Cheap Disc Brake Calliper Alignment Tool // Mind The Gap!
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- Опубліковано 9 вер 2020
- If you have disc brakes on your bike you've no doubt encountered that "schwing schwing schwing" at some point. It's stuff of nightmares. When switching Mrs Lama's disc rotors over to Dura-Ace SM-RT900 I discovered how convenient it is to use a little calliper alignment tool.
Links:
Venzo Bike Bicycle Disc Brake Pad & Rotor Alignment Tool: amzn.to/2DPtUVM
BCP Pack of 2 Bike Rotor disc Brake Gap Setting Alignment Tool: amzn.to/3ihfMDv
ONGHSD Bicycle Brake Pad Alignment Tool: amzn.to/3ijsXUr
Hayes Brake Pad & Rotor Alignment Tool: amzn.to/32cEbEO
SHIMANO Dura-Ace SM-RT900 Rotor Centerlock 140mm/160mm amzn.to/30LulWs
Shimano LockRing Tool: amzn.to/2q5KNUH
Rides of Japan UA-cam: bit.ly/339Yxhe
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gplama.com
#Cycling #Shimano #discbrake - Спорт
Local bike store in melbourne told me about a cool hack. Cut some spacers out from old soda / beer cans ! Worth’s a treat and no cost .
Red Bull cans. You can also shim open badly designed locks
@@richardoneill9585 "Here's the best bicycle lock!" Lock picking laywer: "Hold on let me get a Red Bull"
My bike weighs a ton, seeing you pick up yours like that made me blush. Thanks for showing us how the pros do brakes.. :D
I just got my disc brake alignment tool. It works great. One of my wheelsets used to rub all the time. Now my wheels are quiet. Very happy.
G’day mate, from the US of A‼️I purchased a similar tool for my misaligned rotors a few months ago but without much luck. I watched your vid & realized the problem was my poor technique! Now my Ekar DBs work great & the Levante wheels roll forever‼️👍‼️ T U much. Kudos on your vids & insights‼️
Couldn’t have done it better myself, and now everyone else can as well! 😜
I
🥰
Ah, you guys 😌
I'm getting myself a little dinosaur!
These tools are great I got 3 for a few quid and carry one in my tool bag. As a returning cyclist I thought everyone used them. My 57year old eyes can't see the tiny gaps or inside 105 callipers very well with retinal detachment floaters and these make alignment a very simple job.
damn they are already sold out - I love both of these channels so good work, guys
Oh my, that dinosaur thingy is just the tool I need. Thank you for showing us.
Hi thank you for the detail showing how this is done. I tried quite a few videos but this was the best to solve my brakes rubbing at the rear. Cheers
Love your informative videos mate 😉 Keep up the great work 👌🏼
I rip up a business card and put half or a quarter in each side then tighten up the brake... works every time 😁
5ssßy5446
Exactly! You read my mind
same
Thanks Shane. I am so getting one of these.
I love the videos, you and Rides of Japan have gotten me out of a lot of maintenance jams. I would be really interested to hear more about how you use the shims on different wheel sets. I have a number of different wheel sets and it always a royal pain getting the rotors and pads aligned when changing them over. Thanks
Loving your videos 👍🏼 and after seeing this, I’ve just bought these discs for my Giant TCR Pro 1 Disc (2020).. they look much better than the Ultegra eh! Now if only I was brave enough to do your Di2 cable tidyup as well 🙄
You’re an absolute gem Shane. Thank you, and Tobias, for this. Rotor rub has troubled me since going DB. Jack
Rub could be a few things. This example was a basic calliper misalignment with a true rotor. If the rotor is a little untrue things get trickier.
Shane Miller - GPLama Thanks Shane, rotors are true, initial alignment seems to be my concern.
Great info. Thanks. I definitely need those rotor spacers for one of my wheelsets. I just wish the spacers were a bit cheaper.
I've got a similar tool, absolutely a MUST buy for disc brakes. Additionally i switched from the Dura-Ace Rotors to SRAM Rotors, as i found the SHimano ones prone to warping.
Interesting comment. I have always used Shimano ones, normally mid-range MTB ones; but when I switched to the Dura Ace model, I noticed it is more prone to warping.
Native Albion maybe it’s the lighter build effect coming into play
Shane, the dinosaur seems to have gone extinct already. You're as powerful as ozbargain!
Hah! There’s a few alternatives out there.
very nice, just bought a set of them. thanks a lot!!!
Keep us posted on how they go. I'm interested to hear your experience. There's a few 'waste of time' comments.... which wasn't my experience with these at all.
