Lubricants/greese and a non-oil based silicon lubricant

Levi_501

Gents, I have always used copper slip on the back and edges of my disk pads.

The OEM, has suggested this may be to thick and that I should try a non-oil based silicon lubricant.

Searching on google only brings up, how shall I put it, lubrication of an intimate nature. Whilst i have no problem applying KY to the bike, it just does not stike me a the first option.

Any thoughts or suggestions on a non-oil based silicon lubricant?

Thanks in advance

cooldad

On your pads? Nothing.
Seriously, why the fark would you want lubrication anywhere near your brakes?.

Uli

I guess idea coming from moto industry where you put copper grease on pad plates to avoid squeaking(?). Totally irrelevant for bike brakes.

cooldad

Not to mention stupidly dangerous.

Levi_501

Very relevant, improves braking performance, increases calliper life and stops noise.

cooldad

Rubbish. Brakes and grease don't mix - end of.

coulddobetter

On a car or motorbike yes .unless you are sir chris hoy and can generate a lot of heat on those rotors as others say oil and brakes is downright dangerous .I guess the pads and rotors would last longer with copperslip though as there would be a dramatic loss of friction.

Kowalski675

coulddobetter wrote:

On a car or motorbike yes .unless you are sir chris hoy and can generate a lot of heat on those rotors as others say oil and brakes is downright dangerous .I guess the pads and rotors would last longer with copperslip though as there would be a dramatic loss of friction.

How would there be any loss of friction? He's talking about a light smear of grease on the back of the pad backing plates (standard practice on all car and motorcycle brakes), not greasing the pads ffs - there's no possible way it could ever come into contact with the pad faces, and it's not dangerous in the slightest.

You can get silicone grease cheaply at any decent motor factors (or Ebay) - I use it on the pad backing plates and caliper pistons on my motorcycles (red rubber grease on the caliper piston seals).

Thewaylander

Mountain bike pads are pretty slim so oils and so on tend to penetrate through, and you may notice a number of wholes in the back of the pad so the grease will hit the back of the pad.

Plus accidents in instalation happen so i wouldnt.

Kowalski675

Thewaylander wrote:

Mountain bike pads are pretty slim so oils and so on tend to penetrate through, and you may notice a number of wholes in the back of the pad so the grease will hit the back of the pad.

Plus accidents in instalation happen so i wouldnt.

No holes on the back of my pads, and we're talking about a very light smear, not blathering the backing plates in it, so it wouldn't make any difference if there was - the grease still wouldn't be in contact with the friction material.

cooldad

Kowalski675 wrote:

we're talking about a very light smear, not blathering the backing plates in it, so it wouldn't make any difference if there was - the grease still wouldn't be in contact with the friction material.

Are we?

Levi_501 wrote:

Gents, I have always used copper slip on the back and edges of my disk pads.

Whichever way you look at it it's unneccesary, pointless and a bit stupid.
Bike brakes are very different to car/motorcycle brakes. They are much smaller, the pads are very thin, porous and the backing plates often have holes, and they operate at much lower temperatures.

Just don't.

supersonic

You also risk buggering the piston seals too.

Kowalski675

cooldad wrote:

Kowalski675 wrote:

we're talking about a very light smear, not blathering the backing plates in it, so it wouldn't make any difference if there was - the grease still wouldn't be in contact with the friction material.

Are we?

Yes, we are. He's talking about a light smear of grease on the back and edges of the backing plates, as you always would with car and motorcycle brakes. There's no possible way it could ever come into contact with the friction material or discs, and to suggest it's dangerous is just utterly ludicrous.

Either way, his question was where he could get some silicon grease, which was the question I answered.

Kowalski675

supersonic wrote:

You also risk buggering the piston seals too.

Silcon grease is perfectly safe to use on caliper pistons in systems that use DOT fluid, and won't affect the seals in the slightest. Don't know about mineral oil systems, never had one of those, but I'd imagine the seals are the same material.

cooldad

Kowalski675 wrote:

as you always would with car and motorcycle brakes. There's no possible way it could ever come into contact with the friction material or discs, and to suggest it's dangerous is just utterly ludicrous.

Really? And truly?
Seriously, just stop it, it's not a car.
Half the brake problems on here are people contaminating their brakes one way or another.
Not everyone is the mechanical god you are.

cooldad

And before you ask, the other half are people bleeding them because they contaminated them.

Kowalski675

Whether or not he needs to use it is a moot point, if he wants to do so then there's absolutely no harm in doing so, and to suggest it could be dangerous is just idiotic. It's nothing to do with being a "mechanical god" - if you can't dip your finger in some grease and apply a light smear to a surface then you won't be riding a bike anyway, because you'll be such a Joey Deacon that you can't even tie your own shoelaces, and certainly shouldn't be messing about with brakes, whether on a 30mph bicycle or a 170mph motorbike (the basic principles are the same).

cooldad

Except lots of people read the forum, with varying experience and skill levels, and could think it's a good idea, when it is really a stupid one.

Kowalski675

If you say so.

cooldad

Your apology is accepted.

Kowalski675

No apology was made or implied. Why would I aoplogise for being right, lol.

97th choice

I fail to see what benefits anyone would get from greasing the rear of bike pads. Apart from there being something new for dirt and dust to adhere to.

supersonic

No manufacturer recommends greasing the back of pads. In fact I am going to lock this thread as there is quite a bit of potentially dangerous info.

nicklouse

and many state that you should not put any grease on the back of the pads.