Finish Line Disc Brake Cleaner

I'd get some actual brake parts cleaner from lordco and hose everything down. 

Pull the pads and wash them in a bowl of hot water with dish soap (cuts oil). 

Then wipe it all down with alcohol. 

I find brake cleaner does leave a little bit of residue. Seems irrelevant to automotive brakes but it affects bicycle brakes. 

I just stick to isopropyl alcohol from the drug store now. Leaves no residue and its strong enough for bike brakes, they don't get *that* dirty. 

If things get real dirty I do the water and dish soap, rinse, dry, wipe with alcohol routine. 

Using various other chemicals was always hit and miss in terms of contaminating pads or rotors and having to start the cleaning process over (or in some cases buy new parts) .

Mean Green. Rinse well.....

Alcohol, sandpaper and some elbow grease saved my pads and rotors.  Just bedded them in again and all is back to normal.  Won’t be buying that junk again.

I swear by methyl hydrate. I think it’s stronger and leaves less residue than iso

Why do you all clean your pads and rotors? What is the performance advantage? My brakes work great, right to the point that the pads need to be replaced.

I now bake pads and rotors on the BBQ then clean with rubbing alcohol

Posted by: RAHrider

Why do you all clean your pads and rotors? What is the performance advantage? My brakes work great, right to the point that the pads need to be replaced.

i cleaned them last time cuz shit got on them, I transported a bike on the rack behind the car and 400km later the pads were contaminated with some fucking thing from just driving along on a paved hyway

if you don't have any sand paper handy rubbing them on a cement floor has worked for me in the past

so i got a Fat bike with noisy brakes, the bedding in process is a series of high speed stops ?

Posted by: RAHrider

Why do you all clean your pads and rotors? What is the performance advantage? My brakes work great, right to the point that the pads need to be replaced.

I find under normal conditions regular dirt and grease will degrade the power and grabbiness slowly enough that I just get used to it.

If I clean my rotors and pads the brakes are more "positive" feeling, grabbier and have more total power.

I do it as part of my "thorough clean" that includes simple green on the drivetrain and frame scrub down - I take the pads out, scrub and degrease the bike (including the caliper), then clean the pads and rotors and pay attention to where chain lube is going when lubing up the chain.  Routine clean is a spray with the hose and re-application of chain lube, no brake clean then.