Chris Froome STILL has disc brake problems

I'd like to know why the pistons can be uneven - aren't the tolerances better than what you end up with? Took ages to unstick one but still leaves it uneven.

Using my Park piston press, working them in and out, cleaning and lubing with a bit of silicon lube as advised by Hope. Works for a bit, but I get generally even pad wear over each pad and relatively similar between the pads, normally better on the rear for some reason.

Still getting to know them, took over a decade to really get how to get the best out of my curve cantis, and they needed lots doing.  Though my xtr Vs needed absolutely no effort at all, apart from a bit of spring tension fettleing, but no rim wear on the ceramic braking tracks. 

I'd like to know why the pistons can be uneven

I have never used hydraulic discs- aren't both pistons fed by the same tube? In any case the equal movement of pistons seems dependent upon equal freedom of the 2 or 4 pistons which aren't mechanically tightly coupled. 

That's right, it's down to a bit of uneven friction, and in fact it is the same problem you get on rim brakes which can get lopsided too, especially with winter corrosion.

However, under normal usage, while one may move quicker than the other under light pressure (like when testing) under the pressure of normal braking, the slight differences of movement normally more or less sorts itself out on reaching the disc. The piston seals are lubricated by the brake fluid, so there can be a death spiral of sticking, then not getting lubricated so sticking more. A few applications of the brake often will cheer them up no end.

One of the problems on road bikes, especially riding solo, is that quite often you don't use brakes much, so they can get a bit grotty, but they normally clean up with a bit of deliberately hard braking. Always worth a good hard press on your brakes before setting off anyway, just to be convinced they are still attached - or to check you remembered to replace the pads after messing!

Fignion's ghost wrote:

I'm a rimmer til I die....

Keep your bedroom habits to yourself please, this is a cycling website!

Fignion's ghost wrote:

I'm a rimmer til I die. Replacing all those perishing o rings. Bleeding the brakes. WTF?! The rim brake is king. Quality pads and experience makes a good rimmer...

Presumably you haven't heard the rumours about why Red Dwarf's Rimmer was called Rimmer?

What the smeg is the reason?

I used to be a traditionalist, my Colnago C60 has rim brakes and mechanical Super Record RS groupset, I love it.

But, I replaced my ageing winter bike a couple of years ago and went disc for one main reason. I was having new rims built onto my hubs every year as the rims aren't built as strong nowadays. Mavis used to be bombproof, back in the 80s I don't remember anyone wearing rims out.

I speeced my new bike with Hope RX4 4 pot calipers. A revelation. They don't rub, they need little finger pressure as they're 4 pot, they don't lock up. And the winter bike doesn't get as filthy when used on a wet ride.

I've just taken delivery of my new work bike, and specced it with the same Hope RX4 calipers as I am so pleased with them.

Would I get disc brakes on my next best bike? Possibly. I do like my C60 being a traditional bike though.

Same with electronic groupsets, I get them for the pros, but I have known a mate out for a ride in the arse end of bum fucked nowhere, and the gears have had a hissy fit, the last time he had to ride back from near Hawes to Preston with it stuck in his biggest gear. I like the simplicity of a bike, what can go wrong with mechanical gears, apart from a frayed cable? Which doesn't seem to happen now with the decent stainless cables. 

I too have a C60 with rim brakes but opted for SR EPS. Did your mate have Campag? My EPS system has not let me down since I bought the bike in 2016. I charge it every 2 months or so and it has proved totally reliable and has not needed the slightest adjustment in 14000km. The rim brakes are excellent and only occasionally need adjusting for pad wear and that only takes a few seconds. The weakness of pad brakes is, as we all know, in the wet but then I adjust my speed accordingly whereas the disc brakes on my 2019 gravel bike emit an ear-piercing squeel and make scraping noises due to grit getting thrown up in the water. The SRAM red brakes were so bad I replaced them with Hope RX4 which are an improvement except for the squeeling when wet. I reckon the XTR/Avid Ultimate v-brakes on my old touring bike are far superior.

Overall, I would buy the C60 again and not change a thing. It is a pleasure to ride every time I go out on it. After servicing it and parking it for the winter I got it out about 3 weeks ago and I think I had a grin on my face setting off down the road. That doesn't happen on the gravel bike.

Oh, and don't get me started on tubeless. 

Fignion's ghost wrote:

I'm a rimmer til I die.

Replacing all those perishing o rings. Bleeding the brakes. WTF?!

So far all I've needed to do is replace the pads. What am I doing wrong?!

Fignion's ghost wrote:

I'm a rimmer til I die. Replacing all those perishing o rings. Bleeding the brakes. WTF?! The rim brake is king. Quality pads and experience makes a good rimmer...

Exactly, the same people who use disc brakes on road bikes are the same gullible people who fell for 'L shaped cranks' and used to drill holes in everything and have to keep up with the latest fashion to impress on the club run - please get a life.

Says someone who has never ridden a bike in Sheffield.

Exactly, the same people who use disc brakes on road bikes are the same gullible people who fell for 'L shaped cranks' and used to drill holes in everything and have to keep up with the latest fashion to impress on the club run

Wow! Real Class A bollocks, rarely seen even on here. There's a career for you at the hyper-junk press.

yupiteru wrote:

Exactly, the same people who use disc brakes on road bikes are the same gullible people who fell for 'L shaped cranks' and used to drill holes in everything and have to keep up with the latest fashion to impress on the club run - please get a life.

prime way to announce one's irrelevance. It must bother you that those gullible disc shills couldn't give a toss about what kind of brake you have

I think it's more to do with the incessant moaning from all those disc users about their "rubbing", "grinding" and "screaming" noises.

I for one think it's disgusting.

I'm with you Ian.  A friend recently strode into my garage, looked at my disc equipped Canyon hanging on the wall and pronounced that he would never change from rim brakes because of all the disc rubbing problems.

My reply was simply to walk over to the bike, spin the front wheel and step back.  As it invariably does, the wheel carried on turning for ages without a sound.

He left quietly.

My front rubs loads when really filthy and a fair bit when very wet, which given my commute does happen, riding fast for a bit sorts it, though they do scream at me when I haul on the anchors.  But they work very consistently whatever the conditions. My xtr v on ceramic rims looses more in the wet and my alloy cantilever looses loads, and I ate through a set of mavic crossmax last winter, getting them so to preserve my last set of very precious mavic 26 717s.