# Mud and disk brakes. Anything to worry about?



## scavind (Mar 13, 2012)

Today I had my first real mountain biking ride today (alone, my own pace, did the trails mostly without stopping), on some singletrack. they have the trails go through some deep watery mud sections, and after i ride through them my disks are usually covered in the mud from either splash or just being dunked or dragged through a bit and my stopping power is reduced for some stops but is regained. Is there anything I should worry about for my brakes? I clean them after every ride with brake cleaner.


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## emtnate (Feb 9, 2008)

I don't worry about mud and water on my disc brakes. However, you don't need to use brake cleaner on them. Rinsing them off with water is all you need to do, don't use high pressure. If anyone oily is on the rotors, wipe them off with rubbing alcohol. If anyone oily gets on your pads, you'll need new ones.


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## mitzikatzi (Sep 9, 2008)

Watch the pad wear. Mud can make pads wear very quickly especially organic ones.


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## FujNoob (Dec 20, 2009)

mitzikatzi said:


> Watch the pad wear. Mud can make pads wear very quickly especially organic ones.


What he said. Constant riding in mud will reduce the pad life. Just keep an eye on it.


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## Eric Z (Sep 28, 2008)

what the others said. is there really that much mud where you're riding? i don't think i ever got mud on my rotors.


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## scavind (Mar 13, 2012)

Would sintered pads fare any better? It depends where on the trail you are. It's mainly hard or leafy (or both), Some parts are roots and a few streams coming from marshes and two ponds but some sections become deep with rotten leaves and the occasional mud pit as it would appear the water never evaporates (tons of Mosquitos or gnats, i don't know just bugs galore), and it can come up to the middle of the disks at times


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## Twilight Error (Jan 12, 2004)

No worries, disc brakes are far better in mud for both stopping power and longevity than rim brakes. Rinse your discs with low pressure water, keep an eye on your pad wear and keep riding.


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## FujNoob (Dec 20, 2009)

scavind said:


> it can come up to the middle of the disks at times


If it's that deep you may want to dismount and walk around.

Think of mud as an abrasive like sand paper that gets between your rotor and pad. As others have said low pressure water should clean things ok. You're not really hurting anything, just shortening the life of the pad.


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## k3nnyd (Jun 10, 2009)

I don't really ride in harsh mud where I live but when I do creek crossings I just lightly hold my brakes to let the calipers clean the rotors off. I'd hate to forget about that and have to brake hard only to hear squealing brakes and have loss of braking power when I need it most.


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## Gonzoso (Mar 25, 2012)

I try to avoid huge mud pits. Yes at first mud is fun, but owning a Jeep I've gotten over it and now realize it's just a huge pain in the butt.

On a normal ride I can clean my bike well enough to keep in the living room in about 15-25 minutes. When I go through lots of mud it takes about an hour. 

On the trail I will squirt my rotors and brakes with water from my water bottle. Just a quick squirt gets most of the mud off, obviously don't squirt hot rotors!


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