bent rotor

[decline]

my front rotor is a little bent on my...front wheel and like its still rideable...and u can bairly see it at all but u can tell there is a little resistance in it and it makes this god awful squeak and i was wondering if there is any way to fix it...is it something i should even worry about or should i just replace it? and if i replace it i will get new pads and what not...i am running 05 louise
what should i do?

[WhiteRavenKS]

use a crescent wrench as a little grabber and bend it back. be gentle. "bending a little more" is better than "shit, bend it back". you can generally just use the calier as a guide to see where it needs work and how much to do.

[THEDEMOLITIONMAN]

I have bent a few rotors in my day and this usually works for me. Take the rotor off the mounts and find youself a piece of wood, that'll cover the diameter of the rotor. By using a hammer, bang on the board until the rotor appears to be flat again. It worked for me and I've never had to fix it again.






Gluck,

THEDMAN

[AgrAde]

dman, my rotor would be way too springy for that... straightening it with a crescent i can flex it more than half an inch in the other direction and it'll spring right back with no change. how straight do you get them with that?

i just bend it back with the crescent, takes 2 minutes and i don't have to bother removing the rotor.

[luke_echo]

you could try puting it in a crush machine workes well

[xALmoN]

Yes, you have to bend it till it flexes, you can't see it, but there is improvement, you can either use the caliper as a gauge, or a flat table.

[trialsn]

LOL not everyone has access to a "crush machine".

just use the crecent wrench idea. you may think its not doing anything but it is. i've had to do this a couple times.

[MikeTheBike]

I have used the crescent technique several times, even on the same rotor. That's the great thing about stainless steel.

If you want to really work at it and make sure the rotor is perfectly true (i.e. straight) and you don't want to invest in a gauge, just lay the rotor on a piece of glass. Modern pane glass is very, very flat - to within a few hundreths of a millimeter. However, don't go banging on the rotor while it's laying on the glass. Yeah, obvious, I know.

[stinkybastard]

Morningstar as well as park has a rotor truing device, I use these tools regularely and can tru a rotor w/ a .002inch deviation L/R. i once trued a rotor that was bent over 90degreees w/in a .008inch deviation.
if money is not in your present company cresent wrench works great. if your rotor is bent over on 2 axis then it may get tricky, but it is still doeable.

[trialsrider50]

Haul ass down a hill and ride the shit outa the brake so the rotor heats up. then squeeze lightly for about 2-4 seconds and let off. use the rear brakes to stop and don't touch the front until the rotor is totally cooled (tomorrow). sounds counter productive but as long as you don't cram the brake when it's hot then it won't warp. i've done this on dh bike's a lot and straightened rotors with a small blip in them.

[Ottawa_biker]

heat it up then bend it back with gloves on

[ko]

omg...just look where it needs to be striaghtened and bend it that direction using your hand.

[unipa]

omg...just look where it needs to be striaghtened and bend it that direction using your hand. if you do this wipe down the rotor befor puting it back on the bike

[clifford_bgrddg]

i use the crescent wrench method. it takes a while with little movements because you dont know how far to bend it. however i usually have to flex it a good 2 inches one way or the other before i see improvment.

[Trialsaddict]

Best. Tool. Evar.

http://www.parktool.com/images/products/productimages/spr_DT-2_200598_61713.jpg

[tomacropod]

that's the one.

- Joel