mtn.cyclist

My son and I got in some major mud on our last ride. It was very sticky and we were in it for a long time. After a serious bike cleaning session I still wonder what I should do to the brakes. How do I make sure they are clean? I have not worked on disc brakes very much but I'm game. We have a set of BB5's and one of Juicy 7's. Any advice? Thanks!!

jimc101

Wash down with water, if anything; disc's aren't affected by mud in the same way as rim brakes are, for the BB5's would make sure that the cables are lubed / no signs of corrosion, the Juicy's are sealed units, so no issues there.

fietsbob

An inspection after washing down the wheels on the bike , take the wheels off and wash the disc & calipers off directly ..

compressed air would be handy .. to blow down the wet parts, but water does evaporate , anyhow ..

well biked

Wiping off dirty rotors with rubbing alcohol is a good way to clean them. I ride mountain bikes in all conditions, and rarely need to do that, but if I clean a rotor, I do it with rubbing alcohol, at least as the final wipe down of the rotor.

tomacropod

There is no need to clean mud or dirt off your disc brakes. Hose out they excess, sure, but the brakes and rotors are self-cleaning with braking action. Only if your rotor or pads become contaminated with oil do you need to clean them.

Note that cleaning rotors require you to bed-in the rotors and pads again in order to achieve full braking power.

- joel