Brake pads in the oven?

For some unknown reason my Hope brake pads seem to have gone off so debating what to do. They’re 2 years old but on my XC race bike so hardly used so plenty of meat left. I assume it’s either some sort of contamination or they’ve just gone off?

Should I put them in the oven? If so what temp and how long, please consider if the fan and steam functions would be advantageous!

In the past I’ve used pliers to hold them over the gas hob – that seems to burn off contamination pretty well but make sure the kitchen is very well ventilated as it stinks.

I’d probably try washing up liquid first and a squirt of IPA afterwards before stinking things up. Same for the rotors. Then get some long hard braking in (without coming to a dead stop) to get some heat cycles in them.

Once cured a friend’s squeaky pads on a ride by heading downhill and braking hard and late rather than comfort braking. They just needed to get hot enough.

The pads are bonded to the backing plate, whilst capable of withstanding extreme heat from braking, how can you be sure that you’re not heating them over the limit and actually loosening the bond? My life  is (arguably) worth more than the price of new pads!

Use them more…probably not sharp due to lack of use.

I’ve baked Shimano pads. As hot as the oven will go and for as long as you like.

It’s 2024, brake pads in the air-fryer surely?

Unless you mean pizza oven.

Clean both rotors and do some hill stops would probably be more effective.

They’re about £7 a set or something like that, just buy some replacements.

I’d clean pads and rotors with IPA (Iso Propyl Alcohol) and then do some bedding stops.

No need to stink up the oven and the kitchen plus you get to ride the bike :o)

For bedding I’d do 1 stop from 30kph at gentle deceleration, followed immediately by 1 stop from 30kph at high deceleration. Ride back to where you started (no braking, allow them to cool)

Then repeat.

Do as many times as you have patience for :o)

I use a kitchen blow torch. Works a treat

I’m now firmly in the ‘buy new pads’ camp but I used to be young and broke so I’ve definitely cleaned pads in the past.

If you put them in a pan of boiling water on the hob then let it cool you can see a layer of scum on top. It’s satisfying to see the oily grease that was inside your pads now safely on the outside. Fire is faster though.

When I was in Malaga in January I used the kettle in the hotel room to do the same job and it got me through the week.

I’m not convinced the oven gets anywhere near hot enough, 200C Vs 400-800C on the pads surface during braking?

Give the rotors a thorough clean with degreaser followed by a rub with wet’n’dry sandpaper to take any material off the surface.  Then go out and bed some new pads in.

[ and check your caliper/piston seals aren’t leaking, no point fixing the symptoms and not the cause ]

do some hill stops would probably be more effective.

Depends how badly contaminated they are, if it’s just a bit of light stuff like WD40 overspray then maybe, but:

1) there needs to still be enough friction to generate the heat to burn it off.  If it’s not stopping hard enough it may never get hot enough.

2) It assumes that the contaminant just evaporates. If it just gets hot in the absence of sufficient oxygen (like on a brake pad pushed hard against a metal rotor for example) it’ll just thermally decompose and you’ll be left with something akin to graphite embedded in a hard resin.

Back when I lived at the top of a hill in Sheffield it would work as there was a good 2 miles of 1in5 down to the Arts Tower so I suspect the pads actually wore down through any contaminated layer.  But a few hard stops isn’t going to do much.

As crossed said, uberbike , superstar etc will sell you pads for £7.  They might not be as good as £30 Galfer or Hope pads, but they’re better than £30 Galfer pads that you’ve tried to eeek out a bit more life from by trying to set fire to the friction material, and you get to go out riding again, not fanny about in the kitchen.

I have burnt pads over a flame to remove contamination – one set came off the backing plate afterwards the others worked fine

I would try sanding the surface of the pads first.

I would never use cheap pads.

I’ve had good results cleaning them – the best is bike cleaner/mucoff type stuff – and then a flame if you feel like it.  Alcohol or clutch cleaner works, for some reason brake cleaner made for cars does not.

I prefer to flambe…

Pour some metho on them and set alight.

one set came off the backing plate afterwards the others worked fine

……….

I would never use cheap pads.

So you had a bad experience with expensive pads, but won’t use cheap pads?

Over hundreds of sets of pads over the years the only ones I can remember failing were those early superstar ones.  And that’s including cheap and cheerful amazon or ali-express pads.

I prefer to flambe…

Pour some metho on them and set alight.

Why?

“Meths” is azeotropic 90something percent ethanol, and the rest “other”, oils, water, dyes, bitrex, etc.

You can pour it into your palm and set it on fire and not feel the heat (unless you let it burn away).

All you’re achieving doing that is adding crap to the pads.

Cant say I’m fussed on Mucoff but their disk brake cleaner is decent. Always had good success fixing issues like this by cleaning the pads and rotors with it and then attacking the rotor with a palm sander and the pads with a sheet of 120 grit.

So you had a bad experience with expensive pads, but won’t use cheap pads?

they came off the backing plate after burning the flip out of them. Hardly a bad experience

I have a very different experience to many on here with hope own pads – I get hugely long life and consistent performance.  I read others troubles with cheap pads.  Also when you buy hopes own you get new pins and clips.  I do not think brakes are a thing to save money on.

I had some brakes that were terrible for contamination – perhaps weeping seals – and I would end up regularly cleaning and burning the pads.  Around that period was the only time I ever lost pad material whilst riding.  Makes you think…

It’s 2024, brake pads in the air-fryer surely?

Unless you mean pizza oven.

Clean both rotors and do some hill stops would probably be more effective.

A* for this response.

They’re 2 years old but on my XC race bike so hardly used so plenty of meat left.

If the bike is hardly used, the brakes probs just need some hard stops to bring them back to life.

When I was in Malaga in January I used the kettle in the hotel room to do the same job and it got me through the week.

The next guest’s coffee will have tasted a bit…chemically