Thanks Shane🤗
When I used standard MTB rotors, I used the Birzman Clam gap tool, which is bigger than the one you are using. When I swapped to the Dura Ace rotors, the Birzman started to scratch the black surface of the cooling fins; and so I stopped using it.
The "schwing schwing schwing" often comes from untrue rotors due to heat warp. It's often better to retrue them than trying to compensate for it.
Coming from a guy who owns a hayes tool, doing it by sight and making sure the pistons extend and retract at the same rate/distance is still the best way to do it.
Using an alignment tool without regards to piston alignments (in the long run) will just make your pads wear unevenly.
Today’s schwing was with a brand new rotor.
@@gplama Due to my mtb-ing habit, I've went through loads of Shimano Rotors and I've yet to come across a piece of brand new rotor that is warped. Perhaps your schwing was caused by uneven pistons? (or even worse, uneven face of the brake mounts)
Though it would have helped to have a camera on a stand he did show the end result at 6:40 -- rotor seems to be true.
But $20 for that tool seems just too much for me. If I need to center the caliper on my MTB and I can't do it without using some sort of spacer (which happens rarely) I use the folded paper or a business card. I reckon old credit card would suffice too.
The problem is that no matter how well you align the caliper, as soon as you put some torque on the two bolts it usually flexes the disc and thus goes out of alignment right away :(
Thank you! And I thought why they gave me these metal things))) It was interesting to know. Tomorrow I will adjust the brakes of my bike, even if everything is fine)))
I like your thinking. “if it’s not broken, make it better” 😉
Great video--thanks!!!!!!
Chalk this video up to; things you never knew you needed, but now just ordered and need! Thank you for the info!
If you don’t have such a tool, you can use a paper business card instead. Just fold it around the disc and followup the steps as shown by Shane and you are good to go.
What! No RapiLock for Von!? Just kidding!😄 Awesome content, as always, thanks!👍 😀
Shhhh! Don’t tell her about those! 🤣
Nice bike and cool tool.
Yep, it's a step up from mine.
I've been.using feeler.gauges for years to.get alignment. I have a couple of other tricks for the real stubborn ones. A can of gloss black.acrylic paint and some.1000.grit wet dry paper.and you can.make the ultegras look dura. I've see one example and it looked.just like the dura ace. I've seen lots of pro's in the tdf are using the XTR rotors to shave off grams.
just a note some wheels use a different lock ring (Zipp) for them you need a threaded BB tool. As i don't have a threaded BB bike this was a bit of a surprise as i thought they would all use the cassette tool.
I think it solves a problem that doesn’t really exist. Just loosen the caliber, squeeze the brake, and retighten.
Also I don’t get why everyone is petrified of touching discs and pads. The gums kicked up off the road, specially when wet, is worse. Also, a good brake application will clear the disc pad interface of any gunk. Cheapest insurance is to spray everything with brake cleaner when you finished 👍🏽
That doesn't always work. Some times the caliper can move under torque load from the bolts. As a former bike mechanic, I love this tool!!
In my experience, the loosen and squeeze method works about half the time, the shim method works about 80% of the time, but doing it by eye works every time although harder to do that way. @@EricAbbottTri
I saw the thumbnail & thought. Wait, whats Tobias doing there :)
I’ve spent many a happy hour tightening & retightening the caliper bolts whilst holding the brakes 😡 I have a similar tool now but although it’s certainly better does need a couple of attempts sometimes.
Use a zip tie to hold the brake lever or use a velcro strap.
if it cost anymore than $10 I'd think it's unnecessary, but for the cost I guess its worth it. A tip if you do have to do it by hand, is loosening each bolt while pressing on the side of the caliper, so that you can tell that it's only barely loose enough to move the caliper. Makes it a lot easier to fine tune the adjustment when one accidental tap wont mess up your work. Also nice to put a white piece of paper behind the caliper, so that you can see the gap between the pads and rotor easier.
With pistons often not traveling 100 % symmetrical I check alignment by looking if rotor moves to side on contact with pads.
Yep, have the same. I also have the Birzman ones that come in a three pack for home use.
The Clam!
good video
Fantastic review Shane. Thank you for taking the time.
Thanks Bill. I'm no pro mechanic, in fact, I'm a bit of a hack.... but... aren't we all. I'm happy people enjoy these and maybe take something away from them that'll help. Von being impressed with her new rotors was the real bonus here! :)
how tight do you tighten the axle on the front wheel? I believe that I have been over tightening mine?
This tool looks really good. I can't bear pad rub..
