Weaker front brake

Aux1 · June 2007

Hi, I just noticed my front Julie doesn't bite as hard. When I squeeze the brake and push the bike hard with my arms and body weight it doesn't hold, it budges bit by bit. It doesn't squeal or anything and the rotor doesn't seem to be slippery when I touch it. I had new forks fitted this weekend, transported the bike by car and stuff, maybe the brake got contaminated in the process? Although I cannot think of an occasion that oil could drip on the rotor... I just noticed a decrease in power this morning. It stops the bike on the road quickly, but you notice when you brake extra hard.

To clip or not to clip, that is the question. Whether tis nobler in the mind of men to suffer the dings and contusions of unclipp'd riding, or to bind thy feet against a sea of gnarly singletrack and by these contraptions, ride o'er them with ease. To clip... to slip no more, and by clipping to end the buttache and the thousand natural shocks that ryders are heir to; tis a consummation devoutly to be honed. No clip - to slip perchance to be thrashed most heinously...

KTM Ultra Flite 2007

Unknown · June 2007

you will have contaminated the pads. or glazed them.

DO NOT touch the rotors with you hands. even the oil present on the skin can contaminate the pads.

To deal with glazed pads,
remove the wheel and remove one pad. previously having prepared some "wet and dry" paper on a flat surface give it a few rubs to get rid of the glazing. replace the pad in the same place and repeat with the other pad. (or if you remove both pads together make sure they go back into the same place).

nick
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Aux1 · June 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by nicklouse

you will have contaminated the pads. or glazed them.

DO NOT touch the rotors with you hands. even the oil present on the skin can contaminate the pads.

To deal with glazed pads,
remove the wheel and remove one pad. previously having prepared some "wet and dry" paper on a flat surface give it a few rubs to get rid of the glazing. replace the pad in the same place and repeat with the other pad. (or if you remove both pads together make sure they go back into the same place).

nick
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<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Thanks! I hope it isn't a full contamination, hope I'll sort it out... and thanks for the no touching tip!

P.s. wet and dry, is it like sandpaper, for use on wet and dry surfaces?

One more thing... I actually never cleaned the rotors, the brakes just kept on working perfectly and the rotors looked shiny and clean all the time so I kinda saw no need for it... [:I]

To clip or not to clip, that is the question. Whether tis nobler in the mind of men to suffer the dings and contusions of unclipp'd riding, or to bind thy feet against a sea of gnarly singletrack and by these contraptions, ride o'er them with ease. To clip... to slip no more, and by clipping to end the buttache and the thousand natural shocks that ryders are heir to; tis a consummation devoutly to be honed. No clip - to slip perchance to be thrashed most heinously...

KTM Ultra Flite 2007

Unknown · June 2007

wet and dry is usually a blue black colour and can be used wet or dry.

sand paper can only be used dry.

You say you have never gleaned the rotors. give them a wipe down with some isopropanol alcohol and go for a quick muddy ride. some mudd on the rotors can help de-glaze the pads.

nick
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Aux1 · June 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by nicklouse

wet and dry is usually a blue black colour and can be used wet or dry.

sand paper can only be used dry.

You say you have never gleaned the rotors. give them a wipe down with some isopropanol alcohol and go for a quick muddy ride. some mudd on the rotors can help de-glaze the pads.

nick
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<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

You're the man for helping me! [:)]

I found a huge bottle of isopropanol here at work, wiped the rotors, tried not to inhale the stuff too much [:D], will try to find some mud after work today! Somewhere in the forest where it hasn't dried yet... Like, go through a muddy puddle 10 times f I find one? [:p]

To clip or not to clip, that is the question. Whether tis nobler in the mind of men to suffer the dings and contusions of unclipp'd riding, or to bind thy feet against a sea of gnarly singletrack and by these contraptions, ride o'er them with ease. To clip... to slip no more, and by clipping to end the buttache and the thousand natural shocks that ryders are heir to; tis a consummation devoutly to be honed. No clip - to slip perchance to be thrashed most heinously...

KTM Ultra Flite 2007

Unknown · June 2007

just makesure there is no oil in the mud as that will not help.

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Aux1 · June 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by nicklouse

just makesure there is no oil in the mud as that will not help.

nick
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<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

There are no motor vehicles where I'll look for mud, hope it'll just be the ol' soil & water...
Also, if I don't find one deep enough, can I, like, splat a little bit of it on the rotor? Rather than immersing myself into a foot of mud? [:D]

To clip or not to clip, that is the question. Whether tis nobler in the mind of men to suffer the dings and contusions of unclipp'd riding, or to bind thy feet against a sea of gnarly singletrack and by these contraptions, ride o'er them with ease. To clip... to slip no more, and by clipping to end the buttache and the thousand natural shocks that ryders are heir to; tis a consummation devoutly to be honed. No clip - to slip perchance to be thrashed most heinously...

KTM Ultra Flite 2007

Unknown · June 2007

i have seen people spread mud on to their rotors! not a good idea. just some and then some water. then afew aplications and then a good wash down.

could squeak like mad for a while but should be ok. if not try the de glazing with the wet and dry.

nick
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Aux1 · June 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by nicklouse

i have seen people spread mud on to their rotors! not a good idea. just some and then some water. then afew aplications and then a good wash down.

could squeak like mad for a while but should be ok. if not try the de glazing with the wet and dry.

nick
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<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Yeah, I wouldn't put like a hand of mud on them, just a few watery sprinkles, for a little of soil particles just to get on the rotor... Just as it happens during a ride, rotors just get sprinkled a bit, the wheels dig through it...

