Disc Brake Pads -- Longevity ?

[jqdsffjdsoge]

As subject, really.

I have disc brakes. My first bike ever with them, and she's done about 750 miles since I got her (new), and the brakes are getting a bit iffy.

Is this about a normal rate of wear?

I'm getting the bike serviced tomorrow. Do they need replaced or can they be tightened the same way 'ordinary' caliper brakes are?

Thanks.

[Vorpal]

Different pads have different life. The new pads put in bikes as sold are sometimes pretty cheap, and might not last much longer than yours have. Riding in dirty conditions or very hilly places can also reduce life, as can a damaged disk. If you do need new brake pads, ask the shop about some longer lasting ones, but be aware that the longest lasting ones can be quite noisy.

[jqdsffjdsoge]

Different pads have different life. The new pads put in bikes as sold are sometimes pretty cheap, and might not last much longer than yours have. Riding in dirty conditions or very hilly places can also reduce life, as can a damaged disk. If you do need new brake pads, ask the shop about some longer lasting ones, but be aware that the longest lasting ones can be quite noisy.

Yeah, well I'm used to it! I don't know why this should be, but my bike has always had really noisy brakes. Not squeaky or anything, but a rough, juddering noise under hard braking. I've asked the shop to check them out three times, and each time, they come back the same. So I sort of assumed that it was a case of 'they all do that'.

[Brucey]

As subject, really.

I have disc brakes. My first bike ever with them, and she's done about 750 miles since I got her (new), and the brakes are getting a bit iffy.

Is this about a normal rate of wear?

I'm getting the bike serviced tomorrow. Do they need replaced or can they be tightened the same way 'ordinary' caliper brakes are?

Thanks.

It sounds as if you have not adjusted your brakes, ever.....?

With any mechanical disc brake (you have TRP spyres, right?) you need to adjust the brakes on a regular basis. You need to be able to do this (just like being able to inflate your tyres or work a QR lever), it is essential for your safety, as you will sometimes need to do this mid-ride. It will explain how to do this in the manual that Giant supply with every bike. If you don't have that, you can find this information via the Tektro/TRP website.

If you have not even adjusted the brakes in 750 miles then I'm not surprised that your brakes are not working right! In MTBing you can destroy a set of pads in less than 750 miles but in (presumably fair weather) road use it is somewhat unlikely that you will have worn the pads out, they probably just need adjusting.

The point at which pads need replacing varies with the manufacturer but 'the normal rule' for disc pads of all kinds is that once the lining gets to be the same thickness as the backing plate, it is time to think about new ones. In bicycle brakes if you adhere to the manufacturer's recommendations you will often wear less than half the friction material away before the pads need renewal. If you run them longer than that with some pad types the remaining lining material can detach wholesale, suddenly leaving you with no brake.

All disc brakes make some noise but if the brakes are juddering then there is something wrong; e.g. the discs could be contaminated or distorted in some way. New discs sometimes do that until they are bedded in, but at 750 miles they ought to be bedded in now, so if they are still juddering, I'd suggest new discs might be a cure, maybe under warranty if they have always done that.

cheers

[Psamathe]

My Hayes CX Expert (mechanical) have done nearly 10,000 miles on the original pads. My understanding is that they are "semi-metallic" (organic ?). I'm surprised they have lasted that long and expect to be changing them soon. But I am in East Anglia so maybe not as much hard braking on steep downhill runs as others.

Ian

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
On a bottom end bike with small bottom end pads the front pads lasted just 1000 miles, on off road, I reckon I adjusted the pads at least 10 times, the cable at lever many more times.
Edited - East Anglia...................I found my cycling time there soul destroying if you have been brought up on the coast in devon

[grani]

The original organic pads that came with my Spyres were very quiet but wore out quickly. I tend to favour the rear so the that one wore out in around 2000 miles. I replaced it with Aztec sintered pads and both performance and wear rate improved. The noise did unfortunately increase but it is tolerable.

Adjusting them is essential as Brucey says. It is easy with an Allen key but you have to do it fairly regularly to keep the brakes working well and also to prevent the bolts seizing. I waited too long until adjusting them the first time and they were nearly seized. My bike has a hard commuting life so road salt had started to get into the threads.

[jqdsffjdsoge]

The original organic pads that came with my Spyres were very quiet but wore out quickly. I tend to favour the rear so the that one wore out in around 2000 miles. I replaced it with Aztec sintered pads and both performance and wear rate improved. The noise did unfortunately increase but it is tolerable.

Adjusting them is essential as Brucey says. It is easy with an Allen key but you have to do it fairly regularly to keep the brakes working well and also to prevent the bolts seizing. I waited too long until adjusting them the first time and they were nearly seized. My bike has a hard commuting life so road salt had started to get into the threads.

Just googled for how to adjust disc brakes, and it looks anything but easy..

http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/news/artic ... deo-40573/

[grani]

The main thing is adjusting for wear by moving the pads inwards. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=r8WrWis_JGs

Complete installation and adjustment is of course a bit more involved but once they are set up (as I hope the bike shop did) you should only really worry about wear.

[jqdsffjdsoge]

The main thing is adjusting for wear by moving the pads inwards. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=r8WrWis_JGs

Complete installation and adjustment is of course a bit more involved but once they are set up (as I hope the bike shop did) you should only really worry about wear.

Thanks for that, mate.

[grani]

No worries - just to let you know that the inner bolt can be very difficult to move if you have never adjusted it. I thought I was going to break it when I did it but it came good in the end. I would recommend you remove wheels the first time you do it. After that it should be easy.

[jqdsffjdsoge]

No worries - just to let you know that the inner bolt can be very difficult to move if you have never adjusted it. I thought I was going to break it when I did it but it came good in the end. I would recommend you remove wheels the first time you do it. After that it should be easy.

The first free 'silver' service (I got the bike on the Cycle to Work Scheme) is Tuesday next, so I reckon I'll wait and get them to adjust.

After that, I'll be on the single speed until the Spring, so the Giant isn't going to do that many miles.

One thing I absolutely need to get and soon is a workshop stand. A bit tired of having to flip the bike over every time.

[phil parker]

I used to have a set of Avid BB5's and was quite surprised when they wore out after about 1200 mile, well the front brake did, but they also needed adjusting very regularly, every 3 or 4 days on a touring trip. I replaced them with Avid BB7's, which have a much larger surface area and they lasted almost 300m miles, which I thought was quite acceptable.

There are some good YouTube clips on set up and adjustment and I find it more pertinent with disc brakes than rim brakes and also they require more attention, more often, however, when correctly set up, on my touring bike, they are far superior, especially in the wet. I also expect to replace discs every 3 or 4 pad replacements.

[grani]

Sounds like a good plan to me. Try to make sure they do a good job and adjust both the inner and outer pad. There are other brakes that only require the outer pad to be adjusted so I would not be surprised if that was the assumption made by a mechanic not familiar with the Spyres. Maybe I am just paranoid.

[Psamathe]

I must be doing something wrong. In nearly 10,000 miles (Hayes CX Expert mechanical) I've had them adjusted once (at around 5000 miles). Still seem fine though will probably need adjusting again before too much longer.

Ian