Brake upgrade have you?

[moseven]

Hi Guys, Whyte E160S - it come with SRAM Guide RE 4 pot - I'm finding them pretty spongy and vague on long downhills - and well I need brakes I can trust especially being a very average rider so I'm thinking of the Hope tech3/e4 brakes as I've tried a mates non ebike with them and they feel great. He says that he wouldnt ride anything else.

So anyone else done this mod? worth it?

all the best
Mo

 

[simonk]

Have you tried bleeding your existing brakes?

 

[moseven]

Have you tried bleeding your existing brakes?

Yeah, tried that, they are ok at the start but when I'm into the ride and looking at coming down a long decent they just feel vague and I dont have any confidence in them really. I think because the bike is heaver than analogue I'm braking a lot more in advance and for longer. When I've compared them to my mates Hopes the quality is is night and day by the look of it - he raves about them but I'm not sure.

 

[Jamze]

I'm sure a set of Hopes would be great. Look lovely too. Hope/SRAM have more modulation though, I have some Shimanos on another bike that are like dropping an anchor. Very on/off. Depends what you want.

Have you eye-balled the pistons with the pads out, check they're all moving equally? My front Guide RE is perfect, can't imagine needing more power. My rear is a bit weaker than it should be. When I next clean the bike properly I'll cycle all the pistons out and in as I can see they're not balanced.

 

[RickBullotta]

Before you dump the brakes, clean the rotors and pads and the inside of the calipers THOROUGHLY with 90% isopropyl alcohol. If in doubt as to whether the pads are contaminated, replace them.

 

[nosuchuser]

@moseven I hated the Code R brakes on my e150 but changing the pads and using a modified bleed procedure sorted me out. Have a look at this link: Brakes problem.. (Code R, RSC and lever throw) - EMTB Forums

Did that back in July and I'm still happy with them - also changed the rear tyre to a Minon DHR II, much better braking performance.

 

[steve_sordy]

I have read reports of brakes being very on/off or "it was like over the bars or nothing at all". People have ridden my various bikes for a short while and some have commented on how sharp the brakes were, "I nearly went over the bars!" I have never found that, not once. Yes I could go OTB if I just yanked hard and was not prepared (I did it once when I was distracted, nearly broke both legs). But I have found all the brakes I've had to be either very good stoppers, with good modulation, or not good stoppers but used to be. When I get them to be not braking well, I can usually fix it quite readily. New pads, bedding in sanded pads, disco inferno, front bleed, full bleed, etc, whatever comb was required. What I could never fix was broken or cracked pistons that led to only one side working.

I once had a set of Shimano XT brakes where the rear brake howled like a banshee, it sounded like a car was coming down the mountain with its horn full on. The whole bike would vibrate! I tried everything, consulted everyone I could think of even the manufacturer. I followed up some of the more outlandish theories, all to no avail and I could not stop it for more than a week or so. I even swapped the brake over to another bike where it refused to howl, back again and the howling and vibration returned (was it the bike frame?). In the end I replaced the complete rear brake assembly and found peace at last. It didn't do it on my other bike, so I sold the brake assembly on eBay. No complaints.

 

[RustyMTB]

I have Guide RE's on mine & found them very, very spongy out of the box. After a bit of advice, I advanced the pistons a bit & it transformed them. Worth trying, spesh if you're experiencing a long lever throw as part of the problem.

 

[moseven]

Thanks for the replies everyone - all very useful and helpful. I dont really want to spend the money on upgrading and would rather try and make them work so I'll take all the above and see how I get on.

@RustyMTB - when you say you "advanced" the pistons ? how did you do that please?

thanks again
Mo

 

[RustyMTB]

Take the wheel out & pull the brakes carefully. In the absence of a disk, the brake pistons will move out of the caliper. Once you've advanced them sufficiently, bleed them & you should have a tight lever with plenty of power at your fingertips. Or just take it down the lbs & get them to do it.

 

[Futant]

Before you go spending a lot of money on Hope brakes, which I have on my acoustic bike and love, just upgrade your rotors to the Galpher 223‘s. If that doesn’t fix the issue the rotors will work with your new Hopes as well. https://galferusa.com/product/shimano-all-zee-oversize-rotor-kit-bkit2

 

[The EMF]

I’ve had my 150-RS for just over 4 months now and I’m loving it the more I ride it. I swapped out the SRAM brake pads to Uberbike Ebike specific pads for the Codes. They are great on long fast descents, never had any fade issues, don’t squeal and the the backing plates are blue and look the part.
TTFN

 

[The Hodge]

I've noticed that isopropyl alcohol is used in hand sanitisers ..as I'm supplied on a weekly basis at work with the stuff during these covid times ..would this do a job on the brake calipers ?
( genuine question )

 

[jbrown15]

I wasn't a fan of the Guide RE brakes that came on my Devinci AC, I ended up upgrading to new XTR's along with Galfer 223mm rotors and their ebike pads and love them.