To clip or not to clip, that is the question. Whether tis nobler in the mind of men to suffer the dings and contusions of unclipp'd riding, or to bind thy feet against a sea of gnarly singletrack and by these contraptions, ride o'er them with ease. To clip... to slip no more, and by clipping to end the buttache and the thousand natural shocks that ryders are heir to; tis a consummation devoutly to be honed. No clip - to slip perchance to be thrashed most heinously...

KTM Ultra Flite 2007

Aux1 · June 2007

Just in case none of the above helps, I asked the shop if they have some Julie pads. They said they don't have original Magura ones, or SwissStop, but Acor. And those are a third cheaper. Does that mean they are of lower quality? I want only the best pads, those are your stoppers after all!

To clip or not to clip, that is the question. Whether tis nobler in the mind of men to suffer the dings and contusions of unclipp'd riding, or to bind thy feet against a sea of gnarly singletrack and by these contraptions, ride o'er them with ease. To clip... to slip no more, and by clipping to end the buttache and the thousand natural shocks that ryders are heir to; tis a consummation devoutly to be honed. No clip - to slip perchance to be thrashed most heinously...

KTM Ultra Flite 2007

Aux1 · June 2007

I looked into it a bit more, and saw that the caliper isn't centered exactly on the rotor. It didn't rub, but the rotor was really close to one pad and away from the other. I followed the instructions from the brake manual, tightened the bottom caliper's lower bolt pretty hard. Then I squeezed the brake lever hard, and tightened the upper caliper bolt hard. Went outside and tried to brake like a maniac many times [:D]

The bike stops on tarmac in one or two yards from moderate speed. It can do a front stoppie too. Guess that's not bad?

So, it seems it weren't the pads, but the misaligned caliper. The boys in the bike shop probably haven't tightened it hard enough when they installed my new fork... I saw them do it with great care, they looked if it was centered, they spun the wheel and listened for rubbing, so I thought they are doing it right but it seems they still messed up a bit...

To clip or not to clip, that is the question. Whether tis nobler in the mind of men to suffer the dings and contusions of unclipp'd riding, or to bind thy feet against a sea of gnarly singletrack and by these contraptions, ride o'er them with ease. To clip... to slip no more, and by clipping to end the buttache and the thousand natural shocks that ryders are heir to; tis a consummation devoutly to be honed. No clip - to slip perchance to be thrashed most heinously...

KTM Ultra Flite 2007

Unknown · June 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Aux1

Just in case none of the above helps, I asked the shop if they have some Julie pads. They said they don't have original Magura ones, or SwissStop, but Acor. And those are a third cheaper. Does that mean they are of lower quality? I want only the best pads, those are your stoppers after all!

To clip or not to clip, that is the question. Whether tis nobler in the mind of men to suffer the dings and contusions of unclipp'd riding, or to bind thy feet against a sea of gnarly singletrack and by these contraptions, ride o'er them with ease. To clip... to slip no more, and by clipping to end the buttache and the thousand natural shocks that ryders are heir to; tis a consummation devoutly to be honed. No clip - to slip perchance to be thrashed most heinously...

KTM Ultra Flite 2007
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"> if you do use any other pads than magura keep your old ones as if you need to send them back for warrenty they can refuse it if any part is not genuine magura.

good to here it was just a miss aligned caliper.

nick
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rstoofaloh · June 2007

One thing i found that seems to improve stopping power is once you have cleaned the brake, go for a razz down a steep hill and drag the brake all the way down. Spray a bit of water on the rotor from your bottle. Not sure the reasoning behind it but it seems to make them stick a bit better

Eagles May Soar High, But Weasels Don't Get Sucked Into Jet Engines...

rstoofaloh · June 2007

One thing i found that seems to improve stopping power is once you have cleaned the brake, go for a razz down a steep hill and drag the brake all the way down. Spray a bit of water on the rotor from your bottle. Not sure the reasoning behind it but it seems to make them stick a bit better

Eagles May Soar High, But Weasels Don't Get Sucked Into Jet Engines...

Aux1 · June 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by nicklouse
if you do use any other pads than magura keep your old ones as if you need to send them back for warrenty they can refuse it if any part is not genuine magura.

good to here it was just a miss aligned caliper.

nick
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Good advice! [;)]

P.s. The brake was weak again today, the pads were evenly spaced from the rotor but the rotor wasn't centered on the caliper, that means one pad came out more than another. So I checked parktools, and finally I think I managed to fix it properly (will have to try out the braking yet)

I think I learned how to center the caliper... Loosen it, then fix the brake with a rubber band (the pads came out evenly from both sides, guess the self-adjusting pad system works), the caliper bites the rotor and it's centered on it, then move the caliper so it sits on the rotor without bending it at all, and then tighten the caliper bolts. It looks really perfectly centered now, with even pad spacing from the rotor, and no bending of the rotor at all when I apply the brake, the pads go out evenly and bite the rotor at the same time.

Hope it's FINALLY done! [:)] Seems I learned to adjust calipers now! [8D]
Still need to try it out outside though [:I]

To clip or not to clip, that is the question. Whether tis nobler in the mind of men to suffer the dings and contusions of unclipp'd riding, or to bind thy feet against a sea of gnarly singletrack and by these contraptions, ride o'er them with ease. To clip... to slip no more, and by clipping to end the buttache and the thousand natural shocks that ryders are heir to; tis a consummation devoutly to be honed. No clip - to slip perchance to be thrashed most heinously...

KTM Ultra Flite 2007

Weaker front brake

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