Talaria X3 rear brake pads dragging badly after replacement, need help
Hey all,
My son has a Talaria X3 with around 2,000 miles on it, and his braking performance has been going downhill. After some reading, we figured it was time to bleed the brakes and swap the pads, so I ordered new pads from Luna Cycle (where we bought the bike) and got to work.
Here's where I'm stuck: after installing the new rear pads, they're dragging the rotor badly enough that it gets extremely hot after just a few trips up and down the driveway. I know a little break-in drag is normal, but this is clearly way beyond that. It's not going to wear itself in.
Here's what I've already done:
- Bled the brakes
- Made sure the pistons were fully seated in the caliper
Neither made a difference. Luna told me some drag is okay and it'll wear in, but I respectfully disagree, this is too much. I also measured the rotor at 2.34mm, though I'm not sure if that's within spec or on the thin side. In our case the disc got extremely hot, to the point of discoloration only riding it 2000 feet or so.
The silver lining is that I only replaced the rear pads, so he can still ride, just without the rear brake. That's not a long-term solution, though.
For context, I build drag racing cars in my garage, so bleeding brakes and compressing calipers isn't new territory for me. But something about this bike has me completely stumped, and I'd rather ask than keep guessing.
Looking for help on two things:
What might actually fix the dragging issue with this caliper?
Is it worth just replacing the rear caliper entirely at this point?
Any advice is appreciated!