Awful front brakes!

notamondayfan

Hello all!

First post, but love the site!

I have been commuting for a few months now, and the bike is OK, but the front brakes are truly awful!

The bike is a mountain bike, front suspension, front disc frame, and all I've done is put some skinny tyres on her, and changed the caliper as the last one was jamming on.

I changed it to a mechanical Avid BB5 caliper and disc, and put a new cable in too. I've never been impressed with the caliper, the braking power is pants, by rear V brake is much much better, and recently the front brake is almost none existant, so much so that if I pull on the lever any more I'm going to damage either the caliper or the handle.

There's plenty of wear on the pads, so that's OK, and I'm sure the caliper is set-up fine, but I don't know what to look for or change.

I don't have a lot of spare cash (hence why I haven't bought a road / hybrid bike), so before spending out, I'd like to hear if anyone has any suggestions!

The only alternative I can think of is to ditch the front forks, change to ridgid forks with v brakes. To be honest if I could do this on a tight budget I would, but wouldn't know where to start with as to sourcing parts, and compatibility. I've lost all faith it disc brakes, perhaps I'm not spending enough, but I could buy a 6 pot brake caliper for a car for the price of a mid-range bike caliper!

Anyway, if anyone can help it would be really appreciated!

Thanks,
Dean

CitizenLee

To be fair, Avid mechanical disc brakes are poor even when working at their best. In fact, even Avid hydro discs are a bit rubbish. I wouldn't let the bad experience you've had with the BB5 sully your opinion on discs in general.

Shimano Deore M615 is only £38.99 per brake, which is great value for the excellent performance they offer.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shim ... prod108802

The Rookie

I'd disagree completely, the Avid BB are some of the best mechanical callipers going and better than some hydros, it sounds like classic contaminated pads and/or lack of adjustment, if the lever comes back to the grips, they need adjusting, they need to engage really quickly or you don't get the best from them, if they do then it's contaminated pads and you need new ones and to clean the discs with rubbing alcohol (IPA).

CitizenLee

If you don't mind partaking in witchcraft and ritual sacrifice then yeah, you can get them to work ok, but no brake should require so much effort. I've had Avid BB5, BB7 and Tektro mech dics, and even when set-up perfectly they're all shite compared to an out-of-the-box Shimano hydro which are generally fit and forget until the pads need changing.

notamondayfan

OK I think I'll try some new pads and clean the disc. I don't really want to spend any more than I have to, and the BB5 wasn't cheap to begin with. I heard good things about BB5, hence why I bought it.

I'm pretty sure the calliper is adjusted properly, not rubbing on the disc, but not a lot of lever movement needed to get the pad onto the disc.

I don't have any alcohol, would white spirit be OK?

CitizenLee

If you want to keep it then first thing to do is make sure the cable is sufficiently tight as if the pads aren't worn out then a loose cable is why the lever is coming back to the bars to so much.

Top tip - Before adjusting the cable, screw the barrel adjuster on the lever all the way in and then screw it back out two full turns. This will allow you room for +/- adjustment once you’ve retightened the cable.

supersonic

White spirit is too 'rich' - stick to IPA. New pads, clean the rotor, new cables.

notamondayfan

Changed the pads, and cleaned the rotor and it's a different world all together. The pads looks very mucky, I can only presume some oil / grease has found it's way in, and then dirt has stuck to that, and it's just got worse steadily over time.

Still not 100% confident on the front brakes, but at least I know it's there should I ever really need it.

Cheers,
Dean

supersonic

They have to bed in though - brake pad material is deposited onto the rotor.

MichaelW

Most cost effective replacement pads are Superstar.
White Spirits will leave a sticky deposit on the rotor. Methylated spirits is the stuff to use.
Bed in your new pads by braking to generate heat, ie down a steep hill. Don't touch the hot rotor.

The Rookie

Meths still leaves a residue, which is why, as has been said, IPA is the thing to use.