Emergency Reparations on Disc Brakes, on the Road

A disc brake can be seriously damaged during a bike tour. Here are some simple and easy remedies.

The causes may be different. A fall, a shock, often transport by plane, sometimes just usage related wear, or neglected disk brake maintenance. When it comes to ebikes, faster average speeds, steeper descents and heavier weight  often demand even more frequent or sudden repairing.

Remedies for a malfunctioning disc brake

If your disc brake just slightly touches a disc pad, and the nuisance only lightly affects our riding, you can leave it as it is and you mend it once you are back home. In case you have a mechanical disc brake, you can just use the cable register to widen the gap between the breaking pads. That’s not possible with a hydraulic disc brake. Should the disc brake failure hamper your riding, there are several possibilities:

• Trying to redress it with the specific tool, or, if you don’t have it, with pliers. To find out the exact spot where your disc is biased, just slowly rotate the wheel: it will stop exactly where the bias touches the pad.
• If that’s not possible, just unscrew the two bolts that fasten the brake (clamps) to the frame, and secure it to the frame to prevent interference with your riding.
• In case only your front disc is damaged, you may want to disassemble the rear disc to install it up front. Indeed the front wheel brake delivers the most powerful braking, the rear wheel only helps to balance the braking. If you are to use just one brake, it is much safer to use the front one. Keep in mind that only six hole discs can be easily taken off, with a center lock disc that’s not possible.

You may enjoy this 20-second video tutorila to adjust your barke discs: (2) Facebook  – Facebook account NOT necessary.

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