Doodlebug Brake Options

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MtnXfreeride

New Member
#1
#1
Hi, I bought a DB30 and right away there were no brakes when the lever was squeezed.. looking at the caliper it barely moved and it was either a case of no brakes or constant rubbing. I put my old bicycle caliper on because it had more travel, but I think this led to rotor overheating because it still rubbed a bit. And now my rotor is slightly warped which makes it either rub a lot and get hot too quick or provide no braking power.

What are my options for rotor/brake assembly? I will NOT pay more than I paid for my cars rotors.. the $39 price tag for a new one is absurd. I can find ford focus rotors for $22.36 shipped.

Do bike repair shops true rotors if I brought only the rotor in?

Is there a new rotor that isn't $39 that fits the bolt pattern?

Is there a better than stock mechanical caliper that is cheaper than the $50 hydraulic one?

If I put the stock caliper on with new brake pads and get the rotor straight will it actually stop this bike somewhat quickly? (say 4 seconds from top speed)? I never had the bike when it was new to know how good the stock ones are.

Are there other options?
 
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OND

OND

#4
#4
I thought you said the caliper was holding pressure on the pads, there for over heating the rotor. Thats a very small ,very thin rotor...I'll see if I can help you find one .
 
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Camjamsdad

Active Member
#5
#5
I straightened mine on the bike with a pair of channel locks. It's thin. Bike up on 2 4x4's. No chain. Spins easy. Turn it, bend it turn it bend it till its true
 
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MtnXfreeride

New Member
#6
#6
There must be a somewhat standard sized bike rotor that hits this thing. I can see its 180mm which is a standard size, and 6 bolts is pretty standard.. but the bolts are deeper in than a standard rotor.
 
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chazdaddy

New Member
#8
#8
For street riding, the best brakes for the $'s are the $50 hydraulic brakes HotRodMiniBike sells. For dirt riding, I would stay with the mechanical brakes. I don't know of any better replacements that are not very expensive. For example: kart brakes will cost you several $100's for a complete set-up.

Both of these brakes (OEM mechanical and hydraulic) are cheap brakes and especially the hydraulic brakes will fail/ break if you abuse them. Picture needing to stop fast and the brake caliper breaks off the frame, you crash, get run over by a car, etc.

There are 3 different adjustments on the mechanical brakes I know of, and need to be adjusted properly to work well. Plus, if the shoes/ rotor has oil, grease on it, it will not work well.

As suggested above, you may want to place a wanted ad for a rotor. One of the cheapest ways to get spares is to buy another DB30 cheap. It's expensive to buy parts one at a time IMO.

Cheers
 
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