soapy water and then dried it off with a clean, dry cloth.

For the cables I soak an old sock in GT85 (sp?) and ran it along all the cables and chain ( I dont have chain lube, have I done this correctly?) and also cleaned the jockey wheels and cassete with the same stuff. So the only thing I didnt do that was in the guide was a degreaser and lube....

Should I redo it all over with the degreaser and lube once I get it?

Back when I was younger and I used to bounce around in £100 bikes I just used WD-40 on everything lol.

cooldad · October 2011

Did you rinse the soapy water off?
And did you get GT85 on the discs?
GT85 is useless as a chain lube.
Degreaser and lube aren't going to help with brakes.

Gibbo3771 · October 2011

cooldad wrote:

Did you rinse the soapy water off?
And did you get GT85 on the discs?
GT85 is useless as a chain lube.
Degreaser and lube aren't going to help with brakes.

Afaik I know I cleaned it off well

Dont think I got GT85 on the dics, pretty certain actually

Ok, got it...get chain lube lol, brand recommendation?

lol I guessed that since lube = less friction and last time I checked breaks need friction to work

hehe.

What should I clean the disc breaks with if they have been out in the harsh weather? just water and soap?

cooldad · October 2011

I just use lots of fresh water, no soap.
You could try some isopropyl alcohol on the rotors, but try rinsing well first.

Chain lube = Squirt, but I'm sure you'll get a number of different views.

pj101 · October 2011

Nice clean cloth and some meths on the discs and pads, fraction of the price of branded cleaner. If that doesn't work then I reckon you've contaminated the pads. I've heard you can burn them or stick them in the oven, but I've opted for new pads the times I've ruined them. Brakes and tyres are areas I wont leave to chance.

cooldad · October 2011

Don't use meths, it has additives and can leave a residue.
Isopropyl is just as cheap, from ebay, chemists etc.

nicklouse · October 2011

what did you clean the bike with.

Meths has been fine for me over the years. Or are ther more than one type now with the EU.

Anonymous · October 2011

There's always been more than one type of meths as far as I know, and most of them leave a horrible, oily mess behind.

Don;t clean your bike and it will live longer. A dirty bike is a happy bike.

andy46 · October 2011

Muc off disc brake cleaner on the discs and pads, then go for a short ride and get some heat into the brakes. Works for me

Some might say that Muc off is expensive but a tin of the disc brake cleaner has lasted me ages.

Anonymous · October 2011

Why would you need to clean your brakes? It doesn't matter how much crud I've ridden mine through, the brakes are self-cleaning.

felix.london · October 2011

yeehaamcgee wrote:

Why would you need to clean your brakes? It doesn't matter how much crud I've ridden mine through, the brakes are self-cleaning.

Exactly! - I'll give the calipers & pistons a bit of a wipe down when I change the pads other than that leave 'em well alone.

The Spiderman · October 2011

If you have contaminated the pads and it is very easily done,I`ve taken the pads out abraded them with fine sandpaper,degreased the rotors and put the pads back in before with success.

You only need a little bit of grease or oil on there to stop the pads biting.All too easy to do on the rear when cleaning and lubing the chain,especially with anything in an aerosol can!

ddraver · October 2011

Soak the brakes in brake cleaner/degreaser, wait for it to evaporate then go and do a couple of hard stops to get them hot. By the bottom of the first descent you do they ll be back to normal. I don't hold with having to buy a new set of pads everytime you get a tinsy bit of overspray on them - Unless you re giving the pads a bath in the stuff they ll be fine - Imagine what would happen if you needed new pads everytime you rode through an oily puddle on the way to the trails!

The brakes don't need regular cleaning,give them a spray down with the hose if you want them shiny and only properly clean them when they really muddy

Gibbo3771 · October 2011

Thanks for all the replies guys,

I have had a lot of issues with the bike since I last posted lol, 2 punctures (yay spare tubes!) and also still had the issue of breaking but this time it was different. I am also skipping gears a bit now but afaik, being a new bike all the cables are still due to stretch and settle.

Somehow....must have been when I fell at one point the break cable got a kink in it and today when i was booting it down a hill it snapped. I went to the shop and got it replaced tho and the guy kindly tightened up all my cables for free

The issue is fixed with the weak breaking power, I rewashed the discs with boiling water and then dried then and went out and done 6-7 20-0mph stops and now they are back to normal, I think there must have been some overspray on the pads like said.

I appreciate all the help

First bike wash, braking issues.

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