These brake are seriously the worst!

[CafeRoaster]

These Tektro Dorado brakes are the worst piece of equipment on this bike, and are the most important system on any bike.

Just changing the pads is difficult to do, because the pistons get so stuck that you cannot get them all the way back in. I just changed the pads for the second time, and the pistons will NOT go far enough back in to where the pads don't rub.

Bleeding the system is an entirely different struggle. One that I've not yet done successfully.

When I changed the pads last time, I couldn't get the pistons all the way back in, and the pads were rubbing, so I had to have my LBS do it.

 

[grench]

These Tektro Dorado brakes are the worst piece of equipment on this bike, and are the most important system on any bike.

Just changing the pads is difficult to do, because the pistons get so stuck that you cannot get them all the way back in. I just changed the pads for the second time, and the pistons will NOT go far enough back in to where the pads don't rub.

Bleeding the system is an entirely different struggle. One that I've not yet done successfully.

When I changed the pads last time, I couldn't get the pistons all the way back in, and the pads were rubbing, so I had to have my LBS do it.

Wow how many miles have you put on the bike? I have two friends with the CC...one has over 2k and has not had to change pads???

 

[CafeRoaster]

Wow how many miles have you put on the bike? I have two friends with the CC...one has over 2k and has not had to change pads???

Fewer than 2,000. We have two of them, also, and have had them since February. We ride them everywhere, but most likely don't have 2,000 miles. We had computers on the bikes, but they were terribly inaccurate and ended up not working altogether after a couple of weeks. So I've no idea how many miles!

We probably go through pads much faster because we a) have a child that rides on the back a lot of the time, b) live in Seattle where hills are a daily event.

 

[harryS]

Thinking back to disk brakes on cars, there was occasionally some trick (like an adjuster hidden under a cap screw) to be employed in order to push the calipers in to install new pads. Used to need the shop manual to look for those tricks, but these days someone has a youtube video for almost any car. I've changed disks as recently as two years ago, but now use a shop that does them for a reasonable rate.

Well, back to bikes. Looked up Textro Dorado. Doesn't seem to be any tricks per Textro's video, other than a specialty tool.

Hmm, I converted one of my bikes to a no name mechanical disk brake. Now I wonder if I will be able to find replacement pads in the future.

 

[EriderM]

Mine work pretty good.

 

[Ian]

These Tektro Dorado brakes are the worst piece of equipment on this bike, and are the most important system on any bike.

Just changing the pads is difficult to do, because the pistons get so stuck that you cannot get them all the way back in. I just changed the pads for the second time, and the pistons will NOT go far enough back in to where the pads don't rub.

Bleeding the system is an entirely different struggle. One that I've not yet done successfully.

When I changed the pads last time, I couldn't get the pistons all the way back in, and the pads were rubbing, so I had to have my LBS do it.

When mine were out of alignment I tried to fiddle with them and just made it worse, so I ended up bringing them into my LBS. They bled the system and re-aligned the pads for $25 and had it done in an hour, so not too painful!

 

[Jack Tyler]

To offer some balance, I chose the CC in part because the Dorado bikes were so suitable for the higher speeds of the CC ebike. And that was after test riding 12 different brands/models, all of them being far more expensive to purchase than a CC. One of the best features of the bike, insofar as I can tell so far.

 

[Dunbar]

I don't think the OP was complaining about the performance of the brakes but rather how difficult it is to replace the pads.

 

[Emily D]

I had the same problem with my pistons not returning. We had to construct a device to press the pistons back into place (using small threaded rods, nuts, and steel plates) and were able to get the pads back in (barely), but the pistons eventually sprung back and created rubbing. So we had to bleed. I understand from my bike mechanic friends that this isn't too unusual for hydraulic brakes.

But what was unusual and quite unfortunate was that Tektro seems to have changed the design of these brakes, and neither the Tektro nor the Juiced websites have the proper service documentation for the brakes that came on my bike. So you had better have some expertise yourself, or have access to a seasoned mechanic if you want to service these yourself.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

I had the same problem with my pistons not returning. We had to construct a device to press the pistons back into place (using small threaded rods, nuts, and steel plates) and were able to get the pads back in (barely), but the pistons eventually sprung back and created rubbing. So we had to bleed. I understand from my bike mechanic friends that this isn't too unusual for hydraulic brakes.

But what was unusual and quite unfortunate was that Tektro seems to have changed the design of these brakes, and neither the Tektro nor the Juiced websites have the proper service documentation for the brakes that came on my bike. So you had better have some expertise yourself, or have access to a seasoned mechanic if you want to service these yourself.

Emily,
You're mistaken. Tora@Juiced is one of the largest purchaser of Tektro Dorado brakes. There are few versions available but these are high-quality brakes for sure.
You can find the exact same brakes on Stromer ST1-X, ST1-T, a range of BULLS Ebikes and BH Easy Motion bikes.
Attached is the manual for the brakes. Any competent shop would be able help you with this. Take a look at the manual.

 

[CafeRoaster]

Emily,
You're mistaken. Tora@Juiced is one of the largest purchaser of Tektro Dorado brakes. There are few versions available but these are high-quality brakes for sure.
You can find the exact same brakes on Stromer ST1-X, ST1-T, a range of BULLS Ebikes and BH Easy Motion bikes.
Attached is the manual for the brakes. Any competent shop would be able help you with this. Take a look at the manual.

That's the document I keep on my computer and in my phone. However, I must be daft, at least with bleeding. Went through so much fluid when I attempted it, and the line still had air in it. More-so, actually. And the pistons still would not budge. Had to have my LBS do it.

Since then, I have replaced another set of pads, this time successfully without having to bleed the brakes. Took a lot of pumping of the lever and pushing with a flat-head.

 

[Ann M.]

That's not how it's supposed to happen. It only takes a very small amount, like droplets, to release the pressure on the brake pads so that you can replace them. Bleeding a whole brake system is a bit more complicated and requires you to handle the brake fluid you initially pull into the replacement fluid syringe properly. That is where most of the bubbles are going to come from at the start. So there is some preparatory work you need to do for a whole brake bleed; however, I don't think you guys are really needing to do this unless you have left the bike in hot sun for a bunch of time or the fluid has been in the line for years.

 

[Dunbar]

I changed out my front pads today. My bike has about 2k miles on it. As you can see in the photo I think I had at least 2-3k miles left on the stock pads. I already had replacement Swiss Stop 15 E pads on hand so I installed them. I did not find the installation hard. I used a large flat head screwdriver to push the calipers back in which didn't take much force. My rear caliper isn't centered so I think one of those pads is almost completely worn out (rear brakes are starting to get noisy.)

(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)

 

[Chris Nolte]

We've sold and serviced many bikes with these brakes and we have also installed these brakes on several aftermarket setups we built including high use cargo bikes.

I think it's likely that you might have worn the pads past their life causing the caliper to over extend which can cause an issue with any hydraulic brake.

I hope you have a better experience in the future, as we've been pretty pleased with their performance and serviceability.

 

[Cameron Newland]

I changed out my front pads today. My bike has about 2k miles on it. As you can see in the photo I think I had at least 2-3k miles left on the stock pads. I already had replacement Swiss Stop 15 E pads on hand so I installed them. I did not find the installation hard. I used a large flat head screwdriver to push the calipers back in which didn't take much force. My rear caliper isn't centered so I think one of those pads is almost completely worn out (rear brakes are starting to get noisy.)

(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)

That's really impressive. My pads last me 650 miles if I'm lucky!