[grnxb]

Hey there-

My bike has rested comfortably in the garage for about a year and I'm getting ready to go riding again. It seems that both front and rear brakes are seriously rubbing on the rims and the wheels will hardly move. The wheels are nicely centered in the dropouts and it seems to rub equally as I spin the wheels. The levers move easily without any resistance for about 1/5 or 1/6 of the travel before I encounter resistance and when I do, the levers are pretty hard to squeeze. I'm thinking the pistons are stuck...

The brakes are about 3 years old, rode for about 1.5 years and haven't done any maint.
Should I bleed them first, or look at doing something else first.
And as always, if there is an explanation/order of doing things already posted, feel free to just post the link


Thanks!
Greg

 

[dogonfr]

Clean and lube the caliper pistons, flush the system, align calipers, de-glaze pads and re-check. :yesnod:

If still having issues rebuild masters and calipers. :cornut:

 

[Gsromich]

Sounds fun

 

[grnxb]

sounds like a great time.:bluefrown:

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Justin1982z28]

I'm having a similar problem. What do you clean and lube the pistons with? Do you take the caliper apart at all?

Thanks!

 

[dogonfr]

I'm having a similar problem. What do you clean and lube the pistons with? Do you take the caliper apart at all?

Thanks!

Their are a couple techniques you can try before a full rebuild. Remove the caliper and pads, pull the lever slowly to push the pistons out then tie the lever with a bungee to hold the pistons out. Clean the pistons with denatured alcohol, try not to sip between piston cleanings, or brake and contact cleaner, BelRay is awesome found at your local moto dealer. Apply brake seal grease or brake fluid, if your mineral base use mineral fluid, to the pistons. Your LBS should have seal grease at the counter or have them check with a tech in service. Release the lever and install the brake pads, you may have to push the pistons further into the caliper bore to remount over the rotor. I use a standard screwdriver and twist side to side slowly pushing the pistons to their seat.

Now bleed the system, this is a great video done by Hayes. The feeler gauges they use are .015 but I found Avid J7's like a thicker gauge I believe .030 :thumbsup:

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=415647

Forgot to mention the deglazing of the pads either sand paper or the cement on the side walk working in a figure 8. :rockon:

 

[zombinate]

tangent: has anyone else had the experience that storing a bike upside down causes this more? I stored my mtn bike on wheel hooks in the garage for a year, came back and needed to do a bleed. Used sporadically (9 months storage max) for a 2 years with wheels down with very consistent results. Then stored upside down for 6 months, and the brakes are all tight again. Just a theory I guess, Hayes nines if it matters.

 

[net wurker]

Just a thought here.

Since storing the bike upside down seems to cause problems, why not hang it right side up by hooking the seat over one of the hooks, instead of hooking it to both hooks with the wheels?

 

[zombinate]

Indeed, just curious if this was something others have encountered, or if my experience was isolated.

 

[dirthead]

Indeed, just curious if this was something others have encountered, or if my experience was isolated.

I had to recenter the calipers on my juicy ultimates before each ride. Pistons would stick and levers would lose firmness requiring a rebleed pretty often. I finally got tired of it and switched to Formula R1s.

The bike was stored by hanging from front wheel on a hook at times, and in a regular bike rack. Storage method didn't seem to make the problems better or worse.

 

[dogonfr]

Air rises turn your bike upside down for long periods and send the air to the caliper. :thumbsup:

 

[grnxb]

I tried bleeding my brakes and realized that there is a clog at the master cylinder. Can i just use some automotive brake parts cleaner to spray the master cylinder, or do I need to use something special?