My shimano front disc brake rubs on my Haibike.. I watched a few youtube videos and performed the loosening of the caliper bolts, squeeze the brake and then re-tighten the bolts.. Still rubs in one spot.. I hate to try and bend the disc as recommended on another video. It's not a bad rub but it's annoying. I haven't crashed or banged the bike against anything so I don't know how the disc got out of round or what the problem may be.. Any tips?
Dreaded brake rub
- Thread starter DDBB
- Start date
LimboJim
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
Definitely sounds like a warped or bent rotor that needs to be "trued" or replaced. I've been lucky so far - in 3 years/3k+ miles of trail riding on a few different eMTBs, I've yet to need to do so, but I still got a rotor truing tool expecting that I will someday. Replacement rotors aren't very expensive.
I've read that long downhills with constant braking can overheat and warp rotors, so I opted for replacement pads with cooling fins for my Shimano-equipped bikes. They're a few bucks more, but I think they're worth it.
It surprises me that Magura, SRAM et al. don't make finned pads, but some "experts" that say they're frivolous.
I've read that long downhills with constant braking can overheat and warp rotors, so I opted for replacement pads with cooling fins for my Shimano-equipped bikes. They're a few bucks more, but I think they're worth it.
It surprises me that Magura, SRAM et al. don't make finned pads, but some "experts" that say they're frivolous.
indianajo
Well-Known Member
You should be able to see a warped rotor wobbling when you turn the bike upside down and rotate the wheel. If wobbles, replace IMHO.
My mechanical tekko disk brakes, I can back off the pads and leave the gap bigger if I want to. It is an adjustment on the cable. I center the gap on the disk with an adjustment of the mount bolts.
No experience with hydraulic disks on bikes, sorry. The hydraulic disk brakes on cars never back up,corrode where they start leaking if they are forced in with a screw clamp.
My mechanical tekko disk brakes, I can back off the pads and leave the gap bigger if I want to. It is an adjustment on the cable. I center the gap on the disk with an adjustment of the mount bolts.
No experience with hydraulic disks on bikes, sorry. The hydraulic disk brakes on cars never back up,corrode where they start leaking if they are forced in with a screw clamp.
Last edited:
I can't see any wobble in the rotor.. I removed the front wheel and re-installed.. Same rub but sounded different. I then cranked down the quick release lever much tighter than it was previously and 90% of the rub disappeared! when the bike is vertical and I push it around the garage I hear nothing. when the wheel is turned to the left and I'm pushing the bike I hear the rub but it's practically gone compared to before. When I elevate the wheel and spin it by hand it rotates freely for about 5 revolutions with just the hint of a rub. I'm calling it good for now. New bike maintenance stand arrives tomorrow so I might play with it some more then when it will be much easier to work on. I'm going to see about getting some of those pads with the heat sinks. There was no rub when the bike was new and there are some hills where I'm on the brakes pretty hard for a long time but again, the rotor doesn't appear to to be warped, at least to the naked eye.
Finally got rid of ALLthe brake rub. It took hours. The typical advice is to loosen the caliper bolts, then clamp the brake hard and tighten the bolts to center the caliper.. This didn't work for me at all.. Putting more tension on the quick release helped but I still had a little rub. What finally worked after a lot of trial and error was to push the caliper towards the right side of the wheel firmly while tightening the caliper bolts. Now the wheel spins like a fidget spinner with no rub.
Similar threads
