Sticky calliper?
Discussion
Fit Sram or Campag……
Or, failing that, take the pads out, gently pump the lever to EASE the pads out, try to hold the more freely moving one in, but don’t wedge it with anything metal, Shimano pistons are ceramic and shatter if you even look at them funny
Once the more recalcitrant piston is a fair way out, give it and surrounding area a good scrub with a soft brush to clean all the crap off. Use a good lubricant/cleaner and try to get the sides of the piston clean.
Then brake clean it all. Push the pistons back In CAREFULLY, plastic tyre lever or similar, then put the pads back, which you will have sandpapered and brake cleaned, and it should all be good.
Then sell the bike and buy something with Sram or Campag……..
Or, failing that, take the pads out, gently pump the lever to EASE the pads out, try to hold the more freely moving one in, but don’t wedge it with anything metal, Shimano pistons are ceramic and shatter if you even look at them funny
Once the more recalcitrant piston is a fair way out, give it and surrounding area a good scrub with a soft brush to clean all the crap off. Use a good lubricant/cleaner and try to get the sides of the piston clean.
Then brake clean it all. Push the pistons back In CAREFULLY, plastic tyre lever or similar, then put the pads back, which you will have sandpapered and brake cleaned, and it should all be good.
Then sell the bike and buy something with Sram or Campag……..
Bilkob said:
Fit Sram or Campag……
Or, failing that, take the pads out, gently pump the lever to EASE the pads out, try to hold the more freely moving one in, but don’t wedge it with anything metal, Shimano pistons are ceramic and shatter if you even look at them funny
Once the more recalcitrant piston is a fair way out, give it and surrounding area a good scrub with a soft brush to clean all the crap off. Use a good lubricant/cleaner and try to get the sides of the piston clean.
Then brake clean it all. Push the pistons back In CAREFULLY, plastic tyre lever or similar, then put the pads back, which you will have sandpapered and brake cleaned, and it should all be good.
Then sell the bike and buy something with Sram or Campag……..
Unfortunately replacing the group set is not an option!Or, failing that, take the pads out, gently pump the lever to EASE the pads out, try to hold the more freely moving one in, but don’t wedge it with anything metal, Shimano pistons are ceramic and shatter if you even look at them funny
Once the more recalcitrant piston is a fair way out, give it and surrounding area a good scrub with a soft brush to clean all the crap off. Use a good lubricant/cleaner and try to get the sides of the piston clean.
Then brake clean it all. Push the pistons back In CAREFULLY, plastic tyre lever or similar, then put the pads back, which you will have sandpapered and brake cleaned, and it should all be good.
Then sell the bike and buy something with Sram or Campag……..
Sounds fiddly but not complicated!
In terms of a cleaner/lubricant for the piston, would something like muc off brake cleaner work?
You’ll have already removed the ‘friction’ parts-disc and pads, so anything to clean the caliper and piston is fine. Just thoroughly dry the caliper before putting the pads back in. While they’re out, lightly sandpaper the pads, then heat them up with a hot air gun and brake clean them. This will ‘purge’ all the ingrained crap out of the pads. Don’t pick them up hot! You can also wire brush the disc and then clean that with a CLEAN rag and brake cleaner.
I ride down alot of country lanes so my Hope X2s start to stick. This method has worked for me many times.
1. Remove pads
2. Clean the caliper with a good degreaser
3. Get the cotton swabs out, dip in some diluted degreaser and clean the walls of the exposed piston.
4. Get everything as clean as possible.
5. I tend to then pull the brake lever to hopefully get one or more pistons moving, be very careful here, we just want to get some movement, not see the piston come out.
6. I then clean any newly exposed piston wall.
7. I use red rubber grease and wipe on the piston wall with the wooden part of the cotton swab.
8. I use the flat metal object to pull the piston back into the caliper. I tend to use a fork, the flat bit and pull either side with the flat part resting across the piston. Do not poke the piston, use even pressure with the flat part of the metal object on the piston.
9. I repeat pulling the lever to expose a little piston and then push back in to get the walls lubricated.
If your having trouble shifting one of the pistons, hold the flat metal object against the moving piston and hopefully you'll be able to get the stuck piston moving, then its just a question of clean, lube, push back in, pull lever and repeat.
When I have done this maybe a half dozen times, I expect to see even piston movement both sides when I pull the brake lever.
1. Remove pads
2. Clean the caliper with a good degreaser
3. Get the cotton swabs out, dip in some diluted degreaser and clean the walls of the exposed piston.
4. Get everything as clean as possible.
5. I tend to then pull the brake lever to hopefully get one or more pistons moving, be very careful here, we just want to get some movement, not see the piston come out.
6. I then clean any newly exposed piston wall.
7. I use red rubber grease and wipe on the piston wall with the wooden part of the cotton swab.
8. I use the flat metal object to pull the piston back into the caliper. I tend to use a fork, the flat bit and pull either side with the flat part resting across the piston. Do not poke the piston, use even pressure with the flat part of the metal object on the piston.
9. I repeat pulling the lever to expose a little piston and then push back in to get the walls lubricated.
If your having trouble shifting one of the pistons, hold the flat metal object against the moving piston and hopefully you'll be able to get the stuck piston moving, then its just a question of clean, lube, push back in, pull lever and repeat.
When I have done this maybe a half dozen times, I expect to see even piston movement both sides when I pull the brake lever.
Edited by Neil_Sc on Wednesday 21st September 19:26
The thing is with hope brakes you can get spares so if you nick a seal or damage a piston while fiddling with it you can still fix the brake for a few quid. No spares for shimano brakes....
A good clean should sort it but make sure you don't use anything that will attack the rubber seals as they will start leaking for fun.
A guy I ride with had a sticky piston on a shimano XT brake, when he stripped it the edges of one of the ceramic pistons had started to break up on the inside and little bits of it were jamming behind the piston.
A good clean should sort it but make sure you don't use anything that will attack the rubber seals as they will start leaking for fun.
A guy I ride with had a sticky piston on a shimano XT brake, when he stripped it the edges of one of the ceramic pistons had started to break up on the inside and little bits of it were jamming behind the piston.
Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff