Brake Rotors That Won't Bend

[BrewMaster]

I have bent Avid rotors with my BB7s (not surprisingly).

I have bent Avid rotors with my Juicy 5s.

I have bent Hayes rotors with my Strokers.

Are there any 6" rotors out there that are more resistant to bending/warping? Maybe those Hope floating rotors?

Also, is there anything I can do in the set up of my disc brakes to better prevent warping the rotors?

Warped rotors rubbing is getting old...

[northshore]

Originally Posted by BrewMaster

I have bent Avid rotors with my BB7s (not surprisingly).

I have bent Avid rotors with my Juicy 5s.

I have bent Hayes rotors with my Strokers.

Are there any 6" rotors out there that are more resistant to bending/warping? Maybe those Hope floating rotors?

Also, is there anything I can do in the set up of my disc brakes to better prevent warping the rotors?

Warped rotors rubbing is getting old...

Brew, you are just too damn strong for your own good. I can't say. I have the Hayes on my SS and the Juicy 3s on the Horse and haven't had a problem yet. Maybe get bigger rotors? Check the adapters, mounts, etc?

[el_d00der1n0]

not sure if this matters, but i make sure the rotor doesn't bend when i apply the brake. i screw the inner pad in until it doesn't bend.

[Jordansrealm]

are these all being bent on the same bike?

[Dino Brown]

My advice: Purchase an Iron Horse Bicycle. For '08, they come equipped with a proprietary MAGNETIC braking system.... no rotors to bend or warp!

[BrewMaster]

Originally Posted by Jordansrealm

are these all being bent on the same bike?

No. The BB7s and Strokers were bent on the Ibex (4" FS) and the Juicys bent on the AIR9. The Juicy rotors may have been bent in transit, but not sure.

Originally Posted by el_d00der1n0

not sure if this matters, but i make sure the rotor doesn't bend when i apply the brake. i screw the inner pad in until it doesn't bend.

That would be nice, but the Strokers and Juicy 5s don't have pad adjustment knobs.

[Jordansrealm]

Originally Posted by BrewMaster

No. The BB7s and Strokers were bent on the Ibex (4" FS) and the Juicys bent on the AIR9. The Juicy rotors may have been bent in transit, but not sure.

Probably were but I was curious because maybe it was due to something else on the bike causing it or setup. Seems odd that you would bend so many different rotors never heard of this.

Maybe stop riding into walls?

[BrewMaster]

Originally Posted by Jordansrealm

Maybe stop riding into walls?

I can't promise anything.

[el_d00der1n0]

Originally Posted by BrewMaster

That would be nice, but the Strokers and Juicy 5s don't have pad adjustment knobs.

What about the hardware? can you loosen it, clamp your caliper down, and re-tighten?

[DeeZee]

Don't bend Old Skool baby!

Sorry....

Alot of the warping has to do with set up. If both pads do not hit the bad at the same time and the rotor is heated-up it can warp. Also bigger rotors will stay cooler and may help.

FWIW I used to warp rotors all the time but do not anymore. Also remember bent rotors can be bent back!

[bjammin]

I have been using the Hope floating rotors for a long time now with out any issues. I recommend them.

[BrewMaster]

Maybe I need to attend the next Switchback bike clinic to learn to set up my brakes properly...

[dstepper]

http://www.galferusa.com/html/bicycle_rotors.html

More expensive but high quality.

[DeeZee]

Originally Posted by BrewMaster

Maybe I need to attend the next Switchback bike clinic to learn to set up my brakes properly...

Diffenent brakes have different set-ups.

The one thing I learned is that getting the rotors to not drag is one thing.....but again you need to make sure both pads hit the rotor at the same time.

Sam it is not that hard. YOU CAN DOOOO IT!!

[SnookDawg]

Hopefully not going off-topic here, but larger rotors was mentioned as a possible preventive measure. I have heard before that larger rotors don't heat up as much, and can see that if pad contact did get out of whack, maybe the larger rotor would be less likely to heat up and warp/bend. Is there any downside to running larger rotors?

Also, it sounds like larger rotors would maybe be a little bit of a band-aid, in that it doesn't address the root-cause which reading above would seem to be improper centering of the caliper/pads over the rotor, or I missed something?

I ask as I am new to disc brakes and have already warped my front rotor slightly.

[Chewyeti]

sam...

a thin piece of metal.. that gets hot, and squeezed from one or both sides (unequally if not set up right) will bend.

If you look at street motorcycles... very rarely is the rotor one piece. Usually the wear surface of the disc is bolted onto a more rigid 'hub' if you will. Look at the hope rotors etc... they usually are a floating rotor (another topic for another day) but they are bolted to a more rigid hub.

if you set your brakes up right (centered on the rotor), and do not cook em, they shouldnt bend.

I warped a set of 6" rotors...

but all my 7's and 8's are perfectly true.

Set it up, and you will be cool.

Originally Posted by SnookDawg

Hopefully not going off-topic here, but larger rotors was mentioned as a possible preventive measure. I have heard before that larger rotors don't heat up as much, and can see that if pad contact did get out of whack, maybe the larger rotor would be less likely to heat up and warp/bend. Is there any downside to running larger rotors?

Also, it sounds like larger rotors would maybe be a little bit of a band-aid, in that it doesn't address the root-cause which reading above would seem to be improper centering of the caliper/pads over the rotor, or I missed something?

I ask as I am new to disc brakes and have already warped my front rotor slightly.

I did a little write up on this in a thread a few months ago...

Larger rotors do a few things.
1) dissipate heat better
2) modulate slightly better

They have more surface area - so there is more ability to 'store' that heat created without the tendency to warp (They CAN... but it takes longer) They also have more surface area in contact with the wind, thus they cool off better. These will lead to longer time before you would get 'brake fade' or fluid boiling (if you drag the brake constantly)

2) wear surface is moving through the pads faster (V=rw) giving you greater 'resolution' on your braking. (modulation)

[BFloFoxRider.]

Originally Posted by Dino Brown

My advice: Purchase an Iron Horse Bicycle. For '08, they come equipped with a proprietary MAGNETIC braking system.... no rotors to bend or warp!

Sorry to jack the thread but DINO, not sure if anyone mentioned.. Brendan Fairclough was in fontana with his crazy iron horse... In practice he was without a doubt the fastest rider.. Not sure what happened but he lookes like he slowed way down in his race run, and finished 8th in pro Men
But man that practice run i saw, was intense! that was the fastest horse ive ever seen !

[Seat Sniffer]

+1 on the floaties for longevity

[freekengo]

From my experience so far with bicycle rotors, The Magura Venti rotors seems to be the best 6" rotor that I have come across so far. I've had some warping issues with Hope 2-piece rotors, shimano's, hayes, avid's.

Sam, I have a spare set of the Magura's sitting in my garage if you want to try them out. It's used but like new condition.

[BrewMaster]

Thanks Ken. I might take you up on that offer. But first I should learn to set up my brakes properly.

I have done it mostly by eyeing the spacing and that hasn't been great so far. The tri-align business from Avid didn't seem to be that great at alignment either.