I have a couple of hydraulic disc brake issues that hopefully someone knowledgeable will be able to help with.
I have a GT MTB with Shimano Deore LX brakes - new pads when I got it a few months ago, very good stopping and 'bite'.
What I want is to have two sets of wheels set up, one with big knobbly tyres for the mud and one with tyres more suited to road/cycle path. I got all the parts, and I tried fitting the new front wheel the other day. The rotor position isn't quite the same and it rubs a bit - it's slightly too far in towards the wheel. I'm presuming I just need some shims to move the rotor out a fraction - does anyone run two sets of disc brake wheels and does this make sense?
The other issue is that after I put the original wheels back on I discovered that the front brake had gone quite spongey - more travel in the lever and less bite. I'd had the bike upside down while I was doing all this (I don't have a stand), and it suddenly occurred to me that that might not be such a good idea with a brake system that relies on fluids. I also went out today just to check how the brakes work, and the front brake has almost no stopping power now - the rear one that I haven't touched is still fine.
I'm wondering, therefore, if I've interrupted the brake fluid system and now need to bleed the brakes (which will be another learning experience, I guess). I'm also wondering if maybe I've managed to get some fluid to leak out on to the pads and stop them gripping.
Any thoughts on what an idiot I might be? Might I need to bleed the brakes and fit new pads?
Alan
I have a GT MTB with Shimano Deore LX brakes - new pads when I got it a few months ago, very good stopping and 'bite'.
What I want is to have two sets of wheels set up, one with big knobbly tyres for the mud and one with tyres more suited to road/cycle path. I got all the parts, and I tried fitting the new front wheel the other day. The rotor position isn't quite the same and it rubs a bit - it's slightly too far in towards the wheel. I'm presuming I just need some shims to move the rotor out a fraction - does anyone run two sets of disc brake wheels and does this make sense?
The other issue is that after I put the original wheels back on I discovered that the front brake had gone quite spongey - more travel in the lever and less bite. I'd had the bike upside down while I was doing all this (I don't have a stand), and it suddenly occurred to me that that might not be such a good idea with a brake system that relies on fluids. I also went out today just to check how the brakes work, and the front brake has almost no stopping power now - the rear one that I haven't touched is still fine.
I'm wondering, therefore, if I've interrupted the brake fluid system and now need to bleed the brakes (which will be another learning experience, I guess). I'm also wondering if maybe I've managed to get some fluid to leak out on to the pads and stop them gripping.
Any thoughts on what an idiot I might be? Might I need to bleed the brakes and fit new pads?
Alan