eRider Solid Rear Brake Rotor
Price
(msrp): $84.99
................
Leo's Review
First Impressions:
My
first impression upon opening the package was WOW -
what a quality-looking part. It was round and flat as
it should be, and the edges were all sharp. The erider
disc also has a decorative touch in the form of directional
arrows. These could also serve to lighten the disc some
and reduce rotating mass I suspect, but at a minimum
they give it a trick look. One feature the Erider product
has that other solid rotors I've seen does not is a
sculpted "flower pedal" shape to its outside
circumference. This feature helps clean the muck out
that accumulates between this edge of the rotor and
the caliper as it goes around. Nice touch, Erider.
Installation:
As
expected, Erider's rotor bolted right up to the hub
on my '99 KTM 300EXC where the Enduro Engineering like
part came off. All the holes where in the exact right
place and the stock bolts fit the rotor's recesses.
Installation was a no-brainer. Since the rotor came
without instructions, I just used a torque wrench and
the KTM manual's torque value along with blue Loc Tite.
Erider suggested that I installed new pads of my choice.
Currently the KTM seems to be real happy with EBC MX-S
pads on the EE rotor, so this is what I installed with
the Erider unit.
The
case for a solid rotor:
Why
replace your stock rear rotor? One thing to keep in
mind is when KTM designed the stock rotors, I believe
they made a mistake. The carrier support, or spider,
actually makes contact with the brake pads as part of
the swept area. The spider supports are rather thin
and quickly become grooved from the disproportionate
pressure this smaller area gets. I have seen KTM rotors
that are in otherwise fine shape that need replacement
because the spider cuts are below the minimum spec in
the manual. With the Erider solid rotor, the pads make
contact just with the braking surface (gee, what a concept).
The
other reason riders use solid rotors is extended brake
pad life in wet conditions. Quite simply, the solid
disk has no openings to bring in a fresh supply of abrasive
materials after every mud hole or bog. This is one area
where the solid disk delivers. While I've only done
4 rides with the product in place, one was a 40 mile
wet ride. With my riding style, on a ride like this
it would have been totally normal for me to chew about
half way through a set of rear pads using the stock
rear rotor. Eyeballing the pads before and after the
ride, I saw no appreciable pad wear.
Any
downside?
The
solid rotor probably does not dissipate heat as well
as a slotted one. In the end you may have to pay a little
more attention to your brake fluid, making sure it is
fresh and of high quality. My brakes get a quick bleed
about 2-3 times a year and I've experienced no overheating
problems with a solid disk. Real fast tail draggers,
like Mike Lafferty, often run the solid disk in dry
conditions with no apparent problems. DRN regular gasgasman
is a Ford Master Technician and highly recommends "Ford
High Performance DOT 3" brake fluid. It's available
at your friendly Ford dealer's parts counter. While
labeled a DOT 3 fluid, it actually exceeds the DOT 4
standard and is the fluid of choice of many SCCA drivers.
I'm convinced my brake fluid replacement needs are driven
much more by the local humid climate than the use of
a solid rotor.
Overall
rating:
The
proof in the pudding is in the eating they say, or in
this case in the riding. You know, it is hard to evaluate
a part like this. Perhaps the best way is to say that
if you don't notice it, then it's doing the job well.
That is how I would describe this rotor. I had no idea
that it was back there, and that's a good thing! No
need to adapt my riding style, no real break-in time,
no overheating. Just put it on and go riding. Maybe
if it were an oversized front rotor kit I'd use different
criteria, but for a meat-and-potatoes part like a rear
rotor I guess this is as good as it gets.
Considering
the material, design, fit, performance, and price (currently
only $84.99!), there is no reason this product should
not get a 4.5 out of 5 knobby rating. The only less
than overwhelmingly positive impression I have about
the product has to do with its weight. As shown in Figure
3 above, the Erider rotor carries quite a bit more material
in the spider area than the EE rotor. Not that this
would make a huge difference, but it looks like they
balanced manufacturing costs vs. weight vs. price in
order to come up with a decent compromise. When it comes
off I'll weigh all three - Erider, EE, and stock to
see what the difference is. Unsprung weight does effect
a bike's handling to a much greater degree than sprung
weight. Point worthy of mention? Probably. Significant?
Doubtful.
Thanks
Erider for finding innovative ways to improve the orange
breed.
Contacting
Erider:
www.erider.ws
eRider
9896 Wilson Mills Road
Chardon, Ohio 44024
440-286-6273
ktm413@hotmail.com
Contacting Leo Ahearn:
email
lahearn@houston.rr.com
