Snapped brake caliper

Posted by J-F_Mattias@reddit | ebikes | View on Reddit | 10 comments

A month ago I had a new front brake caliper installed on my ebike by the local bike shop... Which has now proceeded to break clean off at the attachment point. Only ever been used on one set of brake pads. Found the failure while working to replace the pads, so the gods may know how long I've been riding around with a busted caliper.

Is this supposed to happen with these calipers? Warranty claim? While I do most of my repairs, swapping the caliper is beyond what I can do. Which now leaves me without an ebike for the weekend until the bike shop can have a look at it on Monday...

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TopRepulsive4766@reddit

You are probably not going to like my response. But it might do you good to read it anyhow.

People who get into ebikes (or really any other hobby, sport, or whatever) should learn all the aspects of same. This means learning how to repair damage, do extensive maintenance, etc.

Now I don't think you are too dumb to learn new stuff. And youtube has many visual tutorials on a vast array of topics. Learning how to replace a caliper is actually quite easy for a normal person. The old cliché 'Knowledge is power' is still true. And that knowledge can also save you money as a bonus.

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J-F_Mattias@reddit (OP)

I do most of the repairs on my own yes, but even I have things I can't do on the bike. Swapping calipers is one of them.

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Active_Ad_5322@reddit

I get the apprehension about replacing hydraulic calipers. It is not a 20 minute job if it is your first time. Well, for most people it’s not 20 minutes. There are folks who are spot on right away, but they are the outliers. This shit takes time and tools to learn. I doubt you wanna take on hydro bleeds right now, but when you do, there is a lot of great tutorials and videos online. Don’t try the “hacks” or “shortcuts”. Just follow manufacturer guidelines first so it becomes easy to troubleshoot if there is a mistake.

1 month is not normal and with the hundreds of thousands of calipers made, some defects are bound to happen. Though, human error on the mechanics behalf is not out of the question. I’ve seen dude crank 20 Nm of torque on those bolts when 8 Nm is the spec for yours.

Should be a full warranty replacement. One month is not normal. Waaaasay not normal.

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J-F_Mattias@reddit (OP)

Thank you for such an insightful answer, you are spot on as to why I am apprehensive about swapping calipers. While I can bleed the brakes no problem, swapping calipers entirely is on a different level that I am not comfortable about at the moment. And I know as much as that it can get messy, which I don't have the space for with my current repair setup.

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TopRepulsive4766@reddit

I get your apprehension. Hydraulics are way more time-consuming than cabled. I always do my hydraulics outdoors (mostly because I don't want mineral oil everywhere, not because I don't have the space). Your first time replacing a hydraulic caliper will take you some time for sure. And you will need a brake bleed kit (I think the last kit I bought cost around 35USD from Amazon). You will need patience. For example, you have to pump the mineral oil in and out of the line several times until there are no air bubbles.

It is sort of a bitch and I can understand why you are reluctant to do it. But it is a good learning experience. And of course it will save you money as well.

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Active_Ad_5322@reddit

Yep. Not having a good work space is limiting. Especially for an e-bike.

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TopRepulsive4766@reddit

And why not? I've never seen any calipers I couldn't swap out. Is it some kind of proprietary one?

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RoundSyrup4424@reddit

Couldn't agree more. I've always done the basics on traditional bikes. But I'm riding orders of magnitude more on my e-bike, so as each part needs to be replaced or fixed, I'm learning how to do it myself, buying the parts and tools I need, and saving a crap load of money in the process. It's a lot of fun to be honest!