Hi, I just noticed that the brakes on my girlfriend's gravel bike are grinding quite a bit. It seems to me as if the brake pad has already worn into the brake shoes. Do you think we need a new brake system, or will it be enough to just readjust the brakes?
by FidelerFister69
5 Comments
[deleted]
You need to align the calliper, the rotor is rubbing against the actual calliper not just the pad it looks like
Loosen the two bolts a small bit, pull the lever tight to try centre it and then tighten the bolts up.
You might also need to push the pistons back in
Looks like that brake pad is quite new with plenty of material left.
Just undo the 2 bolts holding the brake caliper to the frame and jiggle it centrally over the silver rotor so there is equal gap either side. It’s a very tight tolerance (about 1 mm either side)and sometimes easier to see if you put a piece of white paper behind it. (Don’t over tighten as at risk of stripping threads – just snug them down)
Your rotor is resting on the pad pocket and contacting the caliper itself. Loosen the caliper positioning bolts, squeeze the brake a few times, then on the last pull (with lever force still applied) tighten the bolts to snug. Release the lever and apply torque at 1/8th to 1/4 turns alternating between bolts until the torque spec is achieved.
Edited to add: Grab a dime and set it next to the pad. If your compound is thicker than the dime, you have sufficient material left on the pad. If not, replace the pads. If your rotors are damaged from contact to the caliper, you will need to replace them. If you find the non-drive piston is “dead” (buried in its glad), you will need to massage it out. If any of these instructions sound unclear, take this to a shop to have them do the work.
Yeah you see how its slammed up again the caliper.
Reset the pads, loosen the bolts. Squeeze once or twice the align the caliper. There may be a bit of rubbing (rotor may be a bit bent) but a 1mm wave is totally normal and wouldn’t worry about it