So this video just popped up in my recommendations and now I can't find this exact tool in stock anywhere (except some dodgy place.) There are others but I want that one 😭
I have 2 similar tools to these and they work great most of the time when they don't it's usually the pistons need to be pushed in first and then do the method shown in the video .
Wow! I need this NOW. Such a chore aligning calipers on my road and MTB.
If you get one let me know how it goes.
They aren’t even listed on my Amazon store (US) 😞
I have a similar tool for mtb and it’s not necessary. For the most part, just loosen up the calipers, press the brakes and tightened it back up does the job. If that doesn’t solve the issue, this tool won’t solve it too. You’ll have to manually line it up.
Exactly. People love buying unnecessary gadgets and convincing themselves it solves a non-problem. Generates UA-cam likes and click throughs though.
Awesome video!
2 questions, did anything you untightened and put back (ie. Brake rotors, brake calipers) require any specific torque to retighten?
2nd. Where did you use the spacers and what are they for?
Thank you in advance!
everything has a required torque and you should use a torque wrench.
What is the difference between using the tool or just centering the regular way? I don't see how this tool helps. Is it wide enough to fill the gap in the caliper completely? (if the pistons are pushing lightly asynmetric?)
Where did you get the spaces from can’t find them anywhere? Thanks
The dinosaur tools is interesting, but i just use a small business card.
@@CurvedSlightly Small, implying slim. Obviously.
You know how to treat a lady with DA rotors.👍👏👏👏
Thanks..two questions. 1) I have the same calipers but I find it almost impossible to adjust the top allen bolt on the front rotor with out the allen key fouling the cooling fins. Have you had an issue? 2) wouldn't a business card folded over work just as well?
Yes, a business card folded over the rotor works. And using your fingers to push the shim between the pads can transfer contamination from your fingers to the shim to the pads.
No body noticed the handful of rear brake when you meant to do the front? Cool tool, thanks for the share
In AU our brakes are swapped (Same as UK)
I am just wondering: after adjusting the calipers (equal gaps at disc) I am going out for a ride and coming back I can see one side has bigger Gap and the other side no more gap. It makes me wonder: during the ride with a hard effort there must be some rubbing and waste of Watts. I am wondering how much that loss of Watts is approximately? I estimate about 5% when I compare with my rimbrake bike on frequently ridden segments. Both have powermeters installed. My rimbrake bike is even 1kg heavier.
Just ordered my own dinosaur. So Handy! 🙌🏼Noticed the amount still available go from 11 to 6 in 5 minutes
🦕👊🏼
I always thought the standard was rear right lever, front left lever. I stand corrected today. Nice tips. Thx.
Not in countries where you ride/drive on the left.
@@gplama 🤯
e' molto utile l'ho comprato su aliexpress circa una anno fa e l'ho regalato anche a tutti i miei amici
As soon as it's back in stock in the UK, I'm getting one to put on the house keys.
but can you use this tool for a fat tyre ebike disc breaks
Check brake rub with a very low RPM on the wheel, high RPM hides a lot of problems.
HI SHANE, GREAT VIDEO! I CURRENTLY HAVE DURA ACE BREAKS AND AM LOOKING INTO GETTING DISC BREAKS, IS THIS EASY TO DO? DO YOU HAVE ANY RECOMMENDATIONS.
You'll need a whole new bike frame to support switching to disc.
Shane,
To save money, what about spraying the Ultegra rotors with black high temperature/heat resistant paint?
Obviously, use masking tape too.
That’d work if you had the time and equipment.
Shane, how did you end up using the spacer? I was waiting for how to use it in your video. Is it just installed with the disc brake caliper?
I take it the alignment was fine so no spacer needed? It's a good idea though, might be doing similar soon.
Good stuff Shane! Do you have a link for the spacers please? Thanks.
www.ramcycleparts.com.au/disc-rotor-spacer-shim-centrelock-pair-stainless-s
Shane Miller - GPLama Thanks! May have to find something similar in the US!
Brilliantly simple pad alignment tool. Lovely paint scheme on your wife's new bike. Curiosity question: how come her left crank arm is DuraAce and the drive side crank arm is Ultegra?
It's a Stages left crank power meter, Shane obviously has a few spare lying around, just installed onto her otherwise full Ultegra groupset.
👆🏼 Nailed it!
Hey, i am curious to hear your opinion of using mtb brake rotor on road bike. Seems like some guy in the pro peloton prefers xtr rotor rather than dura ace, couple grams of weighsaving perhaps?
No experience with those rotors myself. I saw the media article on this the other day. I keep seeing these DA road rotors on the bikes at the Tour. I'd need more info.
