Trueing Rotors

I just leave my rotor on the wheel.
Flip my bike up sidedown....because I don't have a stand =(
Spin wheel slowly until I find the rub.

Then use my hand to bend it away from the rub.
DON'T make it into a taco! Then thats too much.

Although... I think I might have used a wrench/pliers because I didn't want any of my finger oils on my rotor.

I'm not too worried about the oils on my hands! I'll use simple green to clean them afterwards.

I never realized the rotors were soft enough to bend like that. I'll give that a shot tonight after work. Thanks

DO NOT use simple green to clean the rotors! Unless you are able to rinse every smidge of it off the rotor it will leave a residue when it dries that will set you up for either poor braking performance or squealing. The best stuff to use to clean skin oil etc. off of the rotor or brake pads (or any other part of the brake caliper for that matter) is rubbing alcohol. I prefer a minimum of 70% Isopropyl alcohol, 90% is better if you can get it. The advantages are it cleans body oils and most other contaminants completely and easily, dries almost instantly, and leaves no residue behind. Your call, but I avoid commercial degreasers like the plague when it comes to disc brakes. I haven't found one yet that doesn't leave a residue behind with out a rinse in very hot water. Then the rotor must be hand dried and re-installed. Increasing the chance of further contamination. With an alcohol soaked rag the rotor can be wiped clean while on the bike and no rinse is required. Quick and easy.

I use an adjustable wrench to true my rotors

Two adjustable wrenches .

swengo86 said:

What's the easiest way to make sure they are true? I've been getting a lot of rub lately and even after I loosen the calipers and center them I'm still getting some friction. I'm thinking just taking them off and laying them on the table? If they are in fact not true, what's the best way for a home mechanic to fix this or is this best left for my shop to handle?

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If you have a truing stand for wheels.....

Use the park tool rotor true tool, and put a white sheet of paper so you can see the space between the pad and the rotors, true accordingly

Yep, hands and a small adjustable wrench.

Park tool makes a handy rotor truing tool that is fairly cheap (thinking ~$15, DT-2). It works the same way an adjustable wrench would work, but is already set at the right width and has a couple different slots to bend the rotor. I don't bother taking the wheel off the bike, I just put it in the stand, spin the wheel and watch for where it's bent by looking at how much clearance there is between the rotor and pads. Once I find where it's bent I slowly start working it back to shape. Once you get the hang of it, it's pretty easy and makes it MUCH easier to set your brakes up with no rub.

I was just working on both my front and rear brakes....I think I got the front but the rear still needs work. It's a pretty slow process!

tiflow_21 said:

Park tool makes a handy rotor truing tool that is fairly cheap (thinking ~$15, DT-2). I don't bother taking the wheel off the bike, I just put it in the stand, spin the wheel and watch for where it's bent by looking at how much clearance there is between the rotor and pads. Once I find where it's bent I slowly start working it back to shape.

Click to expand...

+1 every word, the park tool works well

Patience.....