As title really, anyone using the SRAM Centreline rotors in XR flavour (they look a bit like the Shimano Ice Tech with the fins) ? I’m about to bin a perfectly awful set of standard Centreline rotors as I cannot get rid of constant, horrendous squealing in damp air conditions ( I have just, as a last resort, sanded one to see if that fixes it but I digress) . If I buy new are the XR version any better? They are about a tenner more than the standard Centreline which are already expensive 🙄.
Opinions ?
The SRAM website says Centreline XR rotors are "designed specifically for road riding" - is that your use case?
(Also, where are they only a tenner more than Centreline rotors?)
Yeah I am road riding. Actually they are £20 more on Amazon - centrelock version. <br /><br />
I have two sets of the standard X version and the first set discoloured during the extensive bed in process - 20 stops from a moderate pace followed by 10 from a fast pace - well not stops but slow to walking pace. Anyway, they became so hot they got a gold tinge, permanently visible on the thin top edge. No idea if that is normal but I wondered if the XR version have better cooling/heat dissipation properties.
I'm not too sure about road stuff but I changed to the 2mm thick Magura floating discs and feel, power and no noice are bigly improved. The floating versions. Also, the lever feel doesn't seem to go off towards the end of the pad life...
Not sram centreline but on road discs in general when it’s damp they can squeal slightly until you’ve had a good brake on them to start. I’ve had Shimano hydraulics on cheap Shimano rotors, Hope RX4+ on the same Shimano rotors and now Hope RX4+ on the fancy XTR rotors with the black fins inside them. Also used both sintered and resin pads from Shimano and Hope.
Road discs can get more road crap on them - oil / salt etc vs mtb which mostly just get mud.
These don’t squeal slightly, they’re horrendous, both front and rear. Conversation stoppers on group rides and highly embarrassing. I had Shimano on my old HT bike which I used on the road and they squealed slightly when it was actually raining and occasionally when damp but it faded quickly and it was nowhere near as loud as these horrors! These squeal very loudly even when the air is damp. It fades once they get up to temp on a descent but returns almost immediately once the levers are released. They are not totally silent in the dry either. I may well have not bedded them in properly I suspect but I did attempt a bedding in process so 🤷♂️. It’s a bit rubbish if the 30 stop Sram process has to be followed exactly to the letter otherwise new rotors and pads are required at a cost of £200 in the case of Centreline rotors. I suspect I’m going to have to bin the rotors and pads (Sram say that is necessary if it can’t be cured by cleaning but I’ve tried that and so I’m going to attempt sanding). <br /><br />My experience of lower end Sram kit generally is pretty poor (warped GX cassettes both replaced under warranty for example) compared to Shimano so I’m wondering if the XR rotors are worth it for peace and quiet!
Why so expensive? Are they different to the Centreline MTB rotors?
I use those as they are under £10 each, I bed them in by doing 3 stops and they never make a noise.
Pads are like £5 per 4 pot caliper.
Centrelines on my Gravel Bike and 25kg Ebike and no issues whatsoever...
What size are the centrelines and what pads?
Mine make the most horrendous noise till they have warmed up.
These squeal very loudly even when the air is damp. It fades once they get up to temp on a descent but returns almost immediately once the levers are released. They are not totally silent in the dry either. I may well have not bedded them in properly I suspect but I did attempt a bedding in process so 🤷♂️. It’s a bit rubbish if the 30 stop Sram process has to be followed exactly to the letter otherwise new rotors and pads are required at a cost of £200 in the case of Centreline rotors. I suspect I’m going to have to bin the rotors and pads (Sram say that is necessary if it can’t be cured by cleaning but I’ve tried that and so I’m going to attempt sanding).
Sounds like a pad contamination issue more than anything, I don't see how the bedding in process or rotor type will be much if anything to do with squeal noise later (I've used a range of Sram rotors over the years and bedding in is just half a dozen hard pulls on a hill nearby on the first ride after fitting). Contaminated pads are often for the bin but rotors can always be cleaned off.
I'd check the alignment, clean the rotors well with meths and a clean rag or really hot water and washing up liquid and replace the pads with a different brand, see how they sound.
