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That time a customer's disc brake squeal taught me a lesson about rotor alignment

I was working on a Trek at a shop in Austin last month, spent 30 minutes chasing a noise that turned out to be a bent rotor tab. Has anyone else found a quick trick for spotting bent rotors without a truing stand?

2 comments

2 Comments

robinmason1d ago

ALWAYS start with the pad surface first, that's my shortcut. Run your finger along the rotor right where it meets the pads, you'll feel a high spot if it's bent. Noticed this connects to how most problems in bikes and life are really about small misalignments we ignore until they get LOUD. Loose headset, creaky bottom bracket, even that drawer in my kitchen that won't close right - same thing. The noise is just the symptom of something that's been slightly off for a while. Once you start looking for that pattern, you'll see it everywhere.

finley_walker571d ago

That 30 minute chase sounds familiar, I've been there more times than I care to count. @robinmason makes a good point about the finger test on the pad surface, I use that trick myself and it saves a lot of time. The part about misalignment being the real culprit everywhere really hit home with me. Once you get used to checking rotors for that tiny wobble you start noticing how many little things in life are just waiting to be nudged back where they belong. A quick tip for anyone without a stand is to zip tie a pen to the frame and spin the wheel, that will show you a bent rotor in about two seconds flat.