So, you know, I've been dealing with this wonky front disc brake on the Surly. The original rotor just did not want to tune up properly. Well, I got it dialed in but the brake squealed. So I deglazed and cleaned the pads and the rotor. Deglazing with some 600 grit emery cloth. Still squeaks. So I did some magic in repositioning the caliper. Still no joy. I can't stand this noise. I avoided the more durable pads so I wouldn't have to live with the metal on metal grinding sound. That may be okay for a down hill mtn bike rider but not me. So what am I going to do?
Last night, while Tom was hiding in his basement, I cleaned and deglazed one of the rotors off the wrecked Cannondale. I created a crosshatch pattern on the rotor with some emery cloth. How you do this. First you clean and deglaze the rotor with some emery cloth. Then you go all the way around the braking surface with your emery cloth in one direction only. Then you go back over the braking surface with the emery cloth going in a 90° direction from the first pass.
This morning, I cleaned the prepared rotor with some some soap and water and wiped it with alcohol. Clean. Then I pulled the pads again. Deglazed them slightly with some medium grit emery cloth and rinsed them with some alcohol. Swapped out the rotor and installed the replacement using the correct torque pattern. If you don't know, that's an "X" pattern in multiple steps such that the rotor is installed with uniform pressure all around. I don't have a torque wrench for the bike but I'm pretty sure I'm in the ball park. Reinstalled the wheel, checked the caliper position, tuned the rotor and adjusted the pads.
I don't know if this will work. I'll go out into the dry weather tomorrow and bed the brake in. We'll see if this does the trick.
Question
donkpow
So, you know, I've been dealing with this wonky front disc brake on the Surly. The original rotor just did not want to tune up properly. Well, I got it dialed in but the brake squealed. So I deglazed and cleaned the pads and the rotor. Deglazing with some 600 grit emery cloth. Still squeaks. So I did some magic in repositioning the caliper. Still no joy. I can't stand this noise. I avoided the more durable pads so I wouldn't have to live with the metal on metal grinding sound. That may be okay for a down hill mtn bike rider but not me. So what am I going to do?
Last night, while Tom was hiding in his basement, I cleaned and deglazed one of the rotors off the wrecked Cannondale. I created a crosshatch pattern on the rotor with some emery cloth. How you do this. First you clean and deglaze the rotor with some emery cloth. Then you go all the way around the braking surface with your emery cloth in one direction only. Then you go back over the braking surface with the emery cloth going in a 90° direction from the first pass.
This morning, I cleaned the prepared rotor with some some soap and water and wiped it with alcohol. Clean. Then I pulled the pads again. Deglazed them slightly with some medium grit emery cloth and rinsed them with some alcohol. Swapped out the rotor and installed the replacement using the correct torque pattern. If you don't know, that's an "X" pattern in multiple steps such that the rotor is installed with uniform pressure all around. I don't have a torque wrench for the bike but I'm pretty sure I'm in the ball park. Reinstalled the wheel, checked the caliper position, tuned the rotor and adjusted the pads.
I don't know if this will work. I'll go out into the dry weather tomorrow and bed the brake in. We'll see if this does the trick.
Whatcha got?
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