cannot stop disc brake rubbing

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Salty seadog

Space Cadet...(3rd Class...)
Hi all, just taken delivery of n+1 a whyte montpellier hybrid, giving it the once over the disc brakes are rubbing. it is a sram via gt setup and i have tried a few times to centre the block by loosening it then applying the brake and retightening the block while keeping the brake on. no luck. Ive also tried to reset the calipers by pushing them back with a knife, still no luck.

would anyone have any suggestions as to overcome this problem?
 

lpretro1

Guest
Brand new disk brake pads will nearly always make some 'rubbing' noise. It is normal. You need to stop fiddling with them and go ride the bike to get them bedded in - they will then quieten down. Lots of good hard stops from speed to burn off all the chemicals on pads in the manufacturing process - don't go out and 'dab' them or they will glaze and won't work properly. Good beefy stops is what is required :smile:
 
On my MTB I can use a hex wrench to adjust the pads in or out. Is there anything on your brake pistons to insert a hex wrench or screw driver? Just make sure you dont touch the bleed nipple if its hydraulic ones.
 

evo456

Über Member
Find a nice long-ish down hill where you can build some heat by dragging the brakes, I do that once to bed new pads in. PS - don't forget it may not be the calipers that are not aligned, but the disc rotar itself is slightly warped.
 

Custom24

Über Member
Location
Oxfordshire
There are a few possible causes.

1. Caliper is not aligned
2. Rotor is not true
3. Pads / pistons are not positioned correctly inside the caliper. One may be too close to the rotor. Or both may be too close.
4. Pads / Pistons are dirty (probably not in your case since the bike is new)

This video deals with how to address issues 1 and 2. You don't need the tools and setup he is using. You can leave the wheel on the bike and sight through the caliper itself and monitor the space between the rotor and the pads to see if the rotor is out of true. I would bend the rotor away from the caliper* so you don't alter the position of the pistons accidentally. You can use a clean adjustable spanner to bend the rotor. Gently does it.
http://www.bicycling.com/video/adjust-and-true-disc-brakes#/video/all

There is another video on YouTube that deals with how to address issue 3. I can't find it right now. Basically, you can use the rotor itself to manipulate the pads' positions. I will try to find it later for you.

Mark

ETA * - I mean when you've identified a section of the rotor out of true, rotate the rotor so that this section is well away from the caliper before manipulating it.
 

Custom24

Über Member
Location
Oxfordshire
Hi
I can't find that video. Maybe it's gone.

Anyway, what have you tried so far from the above?

Here's what I would do. Apologies if you know some/most of it already...

1. Remove the pads from the caliper and the wheel from the bike. Are the pads in good condition?

2. Use a plastic tyre lever or similar plastic tool to push both pistons back all the way into the caliper.

3. Put the wheel back in. Make sure it's in the dropouts correctly aligned (put the bike on the ground before tightening the skewers if you've had it on a workstand). Look through the caliper and see if the edge of the disc rotor looks aligned in the middle of the caliper. If not, loosen the mounting bolts on the caliper and make it so. The other thing to look for at this stage is if the disc is rubbing anywhere on the caliper body - the disc should be centralised as much as you can with respect to the slot it rotates through on the caliper. Tighten back up the bolts incrementally (not just tighten one completely and then the other). Be careful with torque if the bolts are going into carbon, although Whyte told me today that my bike has alloy reinforcement inside the carbon fork for the brake mounts. I use a torque wrench even on the non-carbon parts of my frame.

4. Put the pads back in. Squeeze the brakes on the rotor a few times. You may already have solved it now. If not, look through the caliper "window" again as you rotate the wheel. What do you see? You should be able to see the gap between the pads and the rotor.

5. If the rotor is only contacting the pads at one or two spots as the wheel rotates, then the rotor needs truing as I talked about before. You can also get an idea of this by just holding something like a plastic tool, near to the surface of the rotor as you spin it and monitoring the gap/listening. Brace the tool in your hand against the caliper body.

