How Do I Upgrade My Brakes?

Author	Message

J-Wally

Posted: Apr 25, 2020 at 1:48

Quote

Hey everyone!

Brand new to the forum and a newbie to the bike enthusiast world in general too. So, apologies if I sound a little numb!

Basically, I've had a mountain bike that I've had for my entire mid-late teens (It's just a Carrera Kraken) and I want to step it up a notch and invest in a really nice bike to get a little bit more serious about the sport.

Before I do that though, I want to be able to understand the workings of a bike completely so I know what I'm looking for and how to potentially build my next bike myself.

So, I'm getting to grips with tearing apart my Carrera Kraken and just learning as I'm going. At the minute though, I've got no front brakes as I think the disk brake hose is ruined and it's leaked out all of its fluid.

I know I could probably find out how to replace the cable and bleed the brakes. But I'm seeing this as an opportunity to just learn how to completely install a new disc brake system.

I want to upgrade them basically, but I'm not sure what I'm looking for. Do I just look for bigger discs? Better brake pads? Shorter hoses? Will any disc brakes fit my mountain bike?

If someone could give me some quick tips, guidance, anything really that could help me out and show me what to look for - I'd really appreciate it!

Thank you!

J-Wally

JonnyTheWeasel

Posted: Apr 25, 2020 at 2:17

Quote

Bigger discs will give you better stopping power and better heat dissipation however you will need a brake mount adaptor to be able to put one on. Check your fork though as certain forks are only designed to take discs up to a certain diameter.

Disc brakes come either pre-bled or disassembled. Pre-bled meaning that the whole unit comes ready to go and all you need to do is mount the caliper to your fork and the lever to your bar. Great (usually) for the front however pre-bled for rear can be a pain if you need to internally route the hose. Buying pre-bled for the front is often fit and forget however you may find that the hose is excessively long and you'll want to trim it. There are plenty of YouTube guides for this and it's not particularly complicated provided you have the correct tools e.g. a decent hose cutter.

As for recommendations.... I like Shimano disc brakes so I'd say Shimano Deore would probably be ideal for you. More affordable and still plenty of power.

Hope that helps.

Reaperactual

Posted: Apr 27, 2020 at 6:34

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I fully agree with the above comments. Choose Shimano brakes that are pre bled and ready to fit. Deore M6000 are cheapest ones with servo wave levers are a great budget choice, next versions up aren't much of an improvement over the M6000's. 180mm rotor on front simple to work out and fit adaptors with plenty of helpful YouTube tutorials.

You would be impressed with the improvement over entry level brakes.

J-Wally

Posted: Apr 28, 2020 at 14:12	Quote
Thank you very much guys! I really appreciate the guidance. I just bought some Shimano Deore M6000 front/rear levers and calipers (pre-bled). I checked my bike and it currently has 180mm discs on the front and 160mm discs on the back. Could I just buy a 203mm disc and a 180mm to replace those using the adapter you mentioned? How do I know what discs my fork will take? Thanks again! J-Wally

JonnyTheWeasel

Posted: Apr 28, 2020 at 14:19	Quote
You're welcome. What forks do you have? Best way is to look them up on the manufacturers website or look in the manual if you have one. With adaptors, you will need the correct one for your forks & calipers. They come in either Post-Mount or IS Mount (I forget what IS stands for!). You'll need to determine what you need for both front and rear.

JonnyTheWeasel

Posted: Apr 28, 2020 at 14:23	Quote
Here's a handy little explanation of the two different mounts I mentioned: https://www.bikeman.com/bicycle-repair-tech-info/bikeman-tech-info/1638-51mm-international-standard-74mm-post-mount

Reaperactual

Posted: Apr 28, 2020 at 23:06

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Keep up the research and looking at adaptors and tutorials. It isn't that complicated when it 'clicks' in your head if it hasn't already!

Then you can be confident you are buying the correct parts and it will go together easily and you will be buzzin'.

Goes for anything you plan on learning about, avoid buying anything too soon if you don't understand it fully. Making the wrong choice would leave you with fitting issues which will knock your confidence. Happy upgrading Pal!

eqsound

O+

Posted: Apr 29, 2020 at 1:09

Quote

New Rotors is a good idea to go with the new brakes but don't automatically assume that bigger is the way to go.

your new brakes will likely have much more power than your old ones and will fell great on similar size rotors. going bigger may make them feel grabby and overpowered.

I had a hardtail that i was running 203/180 rotors on with an old pair of brakes. i upgrade to a much more modern set and constantly felt like I was going to be thrown over the bars and decided to size back down to 180/160

TL;DR try the new brakes with your current rotors before deciding what size new ones to buy

Beecee336

Posted: May 2, 2020 at 20:59	Quote
This^ If you're not a heavier rider and you dont ride long steep trails 203 is definitely overkill. 180 front and rear would be more than adequate.

Branmuffin

O+

Posted: Oct 29, 2022 at 8:34

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Henryyy07 wrote:

If you’re riding your bike and suddenly, you no longer feel your brakes. What you should do is first stay calm, stay steady on the ground, and alert those around you. Manage to stop the bike using the pedals softly and once you’ve got it to stop, inspect what went wrong with the brakes. You can go to a professional to seek expert help. If the issue can’t ever be resolved, it’s time to start installing bike brakes that are perfectly functioning.

How do you stop a bike by using the pedals softly? I am completely perplexed as to what you are describing.

muddytreker

Posted: Oct 29, 2022 at 8:52

Quote

"If you’re riding your bike and suddenly, you no longer feel your brakes. What you should do is first stay calm, stay steady on the ground, and alert those around you. Manage to stop the bike using the pedals softly and once you’ve got it to stop, inspect what went wrong with the brakes. You can go to a professional to seek expert help. If the issue can’t ever be resolved, it’s time to start installing bike brakes that are perfectly functioning. "

Your like a Bot, are you a Bot ? OP seems to want to upgrade brakes yet you give some interesting
method and tips on what to do and how to stop a bike with no brakes,
whense come across like a Bot

eshew

Posted: Oct 29, 2022 at 17:32	Quote
Henryyy007 says: "The Master created humans first as the lowest type, most easily formed. Gradually, he replaced them by robots, the next higher step, and finally he created me, to take the place of the last humans. I pass the time posting useless information in bike forums waiting for the post-anthropocene to arrive."

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