I was kind of hoping the rear was going to be out of sorts so I could see some tricks on how to easily adjust the rear caliper bolts while holding the brake lever down ;-)
Try a Velcro strap or an old pedal to strap to hold the lever
Hi Shane, can regular brake pads of the same shape n size be used instead of the proprietary brake pads with heat sink, on these calipers?
Yep. As long as they’re compatible with the calliper.
I'm still using rim brakes, never used discs before. What is the advantage of a larger disc rotor? Better stopping power? Better cooling? Can you swap between 140 and 160 discs, and just move the caliper up or down to adjust for the different size?
Both braking power (increased leverage) and heat management (increased surface area) are improved. I had to use different spacers on my caliper mounts (not direct mount) at the time I did it and braking was transformed. I went with metal pads as well for even more heat handling. I had been caught up behind a car on a descent and cooked the smaller rotors once, and did the upgrade to provide a greater safety margin should the situation arise again.
My wheel appears to wobble. Would that be the cause of disc rubbing? Or can a wheel wobble independently from a disc rubbing? My bike was shipped to me for some assembly; I heard that the disc brakes can be damaged in transit. I could see the wheel wobble when I took my first spin, and I could hear the mechanical disc brake rubbing at the same time. My powers of observation were not strong enough to tell if the two things were in sync, but I have ordered a spoke wrench and the tools you noted to try an adjust the situation myself--just as soon as I understand.
The dinosaur is out of stock on every vendor sight I check.
Yes....my tears are flowing with no dinosaur
I have 2 wheelsets that are both aligned differently. Do you also have a link to the Shim Rings / Spacers?
If you're not in AU then the measurements are a good reference for what to look for locally: www.ramcycleparts.com.au/disc-rotor-spacer-shim-centrelock-pair-stainless-s
Fantastic Video! Any links to the shims you have?
These were from a shop in Adelaide. bit.ly/3il5Dpm You should be able to find something locally (if you're not in AU).
@@gplama You are awesome for replying. Thanks!
That is assuming that the brand new discs are perfectly straight. I had already 2 discs with a lateral run-out straight out of the box...
Can I go with the 140mm version on my front wheel as well? Are there still concerns regarding the heat when riding downhill? My bike is a canyon ultimate. Thx in advance.
140 still works for me. 🤷🏻♂️
Nice one. A tool I didn't know about, that I didn't need, but now want. It's just like the business card hack, but in a nifty dinosaur shaped tool :)
Raaawerrrrrrrr! 🦕👌🏼
Would you recommend it over the truing fork/wrench, or in conjunction with it? I only have the truing wrench, debating if it's worth picking up the spacers as well
This tool does alignment, not truing.
Great technique and beats sliding business cards up in between the caliper and rotor. But... Do you find you can still get some rotor rub when you get up out the saddle and put some power down? I’m wondering if this is still an alignment issue or just an issue with stiffness of the forks which allows a bit of flex and creates run that way
G H It’s common for wheel rub, whether with rim or disc brakes, when you stand and put a lot of power down if your spoke tension is weak. Low spoke tension increases flexing and can cause premature spoke failure.
@@dandenham3139 thanks, that's really helpful and would explain why that rub has developed over time and wasn't there from the start despite the rotor being nicely aligned. cheers
Shane did you reverse the breakhandles on the bar? Sqeeuzing my right handle operates my tear break!?
This is the configuration for countries who drive/ride on the left.
Isn’t the old, free and everywhere available presentation card the same thickness of the dinosaur thingy?
Sure, but getting two lined up is a bit of a mess about. Dino slides in and gets the job done. Either way problem solved.
Hi Shane, loving the vlogs. Might of missed it. What's the link to the dinosaur tool?
In the description is the link + a few alternatives.
@@gplama Thanks!
Shane have you ever had an issue with the paint flaking off the ultegra disc calipers which then allows the metal to corrode? This has happened on my bike when it was less than 6 months old. One caliper has already been replaced but they both now are corroding again.
All good here. Are you riding in rain or sweating on the bike indoors a lot?
@@gplama only ridden outdoors, only gets wet if I am caught short in the rain. I am not a fan of riding wet.
if there is an ultegra caliper, how in this case is the rotor from dura-ace suitable. and what about the brake pads?
There's a LOT of compatibility between parts with Shimano. The Ultegra callipers are likely just a little heavier than DA.
I'm probably incompetent, because I always fail to align my calipers using that dinosaur and end up aligning the caliper by eyeballing the gaps between rotor and caliper to they are about the same on both sides of the rotor. But I always try the dino first anyway because that eyeballing isn't fun...
