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I've got an old Hope M4 (not a mono M4) on my commuter, the original 4 pot, 4 pad silver caliper.
It works fine, but it clicks incessantly as one pad rocks back and forward in the caliper as the disc catches it.
I'm sure this is because all the pads now come with a one-piece spring which pushes back on the centre of each pad,rather than the originals which came with two springs which went right down the side of the pad material on each pad and pushed them back straight.
Anyone had this problem/know why they changed the spring design/suggest what else might be wrong/still run this brake/understand me not wanting to buy a perfectly good new brake for £30 and not faff around with a 13 year old brake, just out of principle?
Still running a set myself. Try copper grease on the back of the pads
I did try that actually, and it worked for a while, I think because the grease was "sticking" them to the pistols, but it came back when the grease washed out.
I meant to say, the pistons seem to move relatively freely - I.e. they're not stuk.
I might try mine without the springs cos they're the same. If the pistons & pads are free they shouldn't rub the rotor. Cars don't have springs to pull the pads back so I don't really see why bike brakes have them.
When this first happened, when I changed from pads with two springs to pads with one, I tried running without the pads, which worked for a while (possibly more due to the copper grease, as above). The irony of anti-rattle springs causing it to rattle amused me for a while.
The springs aren't really intended to push the springs back - the spring in the lever should do that, via the hydraulic circuit. They just give a tiny bit of pressure to stop them rattling (in theory).
If you hold the levers very lightly, almost, but not quite braking, does it stop the rattle? It does on mine, but not really a permanent solution!
All the cars I've had have had anti-rattle springs on the pads, but then I tend to own old cars and maybe it's an old-fashioned thing.
Try flattening the spring slightly. Sometimes, the top of the pad is pushed out quite forcefully and its the bottom of the pad catching.
Sort of tried that, in that I find the single pads difficult to get in without flattening them a bit. I see what you mean though, I'll experiment with that a bit.
You can still buy the old pad springs but they're £2 each.
From UK Bike Store? I remember looking for some thinking "I need to get some whatever the cost to stop this damn rattle" and then finding them for £2 each plus P&P and thinking "f%&k off."
Update:
Tried bending the spring a few different ways, may have improved it, may just be imagining it. Certainly didn't fix it completely.
It's time to consign this brake to history. Last week the circlip holding the adjuster screw into the lever popped out. Can't get it back in because it's rounded out so can't detach it from the lever blade. Replaced both about 6 months ago when the lever sheared for no reason. I was still getting braking but on the train to Whitehaven on Friday night, someone lent their bike against mine and moved the lever out and enough brake fluid leaked out to render it useless. So I did an entire C2C with only a Mono Mini on the rear, which almost got cooked several times. Time for some BB7s maybe.