I don’t have a lot to add, but if you are going to wipe your brakes down with alcohol, it should be denatured alcohol. Everything else leaves a residue, even if it is slight. But I’m pretty sure you didn’t hurt them by sanding/cleaning them. You probably improved them.
I’m not surprised that the pads glazed after several miles of dragging the rotor. That will generate a tremendous amount of heat. There are probably lots of threads on that subject over on the mtb forums. You might want to try a harder compound on the pads. They will be noisier, but will resist the heat better.
Oops, I used Isopropyl ‘Rubbing’ alcohol. Hopefully that wasn’t a mistake.
I used to have a big jug of denatured alcohol, but used it all and never got more.
Thanks for the input.
If it was pure isopropanol (isopropyl alcohol), then that should be fine - standard industrial solvent (used for cleaning electronic circuits amongst other things). That’s exactly what I would use for the job.
Rubbing alcohol isn’t pure, but sometimes there’s nothing else in it but water.
Therefore I took the Shimano SLX with IceTec. In a bike magazine they hat a test and stated that in endurance tests the sandwich construction rotor drops the temperature about 100°C in comparison to a standard rotor and the pads with cooling fins achieve another minus 50°C.
The fact is, that disc brakes are not made for continous braking …
Not all rotors are created equal, I learned this quickly when I started riding a tandem mtb.
I went through a number of rotors until I found one I liked, its a Hope Floating rotor; not the mini or saw blade.
FYI: The Ice rotors have been known to melt, the center of the “sandwhich” is aluminum which overheats, so be aware of this before dropping the coins.
Tandems are great brake testing grounds 
I was looking at the ice rotors for an eight mile 3500’ decent after…
http://www.whitefaceregion.com/events/whiteface-mountain-uphill-bikerace
What’s the likelihood between a glazed pad or a melted rotor for a light weight 135# rider?
If you’re glazing pads, then the rotor is getting too hot. The only solutions are to change pads or change rotors.
Pads can make a difference, but more in terms of braking quality than in heat resistance. Changing rotors is the best bet for dissipating excess heat, larger rotors or heat shedding rotors.
The ICE rotors work, BUT they work at the expense of overheating the aluminum centers.
All that aside, I have not glazed pads since going to organics, even when I went to smaller rotors, the pads have been glaze free.
Floating rotors seem to cool the best, SS rotor with an aluminum spider.
Just double checking some things.
My LBS calls the Spyre the Spyre Road Disc Brake. This is still the same ol’ Spyre right? http://www.universalcycles.com/shopping/product_details.php?id=61711
Also, the brake lever that UDC spec’d with the Spyre was the Avid Speed Dial 7 correct? That’s what it looks like, but I want to be sure I’m not missing something.
Lastly, can brake housing take any ‘set’ from being coiled up and thrown in a box for a while?
Thanks!
Ok I’ll take a guess and say yes to the Spyre, yes to the Avid, and housing should be fine especially if you let it warm up in the sun.
On another note the 36er is awesome I was able to free mount that day and have gone on a few short rides. I might shorten the Shadow handle a little, when I reach out that far it messes with my mind. 
Thanks Kiefer! 
Yeah, I pretty much figgered that’s what all that stuff was, but like I said, I wanted to hear it from someone else to be sure I wasn’t missing something. :o Remember what I said about being paranoid :)? It’s a curse.
Glad you like the 36er. The nice thing about the Shadow handle, is you can shorten it now, and if in the future you decide to make it longer, a new T doesn’t cost much.
If you really want an interesting ride, flip the T over so your hands are below the saddle. I rode that way for a long time until I started climbing and decided that for that type of riding, I prefer my handle closer to my chest.
Yes, yes, and no.
Anyone has a broken D-Brake they’d be willing to donate for science? I have to get the correct mesurements for the internal disk brake setup for some other frames 
Pm me please!
The TRP pre-recall brake that I was using when my D’Brake broke was damaged beyond just having the pads bent. When the pads bent they bent the caliper, slightly raising a couple sharp edges which sometimes interfered with new pads seating properly. Because of this I checked with TRP and they were nice enough to replace even the slightly damaged pre-recall brake with a post-recall one. I put it on a new D’Brake today (I’m still waiting for my 26" disc tab frame) and found the new brake fit fine on my inboard setup.
The TRP Spyke is now available with 160mm and 180mm rotors. I just ordered one.
I wonder if the width is the same as the post recall Spyre
I have a pre and post recall Spyre so I’ll post back here which I get the Spyke.
I would bet on it being at least as wide as the post recall Spyre. I can’t imagine even the Spyre ever getting back to as narrow as it was. I’d think especially with the Spyke being developed for MTB, it’d be built beefier, and therefore wider, than the Spyre.
However, I have found that using a 180mm rotor will buy you quite a bit more clearance and you wouldn’t have to use rotor shims. I still chose to use the shims, and have very nice clearance around the caliper now.
my Spyke measure 43mm wide where my pre recall Spyre is 40mm. I don’t have my post recall Spyre handy for comparison since it’s at the bike shop waiting on a fat tire unicycle build.
I can’t believe it works with zero q nimbus ventures. Much clearance?