Does grease kill a rim brake pad?
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Does grease kill a rim brake pad?
If you get grease on a rim brake pad is it ruined? I just heard that it is, that nothing can save it. I never knew that. I'd think you could just wipe it off and wash it then use it a bit and it would come around. I assume that I've gotten WD40 and other lubes on my pads before. Hmmm... never knew grease could kill a pad. ??
#3
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Rochester, NY
Posts: 18,003
Bikes: Stewart S&S coupled sport tourer, Stewart Sunday light, Stewart Commuting, Stewart Touring, Co Motion Tandem, Stewart 3-Spd, Stewart Track, Fuji Finest, Mongoose Tomac ATB, GT Bravado ATB, JCP Folder, Stewart 650B ATB
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4172 Post(s)
Liked 3,793 Times
in
2,272 Posts
Agree. There's so much road contaminate of the liquid type that drips off cars and trucks and the rims are so close to the road surface that if this was a real issue it would have been made known a long time ago. I've worked in shops that clean the repairs with WD40, rims and all. Their customers were able to stop and their pads didn't seem to be bothered long term by this cleaning.
What's motivating your to question the pads and grease? Of course if you lube the braking interface the friction will drop down big time for a little while at least. But cleaning with a true solvent removes any lube and pretty much restores the friction. Andy
What's motivating your to question the pads and grease? Of course if you lube the braking interface the friction will drop down big time for a little while at least. But cleaning with a true solvent removes any lube and pretty much restores the friction. Andy
__________________
AndrewRStewart
AndrewRStewart
#4
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Montreal, Quebec
Posts: 5,869
Mentioned: 16 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1792 Post(s)
Liked 1,671 Times
in
955 Posts
Rubber based rim brake pads have a pretty good tolerance to being rehabilitated after having been exposed to greasy contaminants unlike disc brake pads. Clean them off using a product that doesn't leave an oily residue and they will be fine
#5
Mad bike riding scientist
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 27,274
Bikes: Some silver ones, a red one, a black and orange one, and a few titanium ones
Mentioned: 150 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6147 Post(s)
Liked 4,093 Times
in
2,325 Posts
If you get grease on a rim brake pad is it ruined? I just heard that it is, that nothing can save it. I never knew that. I'd think you could just wipe it off and wash it then use it a bit and it would come around. I assume that I've gotten WD40 and other lubes on my pads before. Hmmm... never knew grease could kill a pad. ??
Disc brake pads are a phenol/formaldehyde resin that is also sintered. That means the pad is much more porous. Grease that gets into the pad gets sucked into the inner part of the pad and never really wears off. You can use solvents to remove the grease from rubber but solvents would just drive the grease deeper into the disc pad.
__________________
Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
#6
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 3,651
Mentioned: 10 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 835 Post(s)
Liked 1,056 Times
in
741 Posts
Agree with all the previous posters. It may be a problem with some pads and using them on a mountain descent on a hot day but if cleaning the pads and rim doesn't work just sand down the pad surface to fresh material.
#7
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Northern CA
Posts: 731
Bikes: Cannondale tandems: '92 Road, '97 Mtn. Mongoose 10.9 Ti, Kelly Deluxe, Tommaso Chorus, Cdale MT2000, Schwinn Deluxe Cruiser, Torker Unicycle, among others.
Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 275 Post(s)
Liked 201 Times
in
127 Posts
If you REALLY want to be sure there's no residual contamination, do this:
1. Wipe the brake pad off with liberal amounts of isopropyl alcohol on a clean rag.
2. Sand or grind the surface of the brake pad enough to expose fresh, unadulterated (UV light, ozone) brake pad compound.
This advice applies best to road or cantilever pads with adequate material. "Slim" v-brake pads may not apply. This DOES NOT APPLY to any disc brake pads!!!!
I sand or grind brake pads when servicing bikes. Easiest way to renew the pads to as "new" a condition as you can.
This, however, assumes there's enough material there to start with. AND that you do so sensibly. Make sure the surface stays flat and perpendicular to the mounting post/bolt. And that you preserve any "pre-toe" the pad may have (KoolStop). Observe and heed any "maximum wear" lines that may be printed on the pad.
If you can't do this to a pair of pads because they have so little remaining material left, then they're too toast to use in the first place.
Use this advice only if you know what you're doing.
1. Wipe the brake pad off with liberal amounts of isopropyl alcohol on a clean rag.
2. Sand or grind the surface of the brake pad enough to expose fresh, unadulterated (UV light, ozone) brake pad compound.
This advice applies best to road or cantilever pads with adequate material. "Slim" v-brake pads may not apply. This DOES NOT APPLY to any disc brake pads!!!!
I sand or grind brake pads when servicing bikes. Easiest way to renew the pads to as "new" a condition as you can.
This, however, assumes there's enough material there to start with. AND that you do so sensibly. Make sure the surface stays flat and perpendicular to the mounting post/bolt. And that you preserve any "pre-toe" the pad may have (KoolStop). Observe and heed any "maximum wear" lines that may be printed on the pad.
If you can't do this to a pair of pads because they have so little remaining material left, then they're too toast to use in the first place.
Use this advice only if you know what you're doing.