sjanzeir

Should the (admittedly unlikely) situation arise, how would you deal with cotter pins without a pair of pliers at hand? Would you put up with the inconvenience and added weight of carrying a small pair of pliers for just such a contingency, or would you get creative with a multitool?

Maelochs

Not a thing.

Brake pads do not go out that fast. Maybe, in the unlikely case that you poured oil on them .... and didn't have soap or something ... but really ... why would this ever actually happen? Cables breaking is much more likely ... and if you have hydro discs, are you going to carry a complete bleed kit and fluid? Brake pads just don't suddenly fail.

I have never had to do an emergency pad replacement, and I started riding back when the Sphinx still had a nose. I have run out of spare tubes and patches (that was a terrible day,) I have had to jam my derailleur with the limit screws, I have had the BB seize, limped home with one crank barely bolted on .... never had the pads come off, or break up, or anything like that.

As for carrying tools ... yeah a tiny pair of pliers would weigh almost nothing. However ... what if you drop the clip?

I never go riding without a spare bike strapped to the rack of the spare bike I carry on the rear rack.

Russ Roth

Not certain what cotter pins you're referring to. There's a small pin on some road and mtb cartridge pads, you can push those up from underneath with the flat side of a screwdriver then hook your screwdriver under the top that pops up and it should pop out. Or just buy non-cartridge pads if you have to change them on the road and don't worry about pins. With disc most are now using allen head bolts, I do recall seeing cotters on some but not any time recently, or maybe I haven't been looking at any cheap enough lately, most can be removed by sliding your smallest allen wrench into the head and pulling it out. Can't say though that cotter pins are going to be any kind of significant hurdle.

sjanzeir

downtube42

Small needle-nose pliers. They come in handy for pulling bits of wire out of a tire.

Agreed the best plan is to start a ride with enough pad to finish. Things do happen though; long descent, wet roads, grit. People have carried crazier things.

MarcusT

Small needle nose are not heavy at all, in fact a multi tool weighs much much more. Carry them. I've had pads wear out on me in the middle of a descent and it is not fun

wolfchild

Leatherman, Gerber, SOG make multitools which have pliers. Personally I carry a Leatherman multitool which has pliers and all kinds of other useful tools.

trashbiker

This is the kind of thing that happens so rarely I wouldn't prepare for it and phone in a ride. Brake pads should be checked somewhat regularly as defined by your usage. Even if you never checked, you'd hear the metal backing on metal disc on one brake but still have one working brake to get home. It's pretty rare to have both pads completely wear out on the same ride.

Chuck M 

I will carry patches and a spare tube as flats happen. But I can't imagine my preventive maintenance getting so lax I need to be prepared for brake pad replacement mid ride.

Iride01 

Whether working on cars, airplanes or boats, I don't know how many cotter pins I've been able to get off with just a flat bladed screwdriver to push the ends straight enough to get off. So I'd think I'd be able to do that to the tiny pin in your brakes. My Shimano brakes have clips though. But again, a flat bladed screwdriver can be used to push the clip back.

Although I wouldn't carry it, a small pair of pliers should be no issue for a bike bag. But what about the pads? Do you have a spare set and room for them too?

big john

My mtb brakes look like that and I have thought about dealing with the cotter pin on the trail (for whatever reason). Pretty sure I could straighten it enough to pull it out by pressing on it with the multi tool or even a rock.

staehpj1

It seems like a non issue for most riders in most situations. There could be exceptions like maybe touring in really remote locations where you might be a long ways between support.

I did get caught off gaurd once with a set of canti pads that had metal in the pads where it looked like there was more wear. I was on a multimonth tour, in the mountains, and didn't have spare pads. I feared I might wind up walking descents, but another rider I met did have a spare pair of pads and generously gave them to me. After hat I was more careful about either not wearing pads all the way out on tour ot carrying a spare set. That was with rim brakes. I have not yet toured with discs. I'd think they'd give a bit more warning before becoming completely useless. Also ruining a disc isn't as bad as ruining a rim if you do run them while they are worn out to get to a shop.

I can really only see this being a likely issue when on tour where you might be days from support.

sjanzeir

An "upgrade" I tried earlier was to tap an M4 thread into the outboard hole of one pair of the four MT420 calipers I have and use a Shimano threaded pin (MPN: Y8JZ98010). The added convenience of an Allen wrench aside, the result was Sticky Pad Syndrome on both calipers, which may or may not have been due to a slight misalignment in my own tapping and/or the quality of the hole in the B-type pads (Soocent ceramic pads off of Aliexpress.) Going back to cotter pins took care of that, but I may try and clean the paint out of the holes in the pads and try those threaded pins again.

