# Removing Wheel on a disc brake bike.



## Banjo (17 Jul 2009)

I am the proud owner of a new Trek Valencia with discs and just realized that I have never removed a disc wheel before.

Is it just a case of slip the disc out from between the brake pads then slide back in again afterwards or is there more to it?

Dont want to have to sus it out in the dark on the side of the road in the rain.....


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## 2Loose (17 Jul 2009)

Just remember not to push the brake lever when the wheel is out and you will be fine.
You don't want to push the pads together when the disk is out or you will have some work levering them apart again.


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## -walsh- (17 Jul 2009)

also Make sure there is enogh clearance between the disc and the pads otherwise you will get a very annoying rubbing sound.


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## spandex (17 Jul 2009)

Walsh if you put the wheel back in right there will be no "rubbing sound" Disks are very easy to get right and hard to get wrong ( unless they are cheep!)


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## -walsh- (17 Jul 2009)

spandex said:


> Walsh if you put the wheel back in right there will be no "rubbing sound" Disks are very easy to get right and hard to get wrong ( unless they are cheep!)




my bad! never had to take my wheels off, but my mate did on his bike and he always moaned about the rubbing noise. but then it was a halfords jobbie.


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## spandex (17 Jul 2009)

-walsh- said:


> my bad! never had to take my wheels off, but my mate did on his bike and he always moaned about the rubbing noise. *but then it was a halfords jobbie.*


*
* 

There you go 9/10 for it being cheep or not set up right.


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## Cubist (18 Jul 2009)

Jeeeeeezus!

Discs go out of centre, out of true and out of line. You need to learn to centre them properly. Just 'cos it was bought from Halfords, doesn't mean it'll be shite. My Avid Elixirs are fitted to some very high end bikes. They need bedding in and centring every so often. When I take the trouble to keep them maintained they're great. They came from Halfords. If you can't set up a bike yourself, don't blame the distributor!


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## spandex (18 Jul 2009)

I am not saying that just because they came from halfords they are not any good. Take your brakes as an example Yes when the pads are new they need bedding in the same as all brake pads. But if they are set up right and not bashed they do not need centring ever. If you keep them clean including the pistons you will be able to run them for years with out having them serviced.


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## Cubist (18 Jul 2009)

Spandex. I was agreeing with you, but pointing out that this forum and many others tend to blame Halfords for the fact that they the owners can't keep stuff running smooth and glitch free. I strongly suspect that the owner reported here who took the wheel off his bike and then blamed Halfords for the fact the brakes rubbed didn''t know how to check and align them. That's his issue, not Halfords.

I have discs on a road hybrid and on an XC bike. The XC bike takes a good deal of hammering and the brakes sometimes cook on long or technical descents. They sometimes rub afterwards, but all it takes is a bit of spannering and know-how to get them centred again. I see it as routine maintenance, a check that fits into a weekly schedule like cable checking, gear ticking and chain-lubing. The road hybrid discs drove me mad for a week before they bedded in. Now they're centred they don't need touching.


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## Trumpettom001 (3 Aug 2009)

I'll jump on the defending halfords bandwagon here--- I bough a bike from them (boxed of course - I like the forks put on the right way round thank you very much)
I knew absolutely nothing about discs before I bought it - now I'm completely confident maintaining - repairing - bleeding them and all the rest---- I have done a mere 300 miles on the bike, but have got the discs pretty darn hot - and the only damage I've ever managed to do to them was letting someone else clean my bike - he got a really nice finish on my back disc by spraying GT85 on it!!!

P.S. I can highly recommend the bontrager red disk pads for the tektro auriga series - even on a slightly oily disc they have more stopping power than the stock tektro ones.


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