I don’t rate it too much, I prefer to remove the wheel, spread the pads with a pad spreader, undo the caliper bolts, replace wheel, squeeze lever, tighten caliper bolts, adjust by eye cause its rarely straight the first time
And yet at the side of the road after fixing a flat, takes a moment and job done first time, every time. Or even when folks take their bike out of the boot and replace the wheels before a ride. Perfect.
Keith Heinrich yeah for sure its a useful hack for some, I just prefer the above for when I’m fixing a bike at the shop, I run rim brakes myself so I never have this problem
@@marcelr.9035 I would have thought it less necessary for through axles, but back in the day of discs and QR, its was a thing used frequently.
Take my money.....thanks Shane
NOT AVAILABLE!!!!
There’s a few alternatives that do the same thing.
@@gplama I know...I need to whine today. Sore legs and bent derailleur hanger
I don’t understand why you need a tool for this... I just brake, the caliper is automatically aligned, and I tighten with a the Tork Wrench and problem solved... then you release the brake and the pistons are released too...
It doesn't work everytime. My new brakes and calipers (Shimano 105) wouldn't align using the classic method, so I had to use an old business card and do what Shane did with his tool.
I like bing and weight savings as much as anyone, but I don’t think a lighter rotor is better. The Ultegra 160mm is 10g more at 128g vs 118g. But where is the weight savings coming from? With that black paint, I would think the Dura-ace would be heavier. I’m suspecting that the rotor itself is thinner vs Ultegra and that’s where the weight savings is coming from.
Correct me if im wrong but won't loosening the brakes and squeezing the brake lever help align it too?
Yes. That’s what I did here. The tool ensures there is a gap between pad and rotor. As I said in the video, without the little dino it has been hit and miss for me. This nailed it, so I’m happy.
@@gplama The gap will be the same with or without the tool, after you pull the brakes again. The tool only works if pistons came out exactly the same on both sides, which they rarely do.
@@geoffgoldplum1231hence the tool.moves the caliper.body to compensate
Where to get the spacers Shane?
Here's where I picked them up in AU: bit.ly/3il5Dpm Check the size/specs and you should be able to find them locally.
*_Is it usable in mechanical disc brakes like TRP dual side actuated?_*
I assume so.
Can you please post a link to the shims? I can't seem to find those.
There’s a few options in the video description.
160 looks massive 😅😅 *me and other mtbers with a 203 upfront*
🤣
Haha. I work at a shop and I sent even know they made 140. Even some bikes coming with 220mm now. I can’t wait for the day we get back to rim brakes
@@mrdudemanmwane8963 nah mate that aint happening cars went from drum to disc and they aint going back and mobs went from rigid to suspension and aren't going back either
isa9engineer a I mean when the disc rotors get to 622mm and we have offset hydraulic rim brakes
@@mrdudemanmwane8963 not the rims, but rings -> Eric Buell
Does anyone know the thickness of this tool? I was thinking of making some out of pop cans and just leaving them around for a few weeks to see if they would work before I buy a couple packs of them
I don't think the thickness is super critical. It just needs to fit between the pads and rotors.
If you cut two rectangular strips off the can. You could test to fit quickly.
If they do fit, then you could cut a single piece to the correct shape.
0,2mm
It’s good to look over the fence from MTB to roadie stuff..
As a mountain biker Ive used disc breaks for many years with little issue.
I was amazed by this video and others where you worry about contamination as these are just not issues in our MTB world.
Then I came across this video ua-cam.com/video/AO3MOKnMOU8/v-deo.html which highlighted that road disc brakes are just not as mature as MTB version.
And now I get your issues. Hopefully in due time you wont see such finicky d-brakes.
its always the front brake rubing lol
So if you drive on the other side of the road, you also switch brake sides?
Yes
Why can't I do it without the Dinosaur if I'm applying a full hand brake?
You can. Dinosaur seems to nail it first time for me. 🦕
You can, but it increases the margin of error. The tool just makes it so much easier.
whats the thickness of the blades on the tool. i might just use feeler gauges i have instead. :)
Comes in at 0.3mm
@@gplama cool thanks Shane!
The front brake is on the right-hand side (with the rear shifter?) and the rear brake is on the left-hand side (with the front shifter?)? What madness is this?
Standard for left-side driving countries, apparently. Weirdos.
@@TylerMcHenry Hi, not so weird when you ride bikes and motorcycles and need to stop in a hurry.
Also great for taking photographs with your right hand while speeding along and not going over the handlebars when you need to slam on the left hand side brakes!
3:28 how is that type of mounting for the brake called please?
That's called Centerlock.