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I was cleaning my bike and decided to wipe off the disc of my rear brake. Only thing is, I did it with a rag that had degreaser on it. I have virtually no brakes now. Can I just hit this with some warm soapy water, rinse, and dry? Or is this worse than that?
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Cool, I’ll try that. Thanks for the tip.
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i agree with Chili on using Isoproply Alcohol, i think its the best stuff to use when cleaning some parts, also you want to try to get the highest percent you can i think wally world has like 91% but a drug store might be higher, theirs one issue you might have after you clean the rotor is that the brake pads might have gotten the degreaser on them and that would mean that you will probably have to replace the pads, you can try to clean them but it might not work as the pads are porus and once the degreaser soaks in its almost impossible to get it all out.
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I tend to ue Mythel Hydrate which is easy to get.. It leaves zero residue…Basically the stuff that you get in the cans of bike cleaner minus the propellant.
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So if I got it on my pads, I’m screwed? I realized the problem when I took the bike for a quick spin and hit the brakes. So, the pads have been in contact with the degreaser.
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"ChiliPepper" wrote
[quote="fleetwood":dec9ruh1]So if I got it on my pads, I’m screwed? I realized the problem when I took the bike for a quick spin and hit the brakes. So, the pads have been in contact with the degreaser.
Just try cleaning the pads off with either Denatured Alcohol or Methyl Hydrate and see how it goes. You may be able to soak the pads themselves in one of these solutions for a very short period, but not sure as how the organic pads would hold up, if that’s the pads you have. Semi-metallic should be fine. If worst comes to worst, just order new pads, but make sure you clean thoroughly around the caliper.
You should be fine cleaning the pads in one of these solutions, as I have had chain lube and hydraulic fluid on my pads several times and they cleaned up well. Semi-metallic pads that is. I have not used those organic ones yet, well, at least not to my knowledge anyways.[/quote:dec9ruh1]
I have the original parts, and according to the mfg. website, I have these:
Shimano M486, hydraulic disc, 160mm CenterLock rotors -
"ChiliPepper" wrote
[quote="fleetwood":19pdo4k4]I have the original parts, and according to the mfg. website, I have these:
Shimano M486, hydraulic disc, 160mm CenterLock rotorsWell, from what I understand, you have to use resin pads with your calipers. What are the benefits of them both? One is harder and one is softer. The resin pads have more ‘bite’ but doesn’t last as long as the metallic pads. Just clean them with either one of those cleaners I mentioned previously and then set them back in your caliper and see how they feel. Make sure you do not compress your brake lever while the pads are out, especially if you do not have a brake wedge. Good luck and let us know how it went.[/quote:19pdo4k4]
I assume you mean organic when you say resin pads? I am now curious of what they are made of. I tried a set of the organic pads and didn’t think they really gave me any more stopping power. Maybe I got 6 months out of em and they were toast. They went out at the top of Hi-Dee-Hoe, one of the steeper trails at Carvins Cove. Insteed of walking down, I thought – surely they will hold up good enough for this one downhill. Wrong. Melted part of my brake and the LBS wrench said I got the award for the most barbequed front brake he had ever seen. I think its metalic pads for me from now on.
Methanol can be an aggresive solvent on some organic materials, but I don’t know what the "organic" means in this case. Organic usually means carbon containing, but that covers a lot of territory. Isopropanol might be a safer bet. Even ethanol can be denatured with small amounts of aggressive solvent.
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I picked up some isopropyl alcohol (91%) and a set of brake pads at lunch. My plan of attack is:
1) Clean rotor with alcohol, ride, and see if I get acceptable braking power. If that doesn’t work,
2) attempt to remove and clean existing pads. If that doesn’t work,
3) attempt to install brand new pads.I’ll keep you posted.
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I get my rotors good and hot on a big downhill and then pee on them. The rapid evaporation takes all the dirt and other impurities with it. 😮
Just kidding, I use common rubbing alcohol and it works fine.
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That was pretty funny….I was almost waiting to read that you use your tongue to test the temp of the rotor and wait to hear the sizzle…
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I cleaned the rotor with rubbing alcohol and rode around applying my brakes. I don’t think they are 100%, but they are a lot better. I’m hoping as I ride more, they will continue to improve. Hoping…
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Did you get any on the pads as well? If so, you aren’t going to have full braking until you get that stuff off the pads. Easiest way is to get new ones. Cheapest (also somewhat dangerous) way is to bake them in the oven until the degreaser boils off. Probably not the best thing for your pads OR your oven but it works in a pinch. Had to do it once when I got some hydraulic fluid on my pads.
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"element22" wrote
That was pretty funny….I was almost waiting to read that you use your tongue to test the temp of the rotor and wait to hear the sizzle…
That’s what you get the newby to do as soon as you switch the camera to video record 😃
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Well, I survived the weekend. I never got full-braking power back, but I got by. When I have some time, I plan to put on my new pads.
We rode Freedom Park in Williamsburg Friday morning and then headed to Danville, VA in the afternoon, camped, and rode Angler’s Ridge on Saturday. An awesome weekend.
Btw, both trails systems above are highly recommended. There is one trail at Freedom Park that you free ride guys would love. There were a few things that we played around on, but there were a lot of features that we just had to bypass (after stopping to admire and think "what if…"). I’ll try to get some more trail info up soon.
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I had this happen with my front brakes just recently. I dropped the front tire off of it and hit the pads with some light grit sand paper. Seemed to take care of the issue. Not sure if it is the recommended method of taking care of it but it worked for me.
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pads could be glazed. lay fine grit sandpaper FLAT on the table and gently (real gently) go in small circles with the pad on the sandpaper to just clean them off. you can see the glaze go away when you hold it at an angle in the light. when it’s all "matte" blow em off and slap ’em back in. don’t spray anything on them.
*EDIT Yeah what 7 said ^ (beat me to the post lol)
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