BMX - what you do to clean your brake pads and rims..

reason im asking is because things have changed over the years,,, but what i used back in the late 80's were shaving cream on a towel and rubbing it across the rim wall to clean it and then scuffing the brake pad with the towel to clean them,,, then i would use simple green but those you had to clean the rim and the shoe and then ride your bike really fast and then slam on your brakes,,, it would take time for them to catch but when they do ,,,, THEY DO!!!! and then i used toothpaste,,,, i used it in the same manner as the shaving cream,,, with all this said ,, i am curious to know what is the method for cleaningrim and shoe nowadays...

Warm soapy water with a Scotch brite pad for the rims, and a emory board for the pads. Shave enough off the pads until the glazing is gone.

I just use sand paper to get the glaze off the pads, then i use some soap and watter to clean the rim, then I take light grit sand paper and make diagonal "scratches", all over the rim, not verey deep, just enough to give the rim some texture. Seems to work awesome.

Originally posted by Flatland Freak
I just use sand paper to get the glaze off the pads, then i use some soap and watter to clean the rim, then I take light grit sand paper and make diagonal "scratches", all over the rim, not verey deep, just enough to give the rim some texture. Seems to work awesome.

dude you cant do that to chrome rims can you,, ???

hmmm i guess my young 15 year old mind didnt think to use sand paper,,,lol,,, but wait we did take the shoes off and scratch them on the ground with lil water on the concrete..... tha is how i got my nick name,,, "milk man" i had white shoes and it would look like milk when i would clean my shoes,,,lol

Yeah you can do that to chrome rims...use a light grit sand paper and it just makes small scratches that arent even that noticable... and they eventually get buffed away. i think it actually looks kinda cool too...it makes them shine wierd in the sun :-)

what i found to work best is before you go out riding put some windex on a towel on wipe down your rims. the windex will get all the brake build up off the rims. if you do this everyday time you ride you shouldnt have to sand your brake pads very often either.

i would definitly NOT recommend sanding chrome rims

Originally posted by i_like_etnies


i would definitly NOT recommend sanding chrome rims

Why not? As long as you use a very fine grit paper, it doesnt damage the chrome at all, it just gives it a a little texture for the pads to stick to. i would never sand the rims, if i had good brakes and pads, bt if you just have caliper brakes with those pads that might-as-well be made out of hard plastic, then sanding the pads AND rims is usually the only way to get them to work.

I don't let any chemicals touch my rims. A damp cloth to clean my rims and a fine grit sandpaper to get the glaze off brake pads are all I use.

-bs

jaejw
you nailed it. This is exactly what we did in the 80s. Did you say you were 15 though? We would start the day off with a thorough cleaning of the rims and pads with simple green, or sometimes soapy water (not much water though).

Then you take your pads and squeeze them tight as you push your bike down the road. Eventually they will start to squeek loudly then stop dead solid.

Later in the day to revive them you just spit on the rim and do this all over again. Weird but worked killer.
FA