Answered Galfer 223mm Disks and Caliper Adaptors

[Doomanic]

Has anyone fitted the Galfer dinner plates yet?

 

[Beezerk]

My mate had his first outing with these on his Kenevo this afternoon.
He was raving about them, yes they do look crazy big in the flesh but he was over the moon with performance.

 

[R120]

Yup, I got the 223 up front and the 203 out back on my Vitus

The 223 provides a noticeable improvement in stopping power, and control over the stock 200mm discs and Guide RE's. I never had an issue with my Guide RE's but wanted to try the big rotors. You can feel my Lyric Ultimate flex more under the power when you fully apply them when hauling.

I got them off the distributor with the correct Galfer adapter. They take a bit of setting up as they are 2mm thick vs the 1.8mm of smaller rotors. This means you need to get those pistons right back in the calliper before installing - I also bent/opened up the pad retaining clip/spring on my callipers to make sure they sat as far apart as possible to get clearnace, but I still had a bit of rub, but that went after bedding in. You may need to bleed the brake to get the clearance, I didn't but in retrospect probably would have. I still need to get some shorter bolts for the brake mounts as I just reused the originals, but haven't got round to it - the adapter comes with new bolts for the post mount.

Now I am used to them (you need to recalibrate how you brake a bit) I would have a big rotor up front on any EMTB I have from now on. Cant see the need for it on the back though

 

[Beezerk]

Forgot to mention, I'm not sure if it's all Specialized bikes but my mate had to reroute the speed sensor cable a little bit as the new rotors caught the cable.

 

[Doomanic]

I got them off the distributor with the correct Galfer adapter.

Who's the distributor? Only seen them on eBay so far.

Cant see the need for it on the back though

I agree. Already have a 203 on the back and can't see the need for any more.

 

[R120]

Who's the distributor? Only seen them on eBay so far.
I agree. Already have a 203 on the back and can't see the need for any more.

Yup its the guy on eBay, Dirthut

 

[R120]

Forgot to mention, I'm not sure if it's all Specialized bikes but my mate had to reroute the speed sensor cable a little bit as the new rotors caught the cable.

Yes, the big rotors won't work on the back of all bikes, some dont have clearance. You should also check the forks can handle them, I wouldn't want to put the 223's up front on a fox 34 or similar!

 

[deksawyer]

Just ordered one for the front, 203 to 223. Luckily the Magura discs are 2mm from new.

Might put the 203 on the rear... ?

 

[R120]

Just as an FYI, if you are running one of these on a RS fork, i would definitely recommend fitting torque caps to your wheels if you dont have them, my local mechanic recommending doing so from his experience, saying it helps deal with the alignment under heavy use.

 

[Doomanic]

I don't know if my wheels can use torque caps.

 

[R120]

mine has been ok without them, but I do find myself having to re centre the calliper every 3-4 weeks (15 rides or so). He said from his experience using the torque caps will strengthen the connection at the bottom of the forks, helping keep the alignment from moving. Get the logic because you really notice the fox in the fork with the big rotors

 

[The Flying Dutchman]

Yup I've run 223mm Galfers front and rear. Easy way to increase the stopping power and the 2mm thickness is great for heat management and general strength. I have found getting the right mount to be tricky between brakes brands. I found the brake easier to match up with my Sram Codes than my Magura MT7s, but Maguras don't need bigger discs as much as Codes do

 

[R120]

Quick update, been running the torque caps for a few rides now, and IMO they make a noticeable difference on an RS fork as to how the bigger rotors perform. Never really bought into torque caps being needed before, but with the bigger diameter and forces going through the fork, together with the tighter tolerances of the wider discs, they definitely help keep things working well.

To give some background I am running the 223 Galfer up front with Guide RE's, Sram Pads. Fork is a 170mm Lyric Ultimate. If I repeatedly did hard stoppies before fitting the torque caps (something I was doing to test the alignment as it seemed to go out after bouts of hard riding) then I would start to get brake rub. Now it stays nice and true. I am sure they will still need checking from time to time as I think that's the nature of the wider disc, but big improvement so far.

 

[salko]

This article says Galfer 223mm rotor can be noisy under heavy high speed breaking, has any of you using this rotor similar experience with noise? And what brakes & pads are you using?

 

[Pacific Ryder]

I spent a lot of time with the team at Galfer when looking to upgrade my stock Levo brakes. Here is what I went with.

I am running Galfer 203 front and rear with Shimano Saint M820 brakes. You will need to add the correct brackets. I cannot imagine ever needing more power. Make sure you go with the DB004W2 rotor and not the floating version. I had multiple failures with the float....it is not up to the task of such a heavy bike. The DB004W2 is also slightly thicker for better wear. I also noticed better performance when using Galfer pads versus Shimano. I use the Galfer FD42G1652.

Feel free to PM with any other questions.

 

[Gyre]

This article says Galfer 223mm rotor can be noisy under heavy high speed breaking, has any of you using this rotor similar experience with noise? And what brakes & pads are you using?

I used Galfer 223's front and rear on my Wreckoning last summer with Magura MT7s before switching to TRP. I don't remember them being noisy, aside from the fact that it can be very hard to avoid brake rub with MT7s in general. I believe I was using BBB pads at the time.

 

[jbrown15]

I’ve been on Galfer 223mm front and rear rotors for about 8 months now and rode all winter with them. And from my experience they’ve actually been really quiet, especially when compared to the 203mm RT-86 Icetech Shimano rotors I was previously using.

I’m using the with XTR 4-piston calipers and Galfers purple eBike pads.

 

[SEBA]

Yup, I got the 223 up front and the 203 out back on my Vitus

The 223 provides a noticeable improvement in stopping power, and control over the stock 200mm discs and Guide RE's. I never had an issue with my Guide RE's but wanted to try the big rotors. You can feel my Lyric Ultimate flex more under the power when you fully apply them when hauling.

I got them off the distributor with the correct Galfer adapter. They take a bit of setting up as they are 2mm thick vs the 1.8mm of smaller rotors. This means you need to get those pistons right back in the calliper before installing - I also bent/opened up the pad retaining clip/spring on my callipers to make sure they sat as far apart as possible to get clearnace, but I still had a bit of rub, but that went after bedding in. You may need to bleed the brake to get the clearance, I didn't but in retrospect probably would have. I still need to get some shorter bolts for the brake mounts as I just reused the originals, but haven't got round to it - the adapter comes with new bolts for the post mount.

Now I am used to them (you need to recalibrate how you brake a bit) I would have a big rotor up front on any EMTB I have from now on. Cant see the need for it on the back though

View attachment 28846

hi, why did you put washer under caliper ?

 

[R120]

hi, why did you put washer under caliper ?

Not sure what you mean - I did play around with a washer under the mount for a while when setting them up

 

[SEBA]

Here my front 223 diner plate ?