Bicycle Mechanics - Weak HMX-1 front disk

I have a Hayes mechanical disk on the front of my bike, and it does not have very much power. I have not had it very long (24 hours of riding), and this is the first time riding it this year. I am running linear pull brake levers with the caliper, which is a change from last year when I ran cantilever brake levers. The only other significant event I can think of that would be contributing to my problem is that I rode in the vermont 50 last year, and it was exceedingly muddy. During this ride the brakes fadded away almost completely. I cleaned the pads and the disk thoroughly with rubbing alcohol as is indicated in the instructions. Do I just need to wait for the pads and disk to reseat (I have only ridden for abot an hour on the newly cleaned disks), or have I screwed up the pads and disks? When I pulled the pads, there was plenty of thickness left in them, and I was very sure to put the pads back on the proper side of the caliper (can you even put them on the wrong side?).

Thanks in advance for your advice.

It probably wasnt a great idea to put the rubbing alcohol on the pads. I would suggest getting a blow torch and lighting the pads up.

It probably wasnt a great idea to put the rubbing alcohol on the pads. I would suggest getting a blow torch and lighting the pads up.



Thanks for the advice Klein. I used alcohol and a toothbrush to clean everything. I was a little concerned about cleaning the brakes that way, but that is what the instruction said. I have brakecleaner too, but the instruction sheet said not to use brake cleaner. I am sure there is a reason for it.

Thanks again

Thanks for the advice Klein. I used alcohol and a toothbrush to clean everything. I was a little concerned about cleaning the brakes that way, but that is what the instruction said. I have brakecleaner too, but the instruction sheet said not to use brake cleaner. I am sure there is a reason for it.

Thanks again
Conventional brake cleaner, as used on motor vehicles, has a certain amount of oil in to cut corrosion on the metal parts of the calipers. On a car or truck this is not a problem, but on a small pad such as bikes use, would cause a problem as insufficient heat to dissipate the oil. it could be that a glaze has gone on the disc and/or pads, so rubbing across the face with 100 grade wet and dry, using water as the lubricant will help.

Conventional brake cleaner, as used on motor vehicles, has a certain amount of oil in to cut corrosion on the metal parts of the calipers. On a car or truck this is not a problem, but on a small pad such as bikes use, would cause a problem as insufficient heat to dissipate the oil. it could be that a glaze has gone on the disc and/or pads, so rubbing across the face with 100 grade wet and dry, using water as the lubricant will help.

Thanks,

I'll give it a go. I knew there must be a reason they said not to use it, which is why I used teh alcohol instead. I would think that the alcohol would have evaporated by now. Are tha pads porous enough to hold the alcohol in for this long (3 weeks)?

Thanks again for the info.

Are tha pads porous enough to hold the alcohol in for this long (3 weeks)?


no way! the way alcohol evaporates, it should have been completely gone in 20 minutes!

no way! the way alcohol evaporates, it should have been completely gone in 20 minutes!


Thanks,

That is what I figured. There must be something else gong on. Maybe I got some lube on the pads and disk from my fork legs? The seals are not leaking, but I lubed them with a little triflow, and some of that may have gotten on the disk. WHo knows. Has anyone else had experience with weak disk brakes?