LifeLine Pro Disc Brake Caliper Alignment Tool

The LifeLine Pro Disc Brake Caliper Alignment Tool is a helpful little thing that makes eliminating rotor rub a bit easier. The tool seems to improve my success rate when aligning, but the lack of a bridge between the two plates can make it hard to get in place.

Brake caliper alignment is one of the hidden joys of disc brakes. The easy method is to loosen the mounting bolts, pull the brake on and then do the bolts back up. Sometimes this works but, whenever I swap wheels just before a ride, it doesn't.

Enter the caliper alignment tools. They're all roughly the same: two thin metal plates that slide in between the disc and the pads. You repeat the process above and as I found, the strike rate for success is a bit better.

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Most alignment tools I've seen use one piece of metal, folded in the middle. The LifeLine tool, however, uses two separate plates that swivel out from the handle. The result looks something like a straight razor.

The issue I have with this design (and the relatively long plates) is that it's quite difficult to push into the tiny gaps either side of the rotor.

Value

Having used Birzman's Clam tool, I find it hard to recommend the LifeLine design. The Clam is cheaper too at £6.99 yet comes as a pack of three, so you can lob one in your toolbox, one in your saddlebag and one in the car – or wherever else is going to be useful.

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The LifeLine version does work once in place, and the length of the plates might be useful if you've got a difficult-to-access caliper, but otherwise it's neither as effective nor as cheap as the competition.

Verdict

Does the job, but it's fiddlier and more awkward than some cheaper designs