TakingMyTime

I'm new to hydraulic discs. I've read several things here and there stating a wide range of mileage that one gets from their pads. I was just wondering how often you're replacing yