Got my first dual suspension but with weak front brakes

jeff_o
Posts: 321
Joined: Wed Dec 01, 2010 2:59 pm
Location: 2113, NSW
Contact:

Got my first dual suspension but with weak front brakes

Postby jeff_o » Tue Nov 01, 2011 10:13 pm

So after 2x hitting trails borrowing someone else's bike, i decided to buy my own dual suspension and got myself an 07 Mongoose Teocali Comp.

It was seldom used and not abused which is good, but it was stored for quite sometime. everything works fine, just needed tuning except for the front brakes. It's Hayes Solo hydraulic and the fronts are just weak. lever felt good, no air and possibly no need to bleed. but is there anything else i should check for the weak front brakes?

the previous owner must've been spraying wd40 all over the bike as there's damp dust marks in all moving parts. also rear tire is out of true... i never tried truing myself... is there anyone living near macquarie center who can give me a hand? i'm new to MTBiking, but have been building my road bikes for years.

User avatar
Mulger bill
Super Mod
Super Mod
Posts: 29060
Joined: Sun Sep 24, 2006 2:41 pm
Location: Sunbury Vic

Re: Got my first dual suspension but with weak front brakes

Postby Mulger bill » Tue Nov 01, 2011 10:46 pm

Welcome to the dirty side of life Jeff 8)

WD40 on the frame helps stop mud adhesion.
Truing the wheels is no different to a roadie.
IIRC, the Hayes Sole is a single piston unit so you may have to manually adjust the inside pad to compensate for wear.

Enjoy getting dirty.
Shaun
...whatever the road rules, self-preservation is the absolute priority for a cyclist when mixing it with motorised traffic.
London Boy 29/12/2011

jeff_o
Posts: 321
Joined: Wed Dec 01, 2010 2:59 pm
Location: 2113, NSW
Contact:

Re: Got my first dual suspension but with weak front brakes

Postby jeff_o » Wed Nov 02, 2011 9:46 pm

ok, so i predicted that i'm going to be sick today, took a sickie and went down to the garage almost the whole day lol!

remounted tires, readjusted hub bearing tension, cleaned wheelset and disc, cleaned cassette, remounted cassette, repacked headset bearing, cleaned fork, cleaned calipers and pads, tuned transmission... phew 1 day is not enough.

anyways i checked my front brakes and it was gooey with oil from the fork. i guess that's the reason why i have weak front brakes. so i degreased the pads, washed with soap and reinstalled and readjusted. but now both front and back brakes are weak. any ideas? do i have to break the brakes in after a brake job? they felt worse than a mechanical disc brake.

Image

User avatar
drubie
Posts: 4714
Joined: Wed Oct 22, 2008 11:12 am
Location: New England
Contact:

Re: Got my first dual suspension but with weak front brakes

Postby drubie » Wed Nov 02, 2011 9:54 pm

First up, clean the disks with something alcohol based to remove any residual wd40.

Next - my guess is that your pads are contaminated and/or maladjusted like Mulger Bill said. Find the adjustment procedure for them and maybe track down some new pads front and rear. Muddy water seems to clear disk pads on a mountain bike of oil, but it's kind of a harsh treatment.
So we get the leaders we deserve and we elect, we get the companies and the products that we ask for, right? And we have to ask for different things. – Paul Gilding
but really, that's rubbish. We get none of it because the choices are illusory.

User avatar
Mulger bill
Super Mod
Super Mod
Posts: 29060
Joined: Sun Sep 24, 2006 2:41 pm
Location: Sunbury Vic

Re: Got my first dual suspension but with weak front brakes

Postby Mulger bill » Wed Nov 02, 2011 10:46 pm

Chances are the oil contamination has borked the pads big time. I've heard that boiling them for a while can get rid of the oil but never tried it. Get new ones.

How much would you be prepared to pay for a set of <8 hrs old Avid Elixir 5s with a 185 front rotor (and blue hoses)? :wink:
...whatever the road rules, self-preservation is the absolute priority for a cyclist when mixing it with motorised traffic.
London Boy 29/12/2011

jeff_o
Posts: 321
Joined: Wed Dec 01, 2010 2:59 pm
Location: 2113, NSW
Contact:

Re: Got my first dual suspension but with weak front brakes

Postby jeff_o » Wed Nov 02, 2011 10:54 pm

i did soak em in degreaser, brushed them with degreaser then brushed with dishwashing soap. the pads looked new (from dark gray to light brown with copper fillings), i read somewhere you have to break-in your pads, not sure if that helps but i gotta do my research.

i did adjust them fine, and you're right, 1 side is threaded piston and only 1 side is moving with the lever. there is 1 small allen key hole which i dunno what it does (i'm sure it's not the bleeder).

lol thanks mulger for the offer but i'm just bankrupt for now after buying this bike :( whaat colors are they btw and how much are you selling them? pm me :D crap here i go again... hide my wallet!

