Recently bought a set of Formula R1S brakes. I’ve been out a few times and gone down hills, bedding them in. The front (180mm) is fine. Bites like a very bitey thing. But the rear I just cannot get to settle. I’m gonna sand the pads back a little and stick some IPA on the disc to see if that will help. Just strange that the back is so poor compared to the front.

I just ride around the street lightly holding the brake lightly onm surprising how hot they get, you can feel the difference as they bed in as it gets harder and need to change to a lower gear, benefit with this is continuous even pressure with gives discs a good even coating which stops them squealing.

Let me borrow it Tuesday night and give me a lift to some nice mountain biking?

Ahh I’m working Tuesday night. Soz. :/

too bad as I’m good with brakes 🙂 keep your weight over the back when your trying. What size is the back and what are you feeling as opposed to what you are expecting?

It’s 160 on the back, same as the old one it replaced – new brakes and discs.

It feels like there’s no bite at all with weight on and the pads aren’t getting any resistance on the disc. It feels like they are greasy but they were new, sealed and freshly opened by me. I did exactly the same run-in on the front and it’s spot on – can lock the wheel on loose surface. I /CAN/ get the back wheel to lock but only when I shift my weight forward.

I’m not too sure what the standard Formula pads are – organic I guess. The pads on my old brakes where SS Kevlar and AMAZING from the word “go”.

Austy – I thought that riding round with brakes “just on” would glaze the pads?

you can file the surface a bit to roughen them up a bit, other method was to get them wet and shove some dirt in there. Is everything clean?

Pretty clean – went out on some very sandy / dusty trails the other evening but I’d have thought the sand would have aided the friction from pad to disc. I’m 99% sure both disc and pads are grease/lube free but with a 2 year old there’s always the chance he’s sprayed the bike. I did find him one day with a screwdriver, poking it through the crank axel say “I fix it Daddy”.

I’ll file the pads in the morning and see how that goes.

Swap the pads around and get a blow torch on the rear pads before fitting : /

Find an adder and attach it to your brakes

steveirwin – Member
Find an adder and attach it to your brakes

Can’t import a semi venomous snake to Oz!!

check the rear caliper is not leaking

I built a brand new £7,000 mountain bike this week for my bike shop, which had Formula The One brakes and both were leaking out the box from calipers and master cylinders, and DOT had soaked the pads

both brakes straight back for warranty

Have you tried bleeding it? Does sound like perhaps a leaky something or just in need of a bleed.

Don’t think it needs bleeding. Feels the same as the front. Same lever pull, same bite point and tight – no spongy-ness. It does lock when there’s no weight but not while seated and nowhere near as good as the k18 it replaced. Can’t see any fluid inside the calliper, on the piston or pads and can’t see any immediate bubbles around the bleed valve or hose. Totally dry. Guess it wouldn’t hurt to give the disc a bloomin good clean when I take the pads out.

Well HOW wierd.

I took the pads out again last night and they were covered in fluid!

Cleaned pads with citrus degreaser foam, same with discs. Replaced pads and re-bedded the brakes and they’re spot on. Just need to keep an eye if any more fluid comes out. The bleed port is tight and nothing appears to be coming out, same with the piston area. Can only assume there was some residual fluid from when they were put together.