My experience with Centrelines has been consistently bad too. They squeal in the summer when they get hot on long descents and in the winter they squeal if you so much as look at them. They've consistently been like this across multiple bikes / rotors and pad combinations. The best (which was still pretty horrific) was when I used genuine sram pads. Expensive but worth it for the slight reduction in noise. They make riding at this time of the year pretty miserable.
It's like they have a very narrow temperature sweetspot somewhere between cold and hot when they're actually quiet but that sweetspot only lasts for 10 seconds or so when descending... I should probably try another brand entirely
My experience of both the Paceline and Centreline X is pretty much as @r8jimbob88 describes in varying degrees. The bike was new in May 23 and came with Paceline fitted which were noisy on descents so I swapped them out for Centrelines. These were OK in the summer but not perfect. I was off the bike all Sept and Oct and now back on it in this awful weather and the noise is horrific. I have genuine Sram pads and I even opted for the ones designated "quiet" as opposed to "powerful". I put new pads in yesterday after a particularly noisy ride out on Sat and it made zero difference. The Sram Centreline X rotors are £60 each and the XR flavour are £70+ so a complete swapout including genuine pads is up near £200 and I have 2 wheelsets so £400 potentially ( I haven't tried my "summer" wheels in this awful weather so I don't know if they are the same but I'm not about to test them and ruin them!).
They are perfectly aligned though so it's not that. I have cleaned the rotors with isopropyl and MucOff brake cleaner and that didn't help either so I'm going to sand them and then follow the laborious 30 stop Sram process. Thing is I'm not sure how much to sand them - I had a go on the front one yesterday but I can still see some light scoring visible from use so I wonder do I need to get rid of all of it. Seems pretty drastic and obviously shortens the life of the rotor/s.
I've heard good things about Campagnolo AFS rotors for (obviously) road use.
I had XTR M900 centrelock 140mms on my summer road bike last year. Power was fine (I'm light) but they were forever warping , would not recommended.
Which MTB rotors are you referring to @nickfrog. Got a link?
I use and abuse these https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/165542004495?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=bco9-7xftvm&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=QP3HdVkhTHS&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
But not sure if compatible.
Also on Alpkit outlet for a less nefarious source 😂
running XRs on my road bike with Dura Ace calipers - no issues whatsoever.
Thanks @nickfrog but I need centrelock.
https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/p/dt-swiss-centre-lock-adaptor
These look neat enough once fitted. I sometimes end up with CL hubs on one end or the other and use 6 bolt rotors with these.
One thing to check if mixing and matching rotors - that the rotor depth is at least the same depth or greater than the pad depth. Shallow rotors with deeper pads isn't a good combo.
Right, I’ve sanded them with 180 paper and then forensically cleaned with brake cleaner, soap, isopropyl etc and even cleaned out in between the perforations in the disc rotor itself . I’ve also cleaned the pads with brake cleaner and refitted. I’ve gone out and done 50 plus stops of varying intensity using both brakes and then one or the other, following the Sram process. It was dryish but windy and cold so not sure if they reached the required temperature or not. I’ll go out in the rain later perhaps…..🤞 Otherwise it’s new rotors and pads time.
So I went out for a quick spin and squirted some water on the rotor while going along. Immediate squealing when applying the brakes and it seemed to get worse the more I tried to dry them out by braking hard. Utter garbage - I have no idea what is wrong with them but it's going to cost £200 to try another setup from scratch and I'll be binning £200 quids worth of hardware as both wheels and rotors are the same. Anyone wants 2 brand new (35 miles old) sets of pads and 2 nearly new (500 miles or so) rotors they are in my front garden!
I've ordered some XR rotors but I have a feeling it's going to be the same issue. I'll follow the Sram setup process to the letter and see what happens.... Tempted to try a different compound pad but Sram say if you change compounds from say "quiet" to "powerful" and vice versa then you need new rotors (but then I guess they would say that!)
Just buy some cheap adaptors and be done with it 😂
I think the MTB ones aren’t suitable for road use. In fact Sram don’t include the Centreline X (which is what I have) in their road lineup in answer to the FAQ “what rotors can I use on my road bike”. They say Paceline or Centreline XR in answer to that question , but if you filter the products by Road use and select brakes it does list the Centreline X so who knows - not even Sram seemingly.
I would give it a go on one wheel and sell the lot of it doesn't work. Total cost a few quid loss for a chance to save £200.
£200? That's performance car budget 😂