I am looking to upgrade the brakes on my Garry Fisher Cake3, to a bigger size of discs, I think the original ones. Obviously to make them better but I weigh more than the average skinny teenager and I found the braking distance was a bit to big plus the pads were getting a sheen over them when used.

I went to my lbs and the guy there said that he would just change one, and that one being the front because the front does the majority of the breaking . I had thought that the rear would have done far more. So Im a bit confused and wondered what the opinions here would be?

I would rather change one to a good quality upgrade than do two average upgrades, having had a look around it seems that the 205 is the biggest around, would it be possible just to fit one of these?

I have until now basically just rode the bike but am looking to start to do a bit more work on it myself.

thanks

what brakes are they?

the front brake on a bicycle does ‘more’ than the rear – a handfull of front brake can stop the bike dead, and handfull of rear brake will usually just lock the wheel and start a skid.

your brakes should be fine, they’re all about the same in terms of stopping power. if i have a disc brake that doesn’t seem to slow me down very well it’s almost always because i’ve been clumsy with the spray-lube and got oil on the disc.

i think that they are Hayes, I can nip down to check the exact model if it helps

hayes make good brakes – they should be fine, my first guess would be oil on the disc.

clean it with hot water from the kettle, some washing up liquid, and a brush (one you won’t get in trouble for using)

bring it inside to dry – just so you don’t get ice all over your wheel.

all disc brakes are basically brilliant, bigger discs help a little, but mostly with heat dissipation.

seriously, give the disc a clean. take out the pads and rub the braking surfaces on a piece of paper/cardboard/wood – till black stuff stops coming off.

Thanks for replying

they are hfx9

It wasnt a one off I just found that the brakes werent stopping me that well. while I would like to have put that down to me riding so fast I seriously doubt that would have been the case 😀

Ill try the cleaning thing

What size disks are they?
You might be able to fit larger disks,if you use a different mount.

You won’t be able to see if they are contaminated. Get the discs off and properly deep clean them (dishwasher works well) and fit new pads. Bed them in according to manufacturers recommendations (or start a thread on here I’d you’ve got all day) and you’ll be fine. Bigger brakes won’t stop you better, the are just better at not overheating.
Could also be that you are dragging the brakes causing them
To glaze?

Bigger brakes won’t stop you better, the are just better at not overheating

That’s nonsense mate, bigger discs stop you far better, its simple physics

Thanks for all the replies, I could well be dragging my breaks, but i weigh close to 110Kg so Im guessing I,m close to or past the design limits of the braking system.

I have had a look on the Hayes website and it appears that different mounts are available to let me fit bigger discs. Is it as straightforward as it first appears to fit these mounts and bigger discs with the same brakes?

The front does all the work, and the rear just stabilises you.

You can put a 203/5 rotor (front) and just change the caliper mount, and tbh you can put a bigger one on the rear as well.

Its a cheap ‘upgrade’ – I’d put new pads in while you are at it.

Thanks for the info guys.

I have some mounts and bigger rotors ordered, all for under £70, delighted.

did you try just cleaning the discs/pads first?

im 110kg my Formula RX brakes are fine

You can put a 203/5 rotor (front) and just change the caliper mount, and tbh you can put a bigger one on the rear as well.

Is it true that some forks have a limit to the size of rotor you can run?

Andy

Yes they do my paces are 185mm max think the revs are 210mm