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My enduro bike is rarely ridden, but every time I do I have to replace the pads due to the cursed micro leak. The caliper was replaced last year, but still the same thing with no signs of leaking or loss of pressure at the lever. Meanwhile the three year old front brake soldiers on brilliantly, is there an answer that doesn't involve new brakes?
I would say it's fairly unusual to hear of rarely used, year old Shimano calliper doing that.
When you replaced it, did you replace the hose, or re-use, could it be the banjo seal leaking?
Are you using Shimano fluid - Halfords Bike Hut fluid destroyed my brakes in 2 months, I've used nothing but Shimano since and haven't had an issue in about 4 years. TBH I though that sort of thing was a thing of the past with them.
Are you sure they're contaminated? I think especially with Sintered pads they can go a bit off if left for a while, maybe it's a bit of rust forming on the pad surface, but they clean up in a few pulls.
Pretty sure I used a new hose, but not 100 percent.It's not drastic, just enough for a bit of a howl which may or may not clear with enough descending, I'm using genuine shimano, but did use Halfords in the old caliper.
I get this on 2 brakes. clears up with heat in the brakes - it does need to be a pretty steep - even 2 or three big pulls on a steepish road near me doesn't do it, but a short, arse-over-the-back trail sorts it out in no time.
Or, in the garage before you leave, pop the pads out, get a hot air gun on them and give them a good blast until you can smell them, maybe give the disc a go too if you get a baking tray between the disc and the wheel so you're not blasting the spokes too.
Or buy new brakes.
I keep coming back to the new brakes answer, but that is a whole new can of worms!
To me it sounds like you've lost faith in them, rather than they're actually broken, I'm exactly the same, once I lose faith I expect things not to work and at the first sign of imperfect performance I assume they're broken.
Where brakes are concerned, I think once the trust is broken they need to go. I’d relax that a bit for brakes that had a full range of rebuild items so that a proper fix was possible.
I have faith they will work, albeit under par, it's just a PITA that every time I get the bike out the reverb lever needs a bleed and the rear brake is playing up. Loving my hardtail at the moment and it always just works. There doesn't seem to be a brake on the planet which is universally liked!