Disc brakes, front has very little power, Contaminated?

shigllgetcha

Hi there,

My front brake (clarks skelatal) doesnt stop the bike. The back is very strong the front isnt. It wont lock the wheel itll just slow it down and kind of shudders and slips once it starts gripping.

The levers both feel the same neither feels any softer than the other. I checked and the reservoir is full

Does it sound like the pads might be contaminated? Should I swap the back pads that work properly into the front to check if thats the problem? Or is that a silly idea for some reason.

I dont really want to spend any money on the brakes until im sure whats wrong as id just as soon swap them for a better set but if a set of pads would fix it Id buy them

aidso

Try applying a bit of mud to the rotor and give it a few stops, will soon find out if its contamination.

shigllgetcha

So if I put some mud on the rotor and it stops the bike better thatd mean something is contaminated and I should go change the pads?

aidso

Loosely, yes. Although before rushing out and buying new pads, consider washing them in hot water and fairy-liquid (take them off the bike) and bake them in the oven for 20mins. That'll get rid of any oil or product that may have contaminated them.

shigllgetcha

cheers thanks ill try that.

miceden

Could be contamination if its slipping but have you checked the pads to see if they are worn....? When you take the pads out to clean compare them to the rear pads.

njee20

Mud is unlikely to help, unless you've just got some crap on your rotors, which is pretty unlikely.

Baking pads may help, I'd sooner hold them over a gas hob flame or something for 30 seconds, but at the end of the day if they've got a contaminant on them it's not worth the effort.

Don't swap them round - if you have got contaminated pads you'll just get the contaminant on the rear rotor too.

I'd just get some new pads for a few quid on Superstar and give the rotors a thorough clean with something that doesn't leave any residue (IPA best, meths fine, white spirit bad).

bennyy

Just give them a sand down to remove the contaminated pad material, clean the motor with IPA and re bed them in.guaranteed to be good as new.

I'm suprised how many people are against or unaware of the sanding down technique, it works wonders for contaminated pads.

njee20

If there's some sort of surface contaminant, fairly useless if they've got something soaked in.

Chunkers1980

Not against it, I find using them solves most problems.

Taking them out, sanding them and putting them in the oven is quite a lot of faffing (and some cost) for the less than a fiver from Superstar they cost. As well and looking what you're spraying close to them and riding through all of course.

poah

clean rotor in fairy liquid and buy new pads since they are pretty cheap.

shigllgetcha

If the consensus is that the pads are contaminated I think ill just buy a set and clean the rotors. Ill try cleaning the pads first this weekend and then maybe buy a set.

I didnt want to run out and buy a set if I was wrong and maybe end up wanting to bin them if it was something bigger

Thanks for the help guys

cooldad

No one has any idea whether your pads are contaminated, let alone consensus on the issue.

Have you actually looked to see that you have any pad left?

shigllgetcha

yeh tons of pad left from what I remember

cooldad

Remember?

poah

cooldad wrote:

Remember?

old people like you struggle to do it

cooldad

POAH wrote:

cooldad wrote:

Remember?

old people like you struggle to do it

We do, which is why I would actually look and see.

Although I do remember when my pads had lots of meat left. Strangely enough just after I fitted them.

Kowalski675

cooldad wrote:

No one has any idea whether your pads are contaminated, let alone consensus on the issue.

You'll rarely get a consensus on a brake thread - too much misinformation and too many old wives tales around...

The Rookie

Not to mention a lack of concise information from posters in many cases.....the most likely explanation is contamination.