Making Brakes Bite!

joerodman

Hey, I,ve got a set of avid elixir 5 brakes (saving to get some shimanos) and I cannot get good performance from the rear.

I have a set of Nukeproof pads in the front and they are close to perfect, but I cheaped out on the rear and bought Clarks (£4.99 CRC). Even after a bed in session and a couple of weeks of use they don't perform as I'd like.

I have tried de-greasing the pads and rotors, bleeding the system and gently rubbing the pads with sand paper.

Any suggestions before I throw them in the bin and buy another set of Nukeproofs?

Dirty-Boy

Have you used them off road yet? A bit of mud and dirt tends to get them biting good!

joerodman

Yes, they have had a fair bit of off road use

thistle_

Are your front and rear rotors the same size?

joerodman

No, the front in 205mm and rear is 180mm. Would you think this could dramatically affect the performance?

mrmonkfinger

cyd190468 wrote:

Put the good pads in the back. Crappy front pads are actually good insurance against panic breaking causing OTB moments.

WTF? craziest advice ever

Even after a bed in session and a couple of weeks of use they don't perform as I'd like

Get some IPA to clean the discs with (not degreaser) - degreaser can leave residue. Clean the disc with that, and give the pads another sanding. If that doesn't fix it I'd get another set of nukeproof pads.

nicklouse

joerodman wrote:

Hey, I,ve got a set of avid elixir 5 brakes (saving to get some shimanos) and I cannot get good performance from the rear.

I have a set of Nukeproof pads in the front and they are close to perfect, but I cheaped out on the rear and bought Clarks (£4.99 CRC). Even after a bed in session and a couple of weeks of use they don't perform as I'd like.

I have tried de-greasing the pads and rotors, bleeding the system and gently rubbing the pads with sand paper.

Any suggestions before I throw them in the bin and buy another set of Nukeproofs?

When pulling the lever watch the rotor.

Is it moved by the pads? If yes set you caliper up correctly and do not over tighten he bolts. IIRC the CPS bolts should only be about 5-7Nm but check the manual.

felix.london

cyd190468 wrote:

mrmonkfinger wrote:

cyd190468 wrote:

Put the good pads in the back. Crappy front pads are actually good insurance against panic breaking causing OTB moments.

WTF? craziest advice ever
.

Dunno bout you but in general trail riding I go through three sets of rear pads for every set of fronts so I consider them less used so less important. Also don't you have friends who seem to go OTB way more than they should? Generally panic brakers.

huh?

cooldad

felix.london wrote:

cyd190468 wrote:

mrmonkfinger wrote:

cyd190468 wrote:

Put the good pads in the back. Crappy front pads are actually good insurance against panic breaking causing OTB moments.

WTF? craziest advice ever
.

Dunno bout you but in general trail riding I go through three sets of rear pads for every set of fronts so I consider them less used so less important. Also don't you have friends who seem to go OTB way more than they should? Generally panic brakers.

huh?

+1 dafuq?

stubs

cyd190468 wrote:

mrmonkfinger wrote:

cyd190468 wrote:

Put the good pads in the back. Crappy front pads are actually good insurance against panic breaking causing OTB moments.

WTF? craziest advice ever
.

Dunno bout you but in general trail riding I go through three sets of rear pads for every set of fronts so I consider them less used so less important. Also don't you have friends who seem to go OTB way more than they should? Generally panic brakers.

Dont you find the stabilisers get in the way when going round corners

Seriously mate you want to leave off the back brake a bit. Front brake is for braking rear brake is for control, if your locking up the back wheel a lot your doing it wrong.

stubs

cyd190468 wrote:

You guys do actually ride off road don't you?
Yeah back brake is for control and front brake is for slowing you down so I try to avoid using it because it slows you down. Plus if you use too much front brake it compresses your fork so you have less travel available.

Whaaa You cannot be serious please tell me you read the calendar wrong and still think its April 1st

cooldad

stubs wrote:

cyd190468 wrote:

You guys do actually ride off road don't you?
Yeah back brake is for control and front brake is for slowing you down so I try to avoid using it because it slows you down. Plus if you use too much front brake it compresses your fork so you have less travel available.

Whaaa You cannot be serious please tell me you read the calendar wrong and still think its April 1st

He's Australian. Look on a globe - everything there is upside down and back to front.

stubs

cooldad wrote:

He's Australian. Look on a globe - everything there is upside down and back to front.

Ahh that explains it standing upside down all the time the blood has gone to his head

DanDax1990

cooldad wrote:

stubs wrote:

cyd190468 wrote:

You guys do actually ride off road don't you?
Yeah back brake is for control and front brake is for slowing you down so I try to avoid using it because it slows you down. Plus if you use too much front brake it compresses your fork so you have less travel available.

Whaaa You cannot be serious please tell me you read the calendar wrong and still think its April 1st

He's Australian. Look on a globe - everything there is upside down and back to front.

Hahaha, You just made my day

On a serious note, I think he's trying to show off by telling us he never brakes because he's super rad-gnar. All he does it get the rear wheel out and kick up dirt with a sexy skid.

97th choice

cyd190468 wrote:

You guys do actually ride off road don't you?
Yeah back brake is for control and front brake is for slowing you down so I try to avoid using it because it slows you down. Plus if you use too much front brake it compresses your fork so you have less travel available.

Why do you think the front rotor is usually bigger than the rear? Just asking like.

stevieboy308

cyd190468 wrote:

Yeah back brake is for control and front brake is for slowing you down so I try to avoid using it because it slows you down.

what about when you want to slow down?

Dirty-Boy

stevieboy308 wrote:

cyd190468 wrote:

Yeah back brake is for control and front brake is for slowing you down so I try to avoid using it because it slows you down.

I think this bloke might be better off with a BMX! lol

bennett_346

Time to get the pills back out bud...

cooldad

I think the pills might be the problem.

bennett_346

What's happened to your avatar?

cooldad

Good question.

cooldad

Fixed.