6. If the rotor is true, but it rubbing just one of the pads, then you can again try your loosen mount bolts and retighten while braking approach. Try a couple of times with different amounts of brake pressure. Again, make sure you tighten both mounting bolts incrementally.

7. If this doesn't solve it, and the rotor is still rubbing one of the pads, then put on some clean gloves. I mean really clean gloves. Note which pad the rotor is brushing against. Hold the rotor either side of the caliper and push/pull gently against that pad. Not so much as to bend the rotor (which would have the opposite effect to what you want), but just to give the piston a little nudge back into its recess.

8. If this still doesn't work, then one thing you can try is to clean the pistons, in case they are sticking. I misunderstood your original post and thought that the bike was brand new, but I now realise this probably isn't the case. You have to be careful cleaning the pistons. They way I've seen recommended is to just carefully expose them from their recesses by operating the brake lever while neither the pads nor wheel is in place, and then resetting them back in their recesses. You repeat this a few times. I've personally used solvent once on them while exposed (methanol was all I had). That's not recommended, nor is any solvent because of the piston seals.

9. When you are finished, if you are at all worried that you got the rotor dirty, clean the rotor with iso propyl alcohol or disc rotor cleaner.

I've had success with a mixture of the above approaches in the past, although mine are Shimano XT and SLX brakes on my MTB. I've not had to touch the ones on the Whyte yet.

My Whyte is not the same as yours either, and has different brakes (still hydro discs).
 

Globalti

Legendary Member
It may help you if you understand that brake pistons don't move very far and it's only the flexibility of the seals that allows them to work. If you push the pistons back into the calipers and reapply the brake, the pads should contact the disc then stop and then withdraw by a tiny distance when you remove the pressure. Braking just flexes those seals and the pistons only creep slowly through the seals slowly as the pads wear.
 
OP
OP
Salty seadog

Salty seadog

Space Cadet...(3rd Class...)
Hi custom 24, thats a couple of realy good posts,much appreciated. It is actualy a brand new bike which I purchased online. As this is only my second set of disc brakes I would like to have a go at sorting them myself just for the experience if it's a simple adjustment. If it comes down to looking at pistons it will be done on warranty.

I've done the centre the block whilst loose and tightening with brake applied thing a few times but the rubbing remains, cannot really see a gap at all between rotor and pads both front and rear so think its probably internal so time to ring them and sort it under warranty
 

Custom24

Über Member
Location
Oxfordshire
No worries. What were your first set of disc brakes?

There are basically 3 types
1. Full hydraulics - hydraulic reservoir part of the brake lever
2. Full mechanical - cable from lever down to ball bearing based caliper.
3. Half and Half. cable from lever down to hydraulic caliper.

Reason is because if your previous experience was with mechanical ones, hydraulics are quite different.

It would be worth you trying point 7 in my post if you like. I didn't mention that this can solve the problem even when both pads are rubbing. It takes 5 minutes and you don't need to take anything apart.
 

oldroadman

Veteran
Location
Ubique
Oh dear, far too old and set for discs. I have them on my moto though, and rubbing is usually because one of the pads is not retracting off the disc properly. Almost always the cause has been muck, bits of rust/stones from the road, or a seal needing to be replaced. Strip and clean sorted it every time.
Mind, when you see how pathetically thin some of the bicycle discs are, I'm not surprised they might warp a bit. Some look as if a good blast of wind would bend 'em!
 
OP
OP
Salty seadog

Salty seadog

Space Cadet...(3rd Class...)
hi Custom,
my first set are the Tektra draco's full hydrolic on my xc bike and they have been spot on since day 1 so i;ve never had to play with them. This is a sram setup which looks very similar. I.m going to get it sorted undder waranty and hopefuly learn how to deal with the issue myself if it happens ever again.

thanks for all the suggestions all.
 
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