User avatar
Mulger bill
Super Mod
Super Mod
Posts: 29060
Joined: Sun Sep 24, 2006 2:41 pm
Location: Sunbury Vic

Re: Got my first dual suspension but with weak front brakes

Postby Mulger bill » Wed Nov 02, 2011 11:10 pm

Pretty sure the allen key hole is the adjuster to compensate for pad wear Jeff, but a quick Google may help.
Image
Pretty much basic black apart from the hoses.
I'm not real sure about price as I haven't really decided whether to sell them or keep as spares. Chances are big that they'll still be around once your wallet recovers, get in touch then and we'll have a yarn. :)

Shaun
...whatever the road rules, self-preservation is the absolute priority for a cyclist when mixing it with motorised traffic.
London Boy 29/12/2011

jeff_o
Posts: 321
Joined: Wed Dec 01, 2010 2:59 pm
Location: 2113, NSW
Contact:

Re: Got my first dual suspension but with weak front brakes

Postby jeff_o » Wed Nov 02, 2011 11:20 pm

the 2 sides of the caliper do have an allen key hole for the pad wear adjustment. however i did see a small 2 mm keyhole (or maybe it was just a hole) on top of the caliper... not sure what's that used for though? but i'll do my homework tomorrow lol. zzzzzzz tiring day but fun!

i'll try these brakes for now and think about upgrade in the future. your bike looks sweet!

User avatar
Mulger bill
Super Mod
Super Mod
Posts: 29060
Joined: Sun Sep 24, 2006 2:41 pm
Location: Sunbury Vic

Re: Got my first dual suspension but with weak front brakes

Postby Mulger bill » Wed Nov 02, 2011 11:33 pm

Thanks Jeff, it's a ball to ride.
The brakes will be waiting if you decide to go that way.
...whatever the road rules, self-preservation is the absolute priority for a cyclist when mixing it with motorised traffic.
London Boy 29/12/2011

User avatar
Mugglechops
Posts: 3037
Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2011 6:51 pm
Location: Wagga

Re: Got my first dual suspension but with weak front brakes

Postby Mugglechops » Thu Nov 03, 2011 12:33 pm

Don't expect to get much more power out of them even after cleaning.

They were bottom of the line when they came out. They only have a very small pad and one piston.

jeff_o
Posts: 321
Joined: Wed Dec 01, 2010 2:59 pm
Location: 2113, NSW
Contact:

Re: Got my first dual suspension but with weak front brakes

Postby jeff_o » Thu Nov 03, 2011 1:02 pm

ok.. in that case pardon my next questions as i'm new to hydrau disc brake technology.

my discs are 160mm and it seems the calipers are built for 160. if i want to upgrade to 180mm discs, do i replace the calipers as well?

when i buy calipers, do i have to know the size? like this caliper is only for 160mm, this for 180mm. how about the mounting hole (since the fork/frame mounting bolts would remain the same)? does that mean the calipers would have longer arms to fit the 180mm?

just like what mulger's front brakes... .185mm. if i buy his brakes, would i still be able to use my current 160mm? or i would have to buy the 185mm disc as well?

User avatar
trailgumby
Posts: 15469
Joined: Sat Jan 03, 2009 5:30 pm
Location: Northern Beaches, Sydney
Contact:

Re: Got my first dual suspension but with weak front brakes

Postby trailgumby » Thu Nov 03, 2011 1:39 pm

Get yourself 4x sets of these: http://www.this link is broken/Mode ... elID=14468 - two pairs to put on the bike now and two for spares.

Then PM me and we'll organise to get you over to my place and we'll put some fresh fluid in and bleed them for you.

Yes, you do have to bed pads in if you've swapped them between ends of the bike, changed pads, swapped wheelsets, sneezed on them, yada yada. Normally a couple of passes hard on the brakes from speed (but rolling out of the brakes before you come to a halt) like you would with a car will do the job. Depends on how hard the pads are.

Hayes So1e's aren't too bad - at least they aren't as 'sudden' as the Nines, but being single piston they are a bit fiddly to centre on the disc.

Gabe
Posts: 73
Joined: Tue Aug 10, 2010 11:29 am
Location: Brisbane

Re: Got my first dual suspension but with weak front brakes

Postby Gabe » Fri Nov 04, 2011 4:04 pm

LOL! "Goodridge Pads offer the Ultimate breaking experience".... I certainly hope not!

Anyway, interesting thread since I will eventually have to do the first maintenance on my brakes as well

jeff_o
Posts: 321
Joined: Wed Dec 01, 2010 2:59 pm
Location: 2113, NSW
Contact:

Re: Got my first dual suspension but with weak front brakes

Postby jeff_o » Fri Nov 04, 2011 4:10 pm

@trail: thanks for your offer. let me try cleaning up my pads first and see what happens tomorrow... we're hitting LCNP again.

took em out last night for a good boiling water soak/alcohol clean... installed them back and they felt much better. we'll see :D

User avatar
trailgumby
Posts: 15469
Joined: Sat Jan 03, 2009 5:30 pm
Location: Northern Beaches, Sydney
Contact:

Re: Got my first dual suspension but with weak front brakes

Postby trailgumby » Fri Nov 04, 2011 7:03 pm

I'm away from Tuesday to Saturday showing her Royal Cuteness the sights of Melbourne (daughter has just finished Higher School Certificate exams), and will be staying internet free for the duration :lol: ... so I'm not ignoring you if I don't respond, m'kay? :wink:

jeff_o
Posts: 321
Joined: Wed Dec 01, 2010 2:59 pm
Location: 2113, NSW
Contact:

Re: Got my first dual suspension but with weak front brakes

Postby jeff_o » Fri Nov 04, 2011 11:24 pm

trailgumby wrote:I'm away from Tuesday to Saturday showing her Royal Cuteness the sights of Melbourne (daughter has just finished Higher School Certificate exams), and will be staying internet free for the duration :lol: ... so I'm not ignoring you if I don't respond, m'kay? :wink:
no problem. cool, congrats to your daughter. have fun in Melb. good chance to buy parts there... i heard it's cheaper over there?

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users