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Do you clean & lube your brake pistons?

ragnor

Active member
Apr 23, 2020
144
284
U.K.
So do you clean & lube your disk brake pistons? If you don’t then why not? If you do what gear, greases, lubes etc do you use?
 

ebsocalmtb

Active member
Sep 29, 2021
232
244
Southern-Cal
If you ride a lot of miles, you will need to do this. I bought spacers for all brake types/brands from a seller on etsy that make it rather easy. Code/guide brakes will especially need this with time in order to keep them feeling great... provided your bleed and bleed methods are good, you only need to do this once a year or so. Shimano need the same on their 4 piston calipers (deore, xt, xtr).

I clean them with diluted dish soap and water which I create by putting a few drops in a spray bottle. I used to use Isopropyl alcohol, but i found that I'd still have sticky pistons after. I get much better results after switching to dish soap.
 

JC-1

Member
Aug 23, 2021
68
17
New Zealand
But those you linked cover all of pistons. Didnt you say you have some smaller one that covers only a pair?
I have this type in my bleeding kit.

I’d like a version of these that allows all pistons to be advanced a little at the same time, to shorten the lever throw more than the lever adjustments allow. I manually advance the pistons on all my bike. Super picky about it.
 
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barnclos

New Member
Jun 20, 2023
3
1
Switzerland
Hope have done a video on piston cleaning. The most interesting things that I took away were: they advise against using any cleaning ‘products’ and instead just wipe the pistons clean; they use silicone lubricant (looks like the one that 2WheelsNot4 recommended earlier) to lube the pistons rather than brake fluid.

Full disclosure - I’ve not yet cleaned my pistons, but I am building up to it.

 

Gman086

Member
May 11, 2021
32
23
Portland, OR
Yes. IT can be helpful in maintaining optimum brake feel, noise reduction and performance:
I respect the guys at Park Tools and their video of how the seals works is great for the novice mechanic to understand how disc brakes work but... the rest of the video is just wrong (I've tried that method and it just collects dirt and starts sticking again within a couple of rides). The Hope video basically said everything that I said to do and I trust Hope a LOT more than Park when it comes to brake knowledge so... to each their own.

Have FUN!

G MAN
 
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Montana St Alum

Active member
Feb 13, 2023
255
204
Park City Utah
I respect the guys at Park Tools and their video of how the seals works is great for the novice mechanic to understand how disc brakes work but... the rest of the video is just wrong (I've tried that method and it just collects dirt and starts sticking again within a couple of rides). The Hope video basically said everything that I said to do and I trust Hope a LOT more than Park when it comes to brake knowledge so... to each their own.

Have FUN!

G MAN
Yeah, these get stuck or move in an irregular fashion. Unstick them and they work better. Moving them through their range of motion is sometimes enough, but doing so fairly regularly keeps them operating well.
 
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