Disc brake questions.... « Singletrack Forum

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Disc brake questions....

18 posts & 13 voices | Started 1 year ago by AdamW | Latest reply from Pieface

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AdamW - Member

My partner (He Who Must Be Obeyed) has a knackered rear disc brake (Avid Juicy 3). He's also whinging about how hard it is to replace pads (while on my Elixirs it's easy).

Couple of questions for the STW Massif:

1. Does it matter if I was to get an Elixir for the rear leaving the Juicy 3 at the front?
2. If I purchased said brake would I get it pre-bled so I can attach it and off we go?

I dread to think about taking it to Leisurelakes (round the corner). Every time I go there I feel as if I'm not wanted and their workshop queue is about ten years long....!

Posted 1 year ago #
druidh - Member

1. No
2. Yes

Posted 1 year ago #
coatesy - Member

Based on the unpleasant experience of having to bleed every set of Avids fitted to new bikes that have passed through our workshop over the past four years, i'd suggest bleeding them even though the factory suggests otherwise.It's amazing how much air a supposedly bled system contains.

Posted 1 year ago #
richcc - Member

Other people may be less @nal than me, and I know it doesn't matter, but I wouldn't be able to have mismatched brakes on my bike. eBay the lot and get some SLX or XT when Ribble have them at a decent price

Posted 1 year ago #
senor j - Member

What richcc said.

Posted 1 year ago #
andy7t2 - Member

when you say the 3 is knackered what's wrong with it?

Posted 1 year ago #
FunkyDunc - Member

"eBay the lot and get some SLX or XT when Ribble have them at a decent price"

Yep and then end up having to bleed the Ribble ones like I need to get round to doing... cant complain at the price though from Ribble.

Posted 1 year ago #
AdamW - Member

Piston stuck leading to much whinging and complaining. When the pads were removed yesterday it looks as if the piston has been stuck out a while; the pad was down to metal.

I'd consider stripping and rebuilding but I'm a newbie at this kind of stuff and worry that I'll make more of a mess than I started with!

TBH this bike (Spesh Rockhopper '08) isn't used for off-road stuff as he's not into mountain biking, but more commute along canal paths and a little trail stuff.

Posted 1 year ago #
simon1975 - Member

Del's got the official bleed kit for Avid's and it's really easy if you follow the instructions...

Might be worth getting something fit-and-forget - anything from Shimano should suit for those needs

Simon

Posted 1 year ago #
andy7t2 - Member

Piston stuck leading to much whinging and complaining
from the bike or the rider

have a look here

If it's knackered anyway might be worth having a mess around to see if you can fix it nothing to lose. had a similar problem with some xt's a quick pull apart and clean they were as good as new

if he's not using the bike for MTBing might be worth getting cable discs much easier to service and will work fine for what he's riding avid bb5 or bb7's are good

If your in the birmingham area and can get them to sutton i can have a look at them and bleed them for you.

Posted 1 year ago #
Harry_the_Spider - Member

I dread to think about taking it to Leisurelakes (round the corner). Every time I go there I feel as if I'm not wanted

Not just me then. Gave up on them as I don't appear "Rad" enough to warrant anything approaching customer service. The other LBS has a different view and for that reason I have spent a wad with them over the last couple of years.

Posted 1 year ago #
AdamW - Member

Thanks for the suggestion guys. The cable disc idea sounds good (and cheaper!). I think I'll strip it down tonight if I get chance to see if I can free it up (ta for the link andy!) and if need be contact Del for a borrow (ta Simon, I'm sure I heard you talk about the bleed kit on Sunday when out for your fantastic ride ). If nadgered then I may get the BB5 as it will take the faff away from servicing and I do like their 'positioning' system as he's had issues with the caliper before and re-settling it helped quite a bit.

And yep, HtS - I tried to buy a Trek Fuel EX 9/2010 from them last year (£2,500!) and a 700x28-38 wheel from them at different times and got "no, not in stock and we're not willing to try to get one or even discuss a different bike to suit your needs" and "we only do *racing* and *mountain biking*" as a response. Got bike from Evans ( ) and new wheel off the shelf from Freewheel ( ) . Perhaps I just go round on poor days?

Posted 1 year ago #
thebunk - Member

Piston stuck leading to much whinging and complaining

the pad was down to metal

If the pad is worn then the piston will stick out won't it? It's the "self adjust" mechanism. So the piston sticking out is a result of the pad wear? As is the whinging and complaining - metal on metal noises?

Just press the pistons back in and sling some new pads in - see what happens?

(Sorry if I've misunderstood...)

Posted 1 year ago #
mintimperial - Member

If the pad is worn then the piston will stick out won't it? It's the "self adjust" mechanism.

That's probably the result of the other piston not moving out far enough, though. I've been through three Juicy 3s in less than a year, each one with this exact same problem. A full strip-down and piston/seal replacement fixes things for a few rides, but they soon seize up on one side again. They just don't like my local dirt. Have now relegated them to the spares box.

Posted 1 year ago #
DoctorRad - Member

Even *for* MTBing, well set-up BB7s will give you more than enough power for anything but alpine riding. They p!ss all over the best rim brakes I've used, including Magura hydraulics.

Posted 1 year ago #
andy7t2 - Member

just a bit of a tip, pump the lever until the brake fluid starts coming out of the capilier before removing the capilier bolts, that way when you take the capilier bolts out you can remove the pistons by hand rather than having to use an air compressor. Makes a bit of a mess so make sure it's over a container

Good luck

Posted 1 year ago #
AdamW - Member

Just press the pistons back in and sling some new pads in - see what happens?

(Sorry if I've misunderstood...)

No probs. That's the first thing done - remove poor pads, push back pistons to install new ones. Only one side wouldn't budge. The complaining was done by both sides, apparently - the brakes were apparently squealing a lot (*now* he tells me )and then when we took the pads off last night there were a few tantrums when new ones wouldn't fit easily...

Posted 1 year ago #
Pieface - Member

All brakes will need bleeding if you shorten the hoses

Posted 1 year ago #