hobkirk

When I started riding a modern bike last July I was stunned by how effective the brakes were. 5,000 miles later they don't seem as good, but maybe that's because my expectations have changed? So I will ask.

1) How long do brakes pads last?
2) Does it help to sand or file the face of them every so often?

Thanks

nwbikeman

Replace the pads when the grooves in the pads are gone about 2mm from the holder, or once a year as the rubber gets hard and doesn't grip as well.

jimc101

1 - Depends on how much and in what conditions you use them, use till the pads reach their wear limit or you want to change them
2 - Yes, stops them getting a groove in the pad, and show you if you need to adjust their alignment

FBinNY 

Replace pads when they wear to the base of the tread. You can go longer, but keep an eye on them because as the caliper closes their position on the rim changes.

If you don't wear out the pads, then replace them anyway after 3 years or so because they harden become less effective.

If you look at the pads and they appear glazed over with aluminum, you can use a file or rasp to dress them a but. It's something I've never had to do on my road bike, but for some reason the commuter is different (higher brake pressure on cantis, more stops per mile, more wet weather riding, no long descents, Taiwan vs, French rims? don't know or care, but they are different) and I get more rim to shoe transfer.

In any case brake shoe inserts are relatively cheap, so if you feel they aren't performing up to par, give a new set a shot.

Lawrence08648

I go past those grooves and never have ever replaced brake pads because they've worn out.

I periodically use a file to clean my brake pads of grease, oil, aluminum. I also keep my wheels clean and use lacquer thinner to clean road oils off them and finish with fine steel wool getting the black marks off the rim.

My bike came with Tektro brakes and they stopped fine. I put on Shimano brake pads and the bike stopped much much better. Then after so many positive reviews of Kool Stop salmon brake pads, I installed them. I won't use anything else. The bike stopped so well, when I first had them on, I use to just brake to enjoy the stopping power.

FastJake

Brake pad rant:

Before I knew Shimano pads sucked, I bought a pair for my old Trek. I thought the old pads were just hard with age. Nope. The brand new Ultergra pads suck just as much as the old ones. They feel rough and gritty, even on new rims. I tried sanding them with no luck. I have no-name pads from 1988 on another bike that feel and work better.

Moral of the story: when your pads wear out, replace with Kool Stops. Your rims will thank you.

davidad

I use the shimano DA pads and they work better than most in both wet and dry conditions.

rydabent

The pad material does harden with age and needs to be replaced even if they are not worn down.


When doing maintence when I have the wheels out, I do lightly sand the pads for two reasons. First it get rid of the glaze that reduces braking and second it rids the surface of any imbedded grit that wears the rims.

Metaluna

If brake pads harden with age, does that mean new pads have a shelf life that we have to worry about? Or is it the exposure to heat, moisture, UV, etc. that hardens them, in which case it shouldn't matter how long they've been sitting in the shop.

BCRider

They do harden with age but it takes a few years.

I would not sand the pads. Generally just a hard scrubbing with a coarse rag and a good cleaner such as Fantastic to remove the grunge from the faces is enough. And you'll also want to clean the rim as well. That'll get rid of any road oils or grit that you picked up that may be slightly reducing the performace.

If you were to sand both the rim and the pads then yeah, it would grab with more gusto for a short while. But then the pad and the rim would be again polished to what they are now. It takes maybe a day or two of dry riding or half a wet gritty ride to do this. And in the meantime you wear away the pads and rims to a faster extent than just riding does.

Mostly I think you're just getting used to the added performance and expect it now. What you need is an older classic bike with the old single pivot brakes that you can take out for a ride whenever you find yourself becoming too blase about the new and wonderful technical improvements we enjoy these days....

LesterOfPuppets

I sand mine only when they get glazed. I also inspect for embedded grit and dig it out with a compass point.

I've noticed fewer problems with embedded grit and glazing with Kool Stops over some other pads.

I've also had good luck from Aztec pads.

BCRider

I found the same thing as LOP above. All but one of my rim brake bikes wear Koolstop salmon pads for that reason. And the one that doesn't has some no name black pads that work as nicely as the Koolstops just by chance.

The stock Shimano and Tektro pads are especially nasty things if you're a heavier rider that needs to use greater pressure to achieve a decent braking rate.

secretagent

I still ride (and stop) with the original black pads on my '86 Tourmalet-perhaps they don't make them like they used to?

Hibonite

I have never replaced brake pads unless they have worn away. I still use the originals on my '86 Peugeot Canyon Express with Rollercam brakes. My '98 Campy veloce brakes feel great. I don't buy the harden with age argument unless they are near a supply of ozone.