Brake Pad wear, surely not??

[Maty]

I bought myself a CUBE Attention, picked it up on 1st October. Since then I have probably done a maximum of 150 miles, split 50/50 between road and off road. Last night I noticed that the front pads were totally down to the metal, the rears werent looking too clever either!

I've been back to the shop today to pick up some new ones, I asked the lad there if this was normal and he replied, "totally normal, I have known people go through a set of pads in 1 off road ride!!". So, is this right???

If so what sort of pads should I be buying, the bike has Shimano BR-M486 brakes, they are mineral oil ones.

[anonymous-user]

at a guess, the brake calipers are not returning to the original central positon and rubbing on the rims wearing them down.

the bloke in the shop was a moron, you simply cannot wear a pair of pads down, if correctly fitted, in a single ride....

[ezi]

Agreed with above, guy in the shop is talking rubbish.

[V8s ONLY]

You can wear pads out in one ride if its wet and gritty.Ive done it and several of my friends have. New pads and wet weather dont mix well.Bike pads seem very much like race pads on cars,they need to go through a few heat cycles to harden them off.So if you can keep em dry and get em hot they last ages,get new ones wet and they turn to mush.

[Maty]

The guy said a 100 off road miles is the equivalent to 1000 on road miles! As above he says the grit/dirt/st just wears the pads down completely.

My brakes weren't rubbing, the wheels span very easily with no resistance. But as soon as I get on the local canal within a mile or 2 you can hear the grit in the gears, in the brakes and just about everywhere so I can see his reasoning to some extent.

I'm buying some different pads, he did tell me what they were made of but I've forgotten! He said they should last longer and although they might squeal a bit when cold they should give better performance? Any idea what he is on about, they are about £16 a set???

[Digga]

pablo said:

you simply cannot wear a pair of pads down, if correctly fitted, in a single ride....

I disagree. Depends how and where you ride chap.

Both me and another mate who ride on the Mammoth Wednesday Night rides on Cannock Chase had this happen. Admittedly neither of us were on brand new pads, but neither were more than a few weeks old. We had very wet weather and were doing lots of downhills; a mix of very fast stuff with big stops as well as technical stuff where you were dragging the brakes most of the descent.

The soil is a sand and gravel bunter on the Chase and, mixed with rain, just grinds pads away in no time. It also makes a horrible graunching noise. We jokingly reckon that when you hear that noise, it's costing you about £1 per mile.

Within three hours our pads were down to metal.

ETA, sintered pads seem to withstand these conditions better than organics. Either way, brand new pads should never really be bedded in on a wet and gritty ride.

Edited by Digga on Wednesday 18th November 15:32

Edited by Digga on Wednesday 18th November 15:34

[Maty]

Digga said:

pablo said:

you simply cannot wear a pair of pads down, if correctly fitted, in a single ride....

I disagree. Depends how and where you ride chap.

Both me and another mate who ride on the Mammoth Wednesday Night rides on Cannock Chase had this happen. Admittedly neither of us were on brand new pads, but neither were more than a few weeks old. We had very wet weather and were doing lots of downhills; a mix of very fast stuff with big stops as well as technical stuff where you were dragging the brakes most of the descent.

The soil is a sand and gravel bunter on the Chase and, mixed with rain, just grinds pads away in no time. It also makes a horrible graunching noise. We jokingly reckon that when you hear that noise, it's costing you about £1 per mile.

Within three hours our pads were down to metal.

ETA, sintered pads seem to withstand these conditions better than organics. Either way, brand new pads should never really be bedded in on a wet and gritty ride.

Edited by Digga on Wednesday 18th November 15:32

Edited by Digga on Wednesday 18th November 15:34

Sounds exactly like my last few rides that Digga, long downhills where your braking loads, wet weather, sandy, gritty paths etc etc so seems feasible that the brakes would wear out!

Sintered, that's what he said! What exactly are they and why do they differ to organic pads?

Also, how should I go about bedding them in properly?

[Digga]

Maty said:

Digga said:

Lots of crap, including "sintered pads seem to withstand these conditions better than organics. Either way, brand new pads should never really be bedded in on a wet and gritty ride."

Sounds exactly like my last few rides that Digga, long downhills where your braking loads, wet weather, sandy, gritty paths etc etc so seems feasible that the brakes would wear out!

Sintered, that's what he said! What exactly are they and why do they differ to organic pads?

Also, how should I go about bedding them in properly?

Sintering is simply a manufacturing process: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sintering

Sintered pads seem to have a slightly harder compound. They possibly lack a bit of 'bite' compared to other pads but seem to last better in abrasive conditions.

The advice I repeatedly receive is that bedding pads in, whichever type, is best done in the dry, simply with a few very 'big' stops. This will seat the pads and scrub-up the braking surfaces and get them 'shaped' to your discs (which may be scored).

Edited by Digga on Wednesday 18th November 16:20

[Rolls]

Agree with Digga - easily done in winter in afan...

[mk1fan]

I've worn through several sets of pads (both disc and rim) in single rides.

It is worth making sure you bed the pads in properly before riding. This is very easy to do and takes about 10-minutes. Just need to do a succession of heavy stops from speed to put the pads through several heat cycles and transfer some material to the rotor. It's also worth splashing the pads down with water between cycles. There is a very long physics explanation for how this bedding in works but I don't think it needs repeating here.

Sintered pads do last longer than organic pads. Both need bedding in.

[pdV6]

mk1fan said:

There is a very long physics explanation for how this bedding in works but I don't think it needs repeating here.

Executive summary: Transfer of pad material to discs allows for chemical adhesion to provide most of the braking effort rather than mechanical abrasion.

[Sarkmeister]

My first set of pads (shimano deore disc brakes) lasted about a year (approx 25 long rides at trail centres) and I'm known for braking far too much. My second set have already run out after only about 10 rides....

I'd be very annoyed if pads only lasted one ride...