2old

As stated above, it should be possible to straighten a cotter pin with a multi-tool (or rock); try it at home and learn.I carry a mini-leatherman when far from town since it has a small pliers as well as other items.

sjanzeir

⬆️ I already know how to bend and straighten a cotter pin and I just don't want to do it anymore. I'd been a mechanic in a different life and I've changed out my fair share of Detroit ball joints and tie rod ends. I'm 2 old, too, so there's no need to be a condescending aiyhole about it.

msu2001la

It seems like if you're going to the extreme of carrying a spare set of pads, then you'd already have a small pair of needle nose pliers in your bag.

Also, my Shimano brake pad attachment pin is a flathead screw:


The little safety pin on the back isn't on very tight, could easily be popped off with any part of a multi-tool, and frankly isn't even needed because the piece that holds the pads in place is screwed in. The safety pin is just in case the screw somehow gets loose.

msu2001la

This is a weird response to someone trying to help you solve a weird problem.

Good luck with your quest on figuring out the best way to replace brake pads on the side of the road/trail without tools.

50PlusCycling

Odds are your pads will last longer than you own the bike.

Mtracer

Quick answer to the OP's question. If I felt the need to replace brake pads in the field, I wouldn't. I'd call for a lift.

The only way I could see being concerned about this is if you do bike packing. And even then is seems unlikely. But if I were that concerned, I'd have higher end calipers that used the screw type with the small safety clip (like the GRX caliper shown above). And likely if you were doing big-time cross country touring, you would have a needle nose pliers as part of your tool kit.

For anything other than solo long distance, multi-day riding, I can't see why you would be concerned about brake pads.

Can problems occur? Sure, I've inadvertently contaminated brake pads doing maintenance and been well into the next ride before the problem surfaced. But you can complete a ride on one brake in most cases. I'm a belt and suspenders type, but I've never even thought about taking spare brake pads on a ride.

Bottom line. Anything can fail on the bike. Some are simply so rare that it makes no sense to prepare for it. Also, maintaining the bike is a good way to avoid most failures while riding.

sjanzeir

That actually happened. Which is why I made sure to qualify my original post with the word "unlikely" - which some responders seem to have missed completely.

sjanzeir

Much appreciated - I'd call myself pretty meticulous about bike maintenance; I'm the type that checks tire pressure before every ride, pulls the brake levers a few times before pulling out of the driveway, turns the handlebar both ways a couple of times to make sure the headset doesn't have any issues, and goes all the way up and down the gears at least once before getting to the end of our street. But again, my question wasn't about possible reasons why I might want to change out brake pads midride or whether or not I should do it at all - that's why I wrote "unlikely" in the first line. My question was about ways to handle cotter pins without hurting myself and/or complicating things.

I carry a basic set of tools - including pliers - in the back of my station wagon for the unlikely event that I might need to change out gnition points and a condenser (yes I'm that old school.) But the trunk of my station wagon is big and cavernous and I can afford to spare a few cubic inches for a small toolkit. On any my bikes, though, I normally carry nothing more than a 1.0-1.3-liter saddle bag, which contains a spare tube, a pair of tire levers, a mini-pump, a multitool, and a lock. So you can see how adding a pair of pliers - of any size - might be a concern.

GhostRider62

I am about to install my 4th set on the front and 3rd on the rear. I have ridden about half of what I normally ride. The bike was new in December of 2022. SRAM recommends monthly pad checks.

GhostRider62

I would not go on a long tour without a spare set of pads. Mine only take a small allen key to remove. It is maybe a 20 second job.

sjanzeir

Threaded pins are a great alternative. As I wrote earlier, my MT420 calipers come stock with cotter pins, but carefully tapping an M4 thread into the outboard hole will allow the use of a Shimano OEM threaded pin. I might go that route again if I figure out the sticking pad issue with threaded pins.

MarcusT

Not sure how many here are familiar with the Shimano 400 series disc brakes, but they have the brake pads B01S. They are organic pads that wear out very quickly. Not sure how many here have done 1,500 meter descents on single track

In other words checking pad wear before does not always work. Many times I went out with pads at 1/2 to 3/4 remaining only to be down to the minimum by the end. Shimano has replaced the B01S with the B05S which is supposed to last longer, but I sold the bike before finding out
People have different experiences and conditions. I bring spares and tools because I ride in places where even with friends and family willing to pick me up, would not be able to get near where I am with a vehicle.