Lifetime of brake pads on a commuter bike

PersonalJesus

Hi there,

Just wondering how often people are changing their brake pads/brakes? From getting a new bike at Christmas, i needed new pads after 6 weeks. Now 6 weeks or so later there is a lot of grinding and uneven sounding friction coming off both brakes. On previous bikes i havdnt changed them anywhere near as often but didnt ride in the winter.


Now my route does have quite a bit of gritty nastiness on it, which i try my best to avoid, but does this kind of wear seem excessive? any tips on making sure they last longer? should i be cleaning them after every ride?

Cheers!

PersonalJesus

Oh and when i changed, i was told to go for a harder compound than the normal fiver a set jobs. ended up being 25 quid for front and rear, although these new ones can just have the rubber pads changed out. not sure on model.

lennymc

are you braking too much? what mileage are you doing? Do you drag brakes going down hill?

PersonalJesus

About 12 miles daily(6 miles each way). Braking what i assume is an appropriate amount, its mostly uninterrupted cycle lane all the way (about 5 of those 6 miles) so only when i get to the small number of junctions etc. Unsure what you mean by dragging going down a hill, do you mean just going down a hill with brakes on the whole time?

lennymc

yes, if you are going downhill, but braking, the brakes have to work against gravity and will wear out quicker. I suppose there are a lot of variables to take into account, but it does seem bad to only get 360 miles out of a set of pads. IMHO.

seamus

That's around 100km a week, in that case I would expect to get at least 5 months out of a pair in wintry conditions.

Grinding and uneven friction doesn't necessarily indicate that your pads are on the way out, it might just mean that you need to clean the braking surfaces and maybe the pads themselves, and maybe tweak the brakes.

To clean the braking surfaces just some warm soapy water and a plastic scouring pad (don't use a metal one like brillo). To sort the pads take a piece of fine sandpaper and remove the glazing on the surface of the pad.

One problem I've seen in the past is getting some tiny stones wedged in the pad, which then continually rub on the rim and create little grooves all the way around. Very rarely happens, but this surface will eat through brake pads and you can't really do anything except replace the rim. Though you'll only notice the problem on one side.

Lumen

I'd be concerned about rim life with that level of pad wear.

PersonalJesus

Cheers gents.

Will add that to the cleaning routine this weekend.

PersonalJesus

The paint has come off the rims already. were a lovely black, now a not so lovely silver.

Lumen

PersonalJesus wrote: »

The paint has come off the rims already. were a lovely black, now a not so lovely silver.

There shouldn't be any paint on the braking surface.

ROK ON

I tend to use KoolStop Salmon - they are good in the wet (spongy).
I go thru several pairs a year.

On one of my bikes I spent over €40 last year on Swiss Stop High Perf Green pads. The pads are still like new - almost no wear and tear at all. No signs of metal shards in the either.

piston

Are there any imperfections on the braking surfaces of the rims? Sometimes on new rims, you get a ridge at the joint in the rim.

Otherwise, fit Sturmey Archer drum brakes and never look at them for another 40 years.

Lumen

piston wrote: »

Otherwise, fit Sturmey Archer drum brakes and never look at them for another 40 years.

Bit dodgy on Alpine descents though.

Yeah, I know this is a commuter bike thread...

PersonalJesus

Im assuming i couldnt fit a rear drum brake with hub gearing?

Lumen

PersonalJesus wrote: »

Im assuming i couldnt fit a rear drum brake with hub gearing?

You'd need to change your hub. Dublin bikes have a brake and gears in the rear hub.

piston

Hub gears with built in drum and back pedal brakes have featured in the Sturmey Archer catalogues since the 1930s, and possibly before.

When I was looking at these things myself a while back, before building another fixed gear bike for winter riding, I was surprised that it's cheaper to buy the modern SA 3 speed hum with a back pedal brake than it is to buy the standard one without the brake.

skerry

When do you know to replace pads? Have Ultegra brakes on my bike and noticed I have to put a bit more effort into pulling the lever to get the same stopping power I used to. Is there a wear indicator or certain amount the pads wear before its recommended they're replaced? Their not gone past the grooves on the pad or anything.

Bicycle Hunter

skerry wrote: »

When do you know to replace pads? Have Ultegra brakes on my bike and noticed I have to put a bit more effort into pulling the lever to get the same stopping power I used to. Is there a wear indicator or certain amount the pads wear before its recommended they're replaced? Their not gone past the grooves on the pad or anything.

When their worn to the point that the groves are gone, if the wait until you can nearly feal the metal you run the risk of scorning your rims. some pads have wear lines but I personaly beleave you can go past most of these lines that manufactures are just ciovering themselfs and also creating sales. If you use the tension screw at the breake leaver (or at the breake if its caliper) as your pads wear you can keep your breakes at the same tension.


To OP, I would like to see your bike as it sounds interesting, if your near rathmines ? PM me if interested and I'll send on address.
(is that okay MODS? No charge like just out of interest)