poldark wrote:Well done, it's very satisfying isn't it, not just saving £££s but understanding how things are put together and work. Only bit I hate with brakes are the pistons and if you have to bleed them, which is so tricky if you're working solo.

I'm a bit interested in the red stuff your dealer gave you, as that's normally red rubber grease, copper slip is copper-coloured, unless it's red loctite!

Thank you It really is satisfying conquering my nemesis. Because i tried and failed miserably last time, i was quite scared but managed to do it very well this time. On my last experience, because the piston got out, i had to bleed them too which my friend came over and helped with. I wouldn't want to live through that experience again.

You're right, it wasn't copper grease. It was something else they said they were using now to coat those pins that went into grommets.

I don't know what it's called but the original pin that came out had a transparent grease on it looking white-grey. I asked for the same thing but they said they don't use it anymore.

On another note, i'm glad to have done this job before going on tour because when i took the front pads out i noticed that they were down to almost zero depth. Normally i wouldn't even check as it's only been about 4k miles since last change and my previous ones lasted about 6k miles but i felt some kind of scraping this week during commuting and thought of checking before a big tour.

I think the reason that they lasted 2k miles less this time around is because after the last change, the brakes started binding and i rode it almost a month like that before taking it for a caliper rebuild to be done. That would have worn them much more...

MrGrumpy wrote:Congrats! You are obviously a brave man. Due to incompetence I try very few DIY things, but would absolutely NOT go near the brakes in case I screwed them up!

This is the second new DIY skill i gained within the last few weeks, the first one was laying laminate in my house, which i also was scared of before starting, but once i got to do it i couldn't believe how easy it actually was.

It's the same story with the brakes, i was scared not only because i screwed up once, but also that they are a crucial link between life and death. The only actual issue i had was taking the rounded bolt off and the bloody wind that kept on flying things around.

The wind was so severe that even when changing the oil, a couple of times it spilled out of the funnel due to wind!

Great post - motivated me to change my front pads too: http://www.maxi-muppets.co.uk/forum/vie ... =5&t=11162

Can I ask have you noticed any binding after you changed your front pads? - does your front wheel revolve as freely as before?

Thanks in advance!