Challenges in maintenance of MTB

Wheels of Happiness

From my experience and reading various posts in soc media there are two challenging issues:    operation of front derailleur and the the disc brakes

1.  Front derailleur -   the difficulty of fd shifting to the largest chain.   I experienced this myself.   Several actions are suggested:

     1.  Check and oil the pivot.  Dirt and astray parts could jam the mechanism

     2.  Check the cables:   the outer and the inner cable.  You can clean and oil the cables.   The dirt and  crud could jam the shifter action

     3.   The limit screw.   The outer limit screw, the hi limit screw could be loosened by 3/4 to 1 turn (or more as the case  may need it)

     4.  The barrel adjuster.    A turn or two can make the fd shift nicely

2.  The disc brake.    That is why the rim brakes (the V brake) are simpler to maintain.   The most common

      complain is squealing brake. Or failing brake

      1.  Failing brake could be caused by:

           1.  Worn out pads -  replace when the metal back is almost exposed

           2.   Worn cable -  replace

                  No more mineral oil -  add

                   Air in the system -  bleed the brake

     2.  Noisy brake

          1. Caliper not centered.   Center the caliper by sight -  lossen the mounting bolt and and try

               tightening  usual visual sight

          2.  Score in the disc -  try to sand, and or replace

          3.  Glazed brake pads -   clean with detergent, alcohol and/or sand paper

          But sometimes these may not work and the noise/squeaal reappear

          Try and try until the sound disappear

Debate on rim brakes vs hydraulic brakes - which onef is better?

Wheels of Happiness

Rizal Philippines

7.12.2021

There is an on going  debate between disc brake and rim brakes   Who is the winner

For the rim brakes:

1.  Lighter

2.  Cheaper to maintain

3.  More mechanically efficient (since the force is applied further from the center)

For the disc brake

1.  Better when conditions are wet;

2.  Less chance of mechanical failure

3.  Thus more reliable

However maintenance for disc brake is more expensive and tedious.  If you do not use this it may get stuck up and you need a lot of skill centering the brake and you change the pads more often.  Then there is the fluid and the bleeding.   It can give you head ache.

I have seen both system.

I favor the hydraulic brake.  Especially the xt system which employs only single finger force.  The hydraulic btake, the Pascal's law and the physics behind this is reassuring.  

Bedding in and/or burning in the brake pads - how to cure disc brakes squeal.

Wheels of Happiness

Rizal Philippines

4.24. 2021.

How to stop squeaking disc brakes

The growing interest in disc brakes even in road bikes should be accompanied by increasing knowledge on disc brake technology.

Other cyclists including the pro, dislike disc brake for the additional weight and more maintenance costs and processes.

One of the never ending problems in disc brakes is brake squeal.

The usual cleaning the brake pads and discs with alcohol and/or sand papering the pads and the disc, there are other things I did not get to know -  the burning in and or bedding in the  brake pads.  This must be done:

     1. When new brake pads or discs are installed;

     2.  Immediately after the cleaning of the pads and the disc

You can do the bedding in either by:

1.  Riding down a long hill with brakes engaged 75%.   You are literally burning the disc and the pads with this process

2.  Ride on a level ground using the largest rear cogs, and engaging the  brakes slightly (same 75%)  The squeak may recur but eventually as the disc and pads bed in the squeal should disappear.  

Removing squeaks from MTB disc brakes

Wheels of Happiness

Rizal Philippines
May 18, 2016

















Happy birthday to my deceased brother.  He perished about 3 years ago from colon cancer that metastasized to his lungs.  He died of difficulty of breathing.  Well he was an inveterate smoker.  He smoked even after his colostomy.

Our topic for today is the removal of squeaks from the disc brakes used in MTB.  I experienced it.  One of the bike companions last Saturday had to bear with the unpleasant noise when he brakes:

It could come from:

1.  dirt on the brake pads
2.  oil and other contaminants on the rotor
3.  uneven rotor surface.

1 and 2 could be remedied by:

1.  Cleaning the disc/rotor with rag with alcohol, or with liquid detergent (Joy)

2.  The pads could be cleaned by rubbing the discs coated with gel (Joy or Smart liquid detergent) Or rubbing the pads on sandpaper.

3.  The rotor could be resurfaced by having sandpaper on a flat surface rubbed in the direction or rotation

These should remove the squeaks on the disc brakes. I am learning a lot of things:  centering the disc brakes and cleaning the disc brakes, resurfacing the rotor

PS:   I all ready did this on both of the brakes of my Mosso MTB. It is so easy to do. Saved P50.00 for the bike shop fees.  I unscrewed the disc brakes, removed the pads, used detergent and sand paper to remove the disc grit and dirt.   For the front brake, it took me less than 20 minutes to do.