My disc brake caliper seized up mid-commute last Tuesday

I was going down a steep hill near the river when the rear wheel locked and I nearly went over the bars, turned out the piston had corroded from the inside out after only two winters of salt spray, so now I'm wondering if anyone has had better luck with a specific brand of sealed calipers for wet climates?

3 comments

3 Comments

lewis.terry5d ago

Yikes, that sounds like a close call... glad you didn't go over the bars. I had a similar thing happen on my old bike, the caliper just froze up in the rain one day and I almost ate it at a stoplight. For wet climates, I've been running Shimano's Deore XT calipers for about three years now and they've held up way better than the cheap Tektros I had before. The seals seem thicker and I wipe the pistons down with a bit of silicone grease every spring, which has kept the corrosion away even through salty slush. Maybe give those a look if you can swing the price, they're not crazy expensive but they sure beat a trip to the dentist.

west.richard5d ago

Hold up though, I actually had the EXACT opposite experience with those Deore XT calipers. Mine started leaking fluid after one winter and Shimano told me it was "normal wear" even though I barely rode them. I'll take a cheap Tektro that I can replace twice a year over that headache any day.

robin5914d ago

Wait, have you tried bleeding those Deore XTs before giving up on them? I've seen a lot of folks online who skip that step and then blame the calipers when they leak. Honestly though, I get where you're coming from. The whole "normal wear" excuse from Shimano is pretty frustrating especially when you're spending that kind of money. But here's the thing - Tektros are hit or miss too, I had a set that started squealing so bad after one wet ride I thought my wheel was gonna fall off. I think the real trick is finding that sweet spot between price and reliability where you're not having to replace parts every season but also not getting burned by premium brand customer service. My buddy runs some old Avid BB7s he got for like thirty bucks and they've outlasted everything else on his bike, so maybe there's something to the midrange stuff too.