Originally Posted by
dsbrantjr
Brakes do not wear as a function of time but of use. Do a little searching and you will find instances of pads wearing during a single muddy race, and of mid-race pad changes. There is a tradeoff between long wear and good stopping ability. Very hard pads will last a long time but need more hand effort. The pads on your bike may have been chosen to show great stopping power at the expense of longevity.
This is a very good point! I wonder if I have cause significant wear with my single ride? It retrospect I was ill-advised to attempt the trail, but without a recce, it's hard to know whether a bad patch is only for a few tens of metres or for kilometres! I got off the trail as soon as I could, once I knew I made the wrong choice. By the time I'd realized it was definitely beyond my ability (or too much for the bike), it was quicker to continue that go back, and I carried my bike over the first of it - definitely a good workaround up the rocks climbs!
John.