 

[Mcharza]

I've noticed that isopropyl alcohol is used in hand sanitisers ..as I'm supplied on a weekly basis at work with the stuff during these covid times ..would this do a job on the brake calipers ?
( genuine question )

Nope, because it often contains hand softeners. Just use car brake cleaners like Brakleen

 

[The Hodge]

cheers ?

 

[The EMF]

I use the bike brake disc cleaner from Wilkos, good product and great value, also their bike lubricant with Teflon is manf by Weldtite.......it is TF2 in a Wilko branded aerosol.

 

[The Hodge]

Cheers Wayne ..might give that a try .For lube though I only use the liquid stuff so as not to over-spray on to parts like brakes ..and I use a dry lube silicone spray from my local hardware store ..which is cheap as chips but does a good job on forks / shock etc ..

 

[Monkey Dog]

I had the same problem with my brakes. Remove the pads, clean them & the rotors (discs) with brake cleaner & a clean cloth. Then lightly rough up the pads with a metal file. Clean the file first, if you're owt like me they get used for alsorts.
Make sure you wear some latex gloves as the oils from your skin can contaminate all your work.

 

[The EMF]

All good stuff guys, every couple of months I remove the pads and use a medium grit Wet nd dry abrasive paper on a flat surface (wet the paper first) and lightly rub the pads to remove any glazing that’s built up, the pads bed in again in no time. Then clean pads and discs as normal.

 

[d4ve86]

I am using the Uberbike E-Matrix pads with the standard SRAM Code R brakes on the v1 E150RS. Much better with these pads.
But I also switched to Magura MDR-P 220/203 rotors at the same time as fitting the pads.

 

[The EMF]

A disc upgrade Is only thing I’m considering for the bike once these pads are past their best. Which calliper mount did you use to run the 220mm front ? And we’re there no probs when replacing the Sram rotor to the rear with the Madura rotor being slightly larger in diameter?
Cheers

 

[Futant]

I've noticed that isopropyl alcohol is used in hand sanitisers ..as I'm supplied on a weekly basis at work with the stuff during these covid times ..would this do a job on the brake calipers ?
( genuine question )

You need the 99% stuff. Not the generic 70%.

 

[The EMF]

I am using the Uberbike E-Matrix pads with the standard SRAM Code R brakes on the v1 E150RS. Much better with these pads.
But I also switched to Magura MDR-P 220/203 rotors at the same time as fitting the pads.

What post mount adapter did you use to move up to a 220 rotor?

 

[d4ve86]

For the front I used the Magura qm45 adaptor (I think it was)
For the rear, 3mm spacer under the caliper with the standard 200 mount.

I'm not sure I rate the Magura rotors, the 2 piece design isn't great. I'm thinking I should of just got a Sram 220mm front rotor.
Magura ones are 2mm thick vs sram 1.75mm ish which gives a slightly better feel.

 

[lumpy]

There are much better pads out there than the stock one - I'd do that next

 

[The EMF]

For the front I used the Magura qm45 adaptor (I think it was)
For the rear, 3mm spacer under the caliper with the standard 200 mount.

I'm not sure I rate the Magura rotors, the 2 piece design isn't great. I'm thinking I should of just got a Sram 220mm front rotor.
Magura ones are 2mm thick vs sram 1.75mm ish which gives a slightly better feel.

There is the view that SRAM rotors are designed for SRAM callipers but the Magura rotors could possibly disperse heat faster and be more robust due to their thicker rotor..., nothing is ever straightforward ?

 

[steve_sordy]

................I'm not sure I rate the Magura rotors, the 2 piece design isn't great. I'm thinking I should of just got a Sram 220mm front rotor.
Magura ones are 2mm thick vs sram 1.75mm ish which gives a slightly better feel.

The 2mm thick discs will last longer than the 1.75mm. The recco for discs is to replace once they get to 60% of the original thickness. Measure with a "G" shaped micrometer in the middle of the area swept by the pads. Using an "F" shaped vernier gauge is a waste of time due to its shape, it will give a false reading

 

[The EMF]

The 2mm thick discs will last longer than the 1.75mm. The recco for discs is to replace once they get to 60% of the original thickness. Measure with a "G" shaped micrometer in the middle of the area swept by the pads. Using an "F" shaped vernier gauge is a waste of time due to its shape, it will give a false reading

It’ll be a while yet before I replace stuff as the bike is relatively new. Good call re micrometer.
The cost of spares has gone through the roof these last couple years so have to get the most out of what still on the bike.......... good posts ?

 

[nosuchuser]

I use the Trickstuff 840PO pads on my Code R, a lot better than the standard ones.