Thank you for not answering my emails – even to confirm you received them. I also appreciate that the staff of my local store feel unable to influence your purchasing decisions, and therefore will be unlikely to forward my feedback, or issue a refund on a used can of cleaner.

A few months ago I bought a can of Halfords own brand disc brake cleaner. It has taken that long for my slow brain to register that for all that time I have had endless disc brake issues of squealing and lack of power. I have never had major disc brake issues before.

A trial last week showed that a good scrub with MucOff bike cleaner restored power to ‘stoppie down my steep drive’ levels, and restored peace to my neighbours. An application of Halfords Cycle Disc Brake cleaner was very effective at waking the neighbours toddler and removing all semblance of bite and power.

May I suggest you re-market the aforementioned cleaner as ‘disc c*ck-up liquid’, as this would be a more accurate description.

Yours sincerely

Mr_Outandabout

Mr_Outandabout

I always assumed your first name was matt_

Turns out I was wrong. Who knew?

Phew thanks. I bought Muc Off brake cleaner but nearly bought the Halfords brake (lubricant) cleaner as it is ‘much cheapness yes’.

I did. 😉

Is Halfords that place that sells those silly slick on fake large bore exhausts, wheels trims, and furry steering wheel covers?

Ipa for disc rotors, nothing else to go near them. Apart from mud and rain and shite obviously.

I’ve tried several brake cleaners before, they were all awful. I can only assume it’s something marketed for cars, and bike brakes don’t get hot enough.

Clutch cleaners are what you want, although I’ve found that simply using muc off/generic bike cleaner works very well. Squirt it on the brakes, ride up and down and they seem very powerful – rinse if desired.

Cola. Not that I clean mine but if i’m bedding in new pads out comes the cheap cola.

People clean their brakes?

I barely clean my bikes! Let alone the disks which are generally the only bit of the bike spotless after use anyway?

The Muc Off one is poo as well though unless they’ve changed it recently, Isopropyl Alcohol gets the crap off that Muc Off leaves behind.

wire wool and elbow grease

p.o.p.

I barely clean my bikes! Let alone the disks which are generally the only bit of the bike spotless after use anyway?

I have an issue that the rotor nearest the car exhaust on the bike rack keeps being covered in crap. I thought a disc cleaner would be simpler/quicker/better than a water scrub or IPA that I had run out of.

New IPA ordered.

The halfords car brake cleaner is good btw. Most good brake cleaners are basically aerosol IPA or similiar, which is a bloody expensive way to buy it but very convenient.

OK so 2 questions. 1, why were you cleaning them in the first place? If there wasn’t a problem, don’t clean them. If there was, cleaner can sometimes make it worse- spreading out contamination.

2, did it improve? Because sometimes, if you’ve thoroughly cleaned a brake, you have to basically break it back in as you’ve cleaned off the friction material and left a nice shiny surface…

Most good brake cleaners are basically aerosol IPA or similiar, which is a bloody expensive way to buy it but very convenient.

Not convinced. Clutch cleaner smells like IPA, whereas Muc-Off brake cleaner does not. Plus it makes your brakes really bad, as the OP has discovered.

2, did it improve? Because sometimes, if you’ve thoroughly cleaned a brake, you have to basically break it back in as you’ve cleaned off the friction material and left a nice shiny surface…

In my experience, that friction material coating only comes off if you rub the pads with abrasive – not with cleaner.

Fair point, I was being at least a little facetious as my brakes do actually need a clean! swapped elixirs to XT’s and know they should be more powerful but for unknown reasons aren’t. So it’s a case of new pads and scrub the rotors to make sure there’s no contamination.

I though STW had established, beyond all doubt, that (non-bike) disc cleaner contains oily shite that stops car brakes from squealing (and burns off when they get ded hot) and makes it useless for bikes

Just go to a Motorcycle shop loads on the market and all good been making it for years and lasts a long time you don’t need to use much of it each time.

All brake cleaners are shite if you use them on your discs.

What they are good for is cleaning up excess fluid from you levers and calipers after they have been bled and for general light degreasing duties.

They are quite handy for that

molgrips – Member

Not convinced. Clutch cleaner smells like IPA, whereas Muc-Off brake cleaner does not. Plus it makes your brakes really bad, as the OP has discovered.

More often than not, brake and clutch cleaner are the same thing. And I did say “most good brake cleaners”- there’s some that have random bullshit in them but they’re not good.

People always say car brake cleaners contain oil but none of the ones I’ve ever used or looked at do.

Please note my compliant was cycle specific cleaner.

Why do you feel the need to use any of these products?
Been using disc brakes for more than 10yrs and never felt the need.

Methylated spirits FTW kids. Cheep as sausages, but not as greasy.

If you use any kind of spray chain oil/cleaner/water dispersant, or polish near your bike – disc brake cleaner is a real boon afterward.

To be honest, even cleaning the bike could spread residue onto the discs. Then again, if you’re one of those weird mucky people who does none of those things – good luck to you…. But have you no shame! 😉

I find a quick wipe with a clean cloth and meths, gets a significant amount of bite back into the brakes. I do it before every ride.

Ipa for disc rotors, nothing else to go near them

Like I’d waste good beer on my brakes…

As ex employee, yes their disc brake “cleaner” is awful.

People always say car brake cleaners contain oil but none of the ones I’ve ever used or looked at do.

Ever used the Muc Off one? All I can say is don’t. Unless you don’t believe me, then do. But try it out in a safe place first.

This plus one of these does the job for me.

washing up liquid and warm water works better.

Some STWers still go to halfords? 😯

Only reason to go to halfords is that lovely gal in the till at Foleshill Rd branch : Hi 😳

…and some cheap de-icer this time of year. On serious note.Muc off is basically do it all jobbie

Methylated spirits FTW kids.

This, if anything.

Why do I go to Halfords?

£17 Bell Stoker
£28 Shimano AM41s
£405 Voodoo fat bike

But apart from all that…

Trekster – Member
Why do you feel the need to use any of these products?
Been using disc brakes for more than 10yrs and never felt the need.

Ever got brake fluid on them? Something that makes them crappy? Anything like that?
I use it to clean down the caliper & lever too after a bleed or when something goes a bit off target doing something else. Handy to have a can around, the Juicy Lubes one smells the best

Very intereting, my brakes have turned into squeal monsters from hell… guess what I’ve been using !.

I’ll try something else later today.

I use the Muc-Off disc brake cleaner at work on customers bikes, and for my own bikes

can’t say I’ve ever had any issues with it?

Works fine…

Pagid Brake Cleaner, £2.30 from Euro Car Parts. Never had an issue with it, though rarely clean my bike brakes.

I use my Halford regular for bike maintenance that I don’t do or have the tools for. They’re very good and also cheap.