Mountain Biking Australia – August 2019

PIT STOP

8

9

8. Before refitting the wheel,
   remove any residue from the
   rotor with disc brake cleaner
   and a fresh oil-free rag. You
   don't want to contaminate
   a brand new set of pads
   before you even hit the
   dirt! It only takes the tiniest
   amount of oil to ruin a set of
   pads, so once they’re clean,
   don’t touch the rotors. If the
   rotors are particularly old
   and have seen better days,
   you can sometimes improve
   their performance by
   giving them a light sand
   with some emery paper
   prior to cleaning them.

What You'll Need

Worn or contaminated pads will need replacing and you need to

ensure the new pads are compatible with your callipers; every brand

and model will be different.

Aside from some new pads, you'll also need disc brake cleaner,

bleed block or suitably sized implement for pushing the pistons

home (we used some nylon tyre levers) and some general tools—

allen keys, torx tools and so on.

9. With the wheel back on the bike,
   pull on the lever a few times until
   the pads contact the rotor. Now
   spin the wheel and check for
   disc rub. If the wheel doesn’t
   spin freely, undo the calliper
   bolts and pull the lever in. While
   holding the brake on, snug up
   the calliper bolts—this should re-
   centre the calliper over the rotor.
   If this doesn't work, you'll need
   to exercise some patience and
   align it manually—ideally the
   calliper will sit parallel to the disc
   with even pad spacing on each
   side. Now you just need to bed
   the new pads in before hitting
   the trail!

Other handy items include a set of verniers, a torch and some

emery paper.

COMPOUNDS QUANDARIES & BED-IN STEPS

When it comes to purchasing new pads, you may have a choice

between metallic and organic compounds. Consider the qualities

you desire; organic pads tend to be quieter, offer better initial

power and they transfer less heat through to the pistons and brake

fluid. Metallic pads generally fade less on longer descents and last

longer, especially in wet conditions.

With new pads installed, it's important to bed them in properly.

Start by braking gently from walking pace but

don’t actually stop; do this six or eight times.

Then up the tempo and slow from running

to walking pace. Repeat this 6-12 times until

you feel the braking power increase

(metallic pads will take more bed-in

time than resin pads).

This process mates the pads to the

rotor and should lead to consistent

noise-free stopping.