New Bike from Halfords - Brake Issue

r8sso

Hi all

I've just purchased my girlfriend a bike from Halfords and when she took it out the brakes on it were terrible. There was a constant rubbing on the front disk and pulling the back front & front brakes had nearly no affect!

I took the bike back in and the first thing they said, without looking/testing it, was the pads need to be worn in and the front rubbing will disappear once the pad gets worn down, come back in a fortnight! I basically said that in its current state it was dangerous to ride and therefore wouldn't be bedding in the pads until they improved it's current setup.

I've just took the bike back and riding it home I'm still not impressed. It's better than it was but if I slam on the back brake it coasts to a stop and it's impossible to get the brakes to lock and skid. Even when you pull the front brake alongside the back one it still doesn't throw you into an abrupt stop.

I took my bike out I bought last week and difference is remarkable. Pulling the front brake sends you forward and you can feel the forks absorbing the pressure. The back brake brings you to a quick stop with a bit of locking/skidding.

I guess what I need to know is how much of this "bedding in" of the pads is true and does the above sound like a bedding in issue or a problem with the disk setup?

What should I be telling them to do next?

I bought her the Carrera Kraken 2015 bike:
http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/m ... -bike-2015

Where do I stand on returning the bike if they can't improve on the above?

Thanks
Ross

EDIT - My bike I was comparing it to was the Voodoo Bizango.

The Rookie

They are quite right about the rubbing, but if you are getting no meaningful braking at all then that suggests the pads are contaminated, that could have happened before or after the point of sale of course.

A few (10+) good hard stops down a hill will bed them in enough to be sure of the second point.

r8sso

They said they would sand down the pads and clean any residue off the disks so when it left the shop I assumed neither would be contaminated... I'm off to ride up and down a hill now for 10 runs! What a way to spend my day off; it's not even my bike!

r8sso

OK - so I've cleaned the discs down again with some cleaner and took it up and down a hill near mine for 6 runs plus some heavy breaking on flats. It just doesn't improve. I can actually pedal the bike while the back break is fully pressed...that's just not right is it?! Or is it, I'm clueless!?

cooldad

What are you trying to clean them with?

Most things will just add censored and make them worse.

r8sso

I bought the muc-off disk cleaner from halfords!

Just out of curiosity, would WD40 affect the breaks as I gave it a squirt of that yesterday so it may have hit the pads/disks...?

EDIT - Just to add; I took it back again and they wheeled it out the back and 60 seconds later the guy comes out and said the technician says there is nothing more he can do! I'm slightly concerned about how two peoples opinions are poles apart in regards to what I class are dangerously bad breaks! Anyway they are going to fully replace the breaks from another bike they have in stock.

cooldad

r8sso wrote:

I bought the muc-off disk cleaner from halfords!

Just out of curiosity, would WD40 affect the breaks as I gave it a squirt of that yesterday so it may have hit the pads/disks...?

EDIT - Just to add; I took it back again and they wheeled it out the back and 60 seconds later the guy comes out and said the technician says there is nothing more he can do! I'm slightly concerned about how two peoples opinions are poles apart in regards to what I class are dangerously bad breaks! Anyway they are going to fully replace the breaks from another bike they have in stock.

Yes. Juice of the devil. It's not a lubricant, it's a water dispersant, and yes, any on the brakes and they will not work.
You could try cleaning the rotors with isopropyl alcohol, and replacing the pads.

The Rookie

WD40 goes everywhere when it sprays out, and yes, it is guaranteed to render your brake pads junk, remove, clean disc with IPA (alcohol) and fitting new pads would have fixed it, however your rant seems to have got Halfords to fix your problem so suggest they are owed a big thanks.

Initialised

I have found that if I get GT85 (similar to WD40) any where near my discs I have to go through the bedding in procedure before they work properly again. I'm much more careful with it these days!

cooldad

Initialised wrote:

I have found that if I get GT85 (similar to WD40) any where near my discs I have to go through the bedding in procedure before they work properly again. I'm much more careful with it these days!

Simple solution is don't spray any censored on your bike.

The Rookie

And often bedding in won't fix it anyway......

FishFish

OK good advice above. The fact that the brakes constantly rubbed suggests that they were never set up correctly in the first place. I don't know if brakes are factory fit or the retailer does that but substituting brakes from another bike might just replicate the problem. You are being fobbed off by the mechanics by the sounds of things and I think that if you accept the brake swap issue you should try out the brakes on the bike they are coming from first. You may also want to give them a condition that if the brakes do not work as you expect them to then the bike is not fit for purpose - as well as being unsafe - and remind them that as the consumer you do have the right to expect the thing you buy to work.

BTW if you are complaining about going up and down a hill 6 times for your gf - then wait until you are married!

r8sso

The Rookie wrote:

WD40 goes everywhere when it sprays out, and yes, it is guaranteed to render your brake pads junk, remove, clean disc with IPA (alcohol) and fitting new pads would have fixed it, however your rant seems to have got Halfords to fix your problem so suggest they are owed a big thanks.

To be fair, the WD40 didn't come out until after my 2nd complaint and even then I'm not sure if any of the spray/mist touched the brakes. As it is, after doing some further research on the brake components there are a few reviews from people who say the stopping power of the pads/discs (Clarks EXO hydraulic disc brakes) is terrible. One guy says they are fine for a child but for anyone with any weight behind them they just coast the bike to a halt rather than stopping it dead.

I have a 6 week service so I'll see how it goes and if this 'bedding in' they are so insistent on hasn't improved then I might consider buying new brakes for it.

FishFish wrote:

BTW if you are complaining about going up and down a hill 6 times for your gf - then wait until you are married!

That made me chuckle!

The Rookie

Rubbing can often be fixed by bedding in, the brakes are factory fitted and not at the dealer (assuming that bike wasn't robbed of parts to fix another and refitted later).

oxocube1

As a Halfords technician I can vouch for the fact that this is a relatively common problem with the Clarks Exo brakes and it's predecessor that was on the Carreras before, the Skeletals. When they come new on the bikes, they often have very poor stopping power and the pads tend to rub/catch the rotor. The latter can be sorted quite easily by adjusting the caliper position, and often I'll have to let a little fluid out of the system as they tend to 'over fill' them in the factory.

The stopping power issue is just a case of bedding them in. A lot of customers think it's just a way of 'fobbing people off' but it is a genuine procedure recommended by all brake manufactures. You need to transfer pad material onto the rotor in an even layer to pair them. The same way as it is with vehicle brake systems. How the brake beds in determines how well they will perform. If it's not bedded in properly, you won't get full stopping power and often get squeaking/noises.

If by the 6 week service you are still having issues, it might be worth trying a new set of pads, which of course will need bedding in again!