Anyone know anything about disc brakes?

Yup... The bad experience was only made worse by internal cable routing that's super tight. I'm not trying that again.

You have internal routing on the fork?

No but ive got a rear brake too... Not having two different ones.

coming from @Hulsroy 's cx thread (bike is top work!): would a sram s700 brake system have to be all original? asking, because i bought two levers and was wondering if i had to buy the original calipers or some cheaper avid would work too.. (have no idea of the piston diameter but i think it might be 18mm as i vaguely remember the number from some sram catalogue in this context..)

or does this - http://bit.ly/2jyphCn - mean i could get away with a 2013+ elixir caliper?

Dunno - try it. Worst that can happen is that your brakes don't work ;)

ah, nothing major then.. :)

So are organic pads noisier than sintered pads in the wet? My brakes will squeal when I first pull them and then go silent after surface water has been removed (so I know the brake pads aren't contaminated, at least not permanently). Was wondering if in the wet there are pads that don't cause the squeal? Currently using some organic/Kevlar pads from uberbike.

If you just replaced the brake pads (as in original pads is partly worn), then it could simply mean the calipers either need aligning or the piston a tads sticky.

Squeal is usually always misalignment beside the other that you mentioned (contamination, burnt out pads).

Not in my experience. My Shimano metal pads are noisier than the organic/resin ones. That's why they spec the resin ones by default, they're a bit more 'user friendly'.

I used Muc-Off disc cleaner last night and the braking performance of the metal pads is now shit. I didn't really wipe it off like the instructions said. Have I fucked them now?

Break them in again - just ride along with the brakes on until they're nice and hot and let them cool down. Should be good again.

I tried doing that - riding fast and then jamming on the brakes. I've not tried 'dragging' them though. I'll give that a go tonight and if that fails I'll clean them again and this time wipe them down.

Never done it myself, but someone the other day mentioned white spirit and a small amount of fire on the pads, sounds more fun than dragging your brakes around. Maybe both at the same time?

Isnt this what @hippy thinks using Conti tyres is like?

Flaming Commute™

I like it.

Weird, they're new pads and I think they're aligned. Braking performance is good but initially when they bite they squeal and then after a few seconds they stop but I'm still braking. I'll try checking alignment again and maybe give the rotor a clean with appropriate fluids.

So many issues... time to go back to rim brakes :)

At least rim brakes don't squeal, don't need to be cleaned, don't need bedding in, don't pick up shit and then make noise for 5mins until the grit exits the caliper, don't need a bleed kit or new parts every time you move/remove them from bikes. Stupid disc brakes.

Amen!

But disc brakes do mean you'll never wear a rim out again... not that we wouldn't buy new fancy wheels before the fancy wheels we currently have wear out anyway...

So maybe I'll try some other organic pads from another manufacturer...

and pry the piston a bit more too, if you haven't already (by very carefully putting a knife covered with a rag to push the pads apart).

Put your phone behind the calipers to see the gap between each side of the pads if it's 100% aligned to rotor.

True and in this country, with the mileage I do, that can add up.

But then again I did destroy my 'life long' front rim last year in a crash so not flawless. I have two wheels about to pop due to worn rims though so it's defo a win for discs.

You guys xoxo

I have them on my other bikes.

Next.

fill and file the disc brake mounts, drill holes for rim brake, problem solved!