Is it a good idea to re-surface brake disc rotors every so often ?

[deano69]

Was just wondering how often one should re-surface their disc rotors as I seen several posts about it some saying its a must at least every 3 months ???

And some even say take out the pads now and then put some sort of flamable liquid on the brake surface light it and let it burn till it goes out, as this will draw any moisture or contaminants to surface where once cooled it can be rubbed gently on a flat surface on some 400 sandpaper to remove the surface crud and they'll be like new again ? Im really not sure about this one though ...

Your thoughts much appreciated,

Deano

 

[Cubist]

You could avoid getting them contaminated in the first place.... but seriously, I clean them with brake cleaner every couple of rides, and bed them back in on the next ride on a long downhill. I suppose it helps living on top of a geet big hill.

There are some who will tell you that if you ride in gritty conditions hard enough they won't last long enough to need decontaminating. Flambeeing them all sounds a wee bit anal, even for me.

 

[Red Light]

Never needed to do it or even seen the need to do it in over 12 years of using disc brakes. Why would you want to?

 

[deano69]

Thanks for your comments, and I fully agree wth your thoughts on this there just seems to always be someone who says its essential to good working brakes but mine have also been great for over 5 yrs......

It was just one of those hypothetical questions just to see if actually there is any truth or benefit in their suggestions, and I wonder where they get this info in the first place ? from others or just from experimenting which is a big risk if its not needed tried and tested thoroughly.

Deano

 

[spence]

At the turn of the century, when I stated using discs there were a lot of articles on maintenance, most saying something along these lines ie cross hatching the disc with some emery to maintain the surface. A dozen or so years later and not done it I’ve no problems - not entirely true I may have done it when installing new discs to remove the manufacturing/packaging agent - the mud and sand around here sorts anything out.

 

[black'n'yellow]

when was the last time anyone 're-surfaced' the disks on their car..?

 

[MrGrumpy]

when was the last time anyone 're-surfaced' the disks on their car..?

They get resurfaced as as soon as you start using them again, but its a fair point. Although I think car brakes are under for more strenuous use than MTB brakes? Unless your names Atherton and your heading down Fort Bill !