KiwiDallas

Short version: I had a 6-mo layoff from bike riding this summer and fall because of a bad knee problem. I had my Spec Roubaix stored in the garage on hanger hooks all summer - in Texas.

I finally got cleared to ride again and pulled it down last week. The rear brake needed to be bled; it was beyond the limits of travel. The front brake worked - but howled like a trumpet.

LBS replaced both sets of brake pads (they were just a year old), machined the brake rotors and bled the brake lines. All is normal again.

Any idea why storage in an unheated, uncooled garage over summer/fall would do this to brake pads and brake lines? Do heat and humidity rot brake pads like that? It all worked fine through May of this year.

=K

6thElement

What brand of brakes?

Shimano MTB brakes have a reputation of eventually leaking fluid past the caliper piston seals. Not sure if the road calipers have the same "feature".

ARider2

In what position was the bike hanging? Was it level or hanging vertically?

tomato coupe

The shop machined the rotors? That seems unlikely.

Mojo31

Most likely upside down.

LarrySellerz

The short answer is disk brakes are garbage and this doesn’t surprise me at all

Chuck M 

I agree with one of these answers. You have three guesses which one and the first two don't count.

eduskator

Yeah, lots of weird things in that post.

He got me at ''rotted brake pads''. Sounds like a greedy LBS that makes money by doing dishonest business.

Kai Winters

Wondering what machine was used to 'machine' the rotors...LOL likely some 0000 steel wool or sand paper
What kind of bike, what brand/model of calipers/brake levers, how was the bike stored...upside down, vertically, etc.
Not giving good information gets 'guess' answers

chaadster

I’m pretty sure there’s nothing that’s going to go wrong with pads through disuse or storage, and I doubt that the storage or period of storage had anything to do with the brakes needing bled. There’s probably just a slow leak in the system somewhere letting air in, and it would have happened whether the bike was stored or ridden.

The shop may have sanded the rotors for some reason, but I wouldn’t call that machining!

KiwiDallas

- Stored horizontally (in riding position)

- Shimano disc brakes (stock for Spec Roubaix)

- This happened last year too after another forced layoff and months of lack of use. Replaced pads, did not need to bleed brake lines.

=K

genejockey 

Machined as in "sprayed with brake cleaner and wiped", I'd imagine.

First time I got hooty brakes, it was after the bike had been on the trainer for about a month. I lightly sanded the pads and all was well. The next time that happened, I took an impromptu tour of the neighborhood, speeding up to 20 MPH and braking hard, repeatedly, and after doing that for about 5 minutes the brakes stopped hooting.

genejockey 

Next time, try pulling the pads and sanding them just a little. And maybe some isopropanol to clean the rotors.

tomato coupe

Shhhhh ... the adults are trying to discuss something.

Eric F 

Note to self: Larry doesn't know much about disc brakes. Seek advice elsewhere.

Eric F 

At the end of my most recent bike build, my front brake would howl something fierce, even after sanding and cleaning with alcohol. I tried this multiple times. Finally, I just rode it. It turns out the pads just needed to bed in with the rotors for a bit.

genejockey 

IIRC, Larry's experience is primarily if not exclusively with mechanical disc brakes.

I was riding the Canyon on Sunday - my only bike with discs - and I was reminded just how nice they are, even compare to the R8000 rim brakes on the Litespeed, which are really nice.

genejockey 

Also worth remembering his approach to having his rear brake pushed off center in yet another crash was not to re-center it, but rather to tie the one side to the seat stay with twine. I saw it IRL, he really did that.

Eric F 

Somehow, none of that is surprising.

Iride01 

A lot of things made for regular use don't like sitting up doing nothing for six months. Probably the fact your brakes gave you issues might have more to do with the riding environment and stuff they were exposed to right about the time usage stopped. I've had cable pulled rim brakes give issues on some of my bikes that sat up for a time unused. For them, it was wet conditions when they were put up and old style cables that liked to rust.

genejockey 

Rode hard and put up wet, eh?

jrobe

It is pretty easy and inexpensive to learn to bleed the brake lines yourself. My Mtn bike must leak a little and requires bleeding the lines once a year or so. I can service them myself quicker than I could drive to a shop. Now is a good time to educate yourself. Youtube makes this very easy.

Turnin_Wrenches

Brake bleeds are pretty easy once you get the hang of it. There are also some simple shortcuts to removing air bubbles without having to do a full bleed. Just make sure you are using quality syringes and can maintain an air tight seal on the line once you open it up. When finished pumping the go-go juice (aka mineral oil or DOT fluid) through the line close off the port at the caliper first, then close the port at the shifter. It's easy to ruin a perfectly good bleed if you close the port at the shifter before closing the port at the caliper.

Lastly, it should go without saying that you need to remove the brake pads and insert a bleed block before performing the bleed, but I've seen people perform this task with the pads in place and it usually doesn't end well. Best of luck! Learning to perform your own bike maintenance is a beautiful thing .

Bald Paul

Fixed that for you.

eduskator

Rotten brake pads, machined rotors, bleeding... This whole thread is garbage.