Originally Posted by
Chuckles1
Interesting that I got one reply saying change at intervals, another saying ride them as long as they perform well. I lean towards the latter.
Intervals. Sudden loss of braking is quite rare, but catastrophic when it happens. I realize that brakes only slow you down...but, the thing is, most experienced riders slow only when they need to slow, so it stands to reason that you want them to slow you when you apply them. Replacing fluid is quite easy on Shimano systems, and takes all of 30 minutes if you take 5 minutes to set up the work area in advance. It's time well spent. That said, I ride between 16-20k kms per year, across 3 bikes. I go through 1-2 sets of pads per year (winter is gnarly on them), and do a fluid replacement/system bleed whenever I swap the pads.