Originally Posted by
Amesja
I hate cheap brake shoes so usually I just replace any shoe that isn't new that I haven't already replaced on bikes that come through my hands. I usually save the cap nuts and the washers and throw the pads away. The hardware comes in handy in the junk fasteners drawer.
I'm a big fan of the Avenir sticky-fingers shoes. They used to be really cheap on Amazon but the price has crept up.
If someone does nothing else at least take apart the brakes and clean the pivots and the bushing washers and grease them. I do clock repair for a hobby and just cleaning a pivot with a reamer makes a HUGE difference in the amount of drag present. Grease and reassemble and put on new shoes and the brakes will work like new. I'm sort of a putterer-tinkerer and just can't stop with that myself. I have to pull everything apart, soak anything steel that even is slightly rusted in OA, clean all the other parts in an ultrasonic cleaner, polish the pivots, polish the aluminum bits and treat them with mothers to protect the finish. I can't do anything halfway and end up making love to each caliper for over an hour. It's a sickness I think. I don't really think they work any better than a quick 5-minute disassembly,cleaning, reamer-polish and then re-greased before assembling but it's more fun this way and they look better than new when I'm done. I like making something old look like it is new.
My bicycle rebuilding projects are functional in nature, the brakes dragging on one side, I'll pull it apart, clean the schmutz out of it and put it back together using liberal amounts of grease, because it will then work again. It's part of my 4-R's Reuse, Repair, Rebuild, Recycle, meaning if I can reuse it, I will, I have hundreds of small screws, nuts, washers and other things, that came off stuff that got recycled or tossed. If I can repair it so I can reuse it, then I will repair it, lots of stuff gets repaired, best if I can repair it, using pieces I already have. Rebuild, bike stuff usually gets rebuilt if it's at all possible, hence the brake rebuild project. Some stuff can't be reused, can't be repaired, can't be rebuilt and ends up getting recycled. This is the problem with a lot of electronics stuff, it's made to end up in landfill. Funny thing is, I'll take off the old shoes and put new ones on, the old ones will end up in the junk parts box, and probably get put back on if a shoe gets wrecked or wears out and I can't get a replacement right away. I'm wondering about hand polishing, a little polishing compound and some wax, I wonder if it's worth experimenting a little. The only problem is, then you want to polish the whole bike.....
