Brake Pads

BIGBOSS78659

Hi, I'm new to this new forum.
I purchased new brakes for my bike a couple of months ago. The brake performance was excellent. However now, the braking performance is awful. I think it's the brake pads.
The new brakes are called Artek. I have included some images of the brake pads so far.
Please could you tell me what do i need to do so i can get my brake performance back to normal
Thanks

Chunkers1980

Get new pads

Antm81

Have you advanced the pads since you've had the brakes? Mechanical pads don't adjust themselves as they wear so the pads need moving closer to the disc.

BIGBOSS78659

These are Hydraulic disc brakes. So i don't understand. I though maybe i should ask someone if the brake pads need replacing or something else needs replacing. So the pads need replacing right

Antm81

That first picture shows the inner of the cable being clamped after coming from the outer not a hydraulic hose.

BIGBOSS78659

I don't understand. I'm not experts on bikes. The reason i uploaded that picture to show how the cable was clamped. The reason it is fully clamped is that so my brakes sort of work. However when i purchased this i did not have to do this. The brake performance was excellent. So therefore do you recommend me getting new disc brake pads. Do you know which replacement brake pads do i need to purchase and if you could please give me a link.
Thanks

swod1

sounds like the pads have got contaminated but more likely you need to adjust the cable on the caliper its probably stretched like a gear cable and you need to add some tension to it.

philcubed

As Antm81 says, they are mechanical disc brakes, not hydraulic, as they have a wire to actuate them when you pull the brake lever. My son has mechanical disk brakes on his bike, as the pads wear you have to adjust the distance of the pads from the rotor. An allen key into the bolt on the side of the brake calliper from the wheel side will adjust the distance of this pad from the rotor. I can't tell from the pic if you need new pads. If you take the pads out you can see if they are worn down. Superstar components do good pads fairly cheap.

Antm81

Like I said try advancing the pads first, you'll probably find an Allen key adjust on either side of the caliper to do it, some even are adjustable by hand as the Pistons don't compensate for pad wear on mechanicals, my daughters bike uses them and I've had to do it plenty of times.

Once they're advanced the pads will sit closer to the disc before the lever is used therefore making better contact as the cable can only move them so far.

No point spending money on new pads till you've done this as it costs nothing and takes a couple of minutes.

BIGBOSS78659

Hi, I have tried to adjust the distance between the pads. However the further away i do it. The brakes don't even work. That's why i have fully clamped it so my brakes work. The pads may have got contaminated because WD-40 spilled a bit on the rotar and the pads. However this has happened before and i did clean it to make sure my brakes are working to my standards. However, as i have tried this it still doesn't improve the performance. So what do you think i should do?
Thanks

Antm81

It's not the cable that needs adjusting though, it's the Pistons on either side of the caliper.

BIGBOSS78659

Do you mean the pad on the right. Where the allen key is. Adjust that and my problem solved maybe.
Thanks

cooldad

BIGBOSS78659 wrote:

The pads may have got contaminated because WD-40 spilled a bit on the rotar and the pads.

New pads, clean the rotors with isopropyl alcohol, and get rid of the WD40.
No reason it should be anywhere near a bike.

Antm81

Bottom left of your pic there's an bolt which can be tightened to move the pad in, there will also be one opposite it on the other side of the brake next to the wheel to move the other pad.

If you have contaminated the pads it may not improve things much but it's free and if they're not could well be the cause.

Changing the pads shouldn't be the first thing you do, no point spending money until you've adjusted the brake properly.

BIGBOSS78659

Hi, its been a couple of days. I have purchased Muc off Disc brake cleaner. I have taken out the pads and they look fine. So i sprayed the disc cleaner on it. Got a toothbrush and started cleaning it to remove dirt etc. The next day when i put the pads back in. The braking performance was lost. Brakes were not working at all. I have tried everything but still no luck. I checked the pads and they were smooth. They had no friction maybe. So i got something equivalent to sand paper and started to make it be rough and it did. However, the brakes did kind of work. Very Very Very slow. I just want to get back when the brakes were working properly. I have also cleaned the rotors with the disc cleaner aswell. I have purchased new pads but don't know whether to replace the old ones.

cooldad

cooldad wrote:

BIGBOSS78659 wrote:

The pads may have got contaminated because WD-40 spilled a bit on the rotar and the pads.

New pads, clean the rotors with isopropyl alcohol, and get rid of the WD40.
No reason it should be anywhere near a bike.