Juicy 5 brake fade!

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mgsuarez

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Joined Dec 8, 2004

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239 Posts

Discussion starter · #1 · May 30, 2007

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Can anyone tell me what kind of pad is used in the 5? Whats a good pad to combat brake fade? I'm probably dragging the brakes a bit more than I should but, I do get more fade than I am used to. I am running 8 inch rotors by the way. I only notice this on really long descents.

 

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chucko58

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#2 · May 30, 2007

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What kind of "fade" are we talking about? Is the lever firm, but you don't slow down even with lots of pressure? Or is the lever feeling squishy with lots of travel and you can't squeeze it far enough to apply pressure? Does it happen repeatedly at the same spot on the trail?

The firm lever/short travel/still can't stop case is pad fade. If it only happens when the pads are first installed, it's called "green fade" and will solve itself. If it's repeatable, you need better pads.

The squishy feel/lots of travel case is fluid boiling. Boil the fluid even once and it will boil sooner next time. Get a better grade of brake fluid and flush all the old fluid out. IIRC the Juicys use standard DOT 3/4/5.1 brake fluid. Check with your local motorcycle shop for brake fluid intended for racing.

Since you're already running an 8" rotor, I'm guessing it's fluid boil.

 

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XSL_WiLL

· Meh.

Joined Nov 2, 2004

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#3 · May 30, 2007

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If it's the brakes heating up and not stopping, bleed the old fluid out and replace with a high performance DOT fluid. DOT 5.1 (glycol based, not the silicone based DOT 5) might be a good alternative. Fluids such as Motul RBF600 should also be good. Any DOT fluid will be fine as long as it is glycol based or compatible with DOT 3/4/5.1. DOT fluid is hygroscopic and over time absorbs moisture from it's surroundings, this lowers the boiling point, which would lead to fade.

 

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mgsuarez

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Discussion starter · #4 · May 30, 2007

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The lever action remains pretty firm. I guess it is pad fade. I will probably upgrade my fluid. Does anyone recommend a better pad for the J5s?

 

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Jerk_Chicken

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#5 · May 30, 2007

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Have fun finding and paying for motul.

Go for Valvoline Synthetic DOT4, or Ate Super Blue if you're willing to part with more money for the same use. The BP's are very high in either of these and are low moisture absorbing.

It is possible that you could be fading the pads, depending on what compound you have. If you're going insane and braking at warp speeds over large distances, you could heat the pads too much and get that squish, which is more prevalent in the organics I've seen some use as replacements. You could opt for the metallic pads. I know many people that use these brakes for DH and don't see any fade.

 

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akashra

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Joined Dec 30, 2006

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#6 · May 30, 2007

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Organic pads, such as Blacks or Reds, won't suffer from brake fade in the same way as Golds or Greens which contain a high metal content, but they might get chewed through if it's wet. A single wet 6hr could easily chew through a set of blacks.