Tektro Draco - Power loss and creak

ralph_ie

Hi all,

I'm having a problem with a tektro draco hydraulic brake on the rear of my bike. Its not the greatest of brakes but has so far been dependable. I was out on a ride and it lost its stopping power, to the point where when the lever was fully depressed the wheel still turns but with a horrendous creak/squeal on/or around the rotor.

To try and sort it out I have since bled the brake which has made the lever much firmer, replaced the pads and cleaned the rotor with some alcohol rub. The stopping power is improved when riding but is still not what it was. If I engage the brake when stationary and just rock a bit of weight across the bike the creak is apparent, and I can get the wheel to turn. It's difficult to pinpoint the creak with a short arm and poor ear, but I think it could be from within the calliper.

Anybody got any ideas what could be causing this? I'm running short of ideas and am at the point of taking it to the LBS to see what they reckon.

The Rookie

Are you sure the creak isn't just the noise of the disc going through the pads, if you 'just' roll a wheel you often get a creak.

ralph_ie

The creaking is happening when the pads are engaged and the disc isn't rotating. One of the reasons I think it is the calliper is because I can't explain the loss of power otherwise.

Uli

Tektro Draco caliper is very similar to Auriga (if not the same) so it is serviceable, despite Tektro says NO. You can disassemble it, give good cleaning and replace seals. It helped with mine.

The Rookie

Checked the mounting bolts? the only way to get a creak is movement!

ralph_ie

I looked at the mounting bolts a while ago and noticed one had been loose. The movement had stripped the black paint down to the metal frame which is how I noticed. This was tightened up and still is, but could there be some damage from when it was loose meaning that it can't now be 100% secure?

I might take a look at servicing the caliper. Is this a fairly straight forward job of taking bolts out and making sure it all goes back in the same order?

Uli

To open caliper you need security torx- few £ from hardware store or Ebay. The job itself is pretty simple and there is helpful stuff online ie:
http://www.mtbe.co.uk/servicing-tektro- ... 5082c4eca6

The Rookie

It won't be the caliper, of that I am 99.99% sure, what could move? If a piston were moving that much you'd have a puddle underneath it, you run a greater risk of coming out worse off than you started this way!

pesky_jones

ralph_ie wrote:

I was out on a ride and it lost its stopping power,

I have the same brakes on my hardrock and had exactly the same problem. One day, on the way to work I realised back brake had lost all power. I took it to lbs and they adjusted some cetnralising thing and adjusted the reach and it fixed it. I was convinced it was a fault issue, dont start farking around with the calliper untill you know the problem!

yz_jogi

I recommend you to take a look at the rear hub, grab the wheel and force it sideways to feel if the hub is tight. If not, tighten it. Same happened to me on the front (also Tektro Drako), the hub has a huge effect on the braking power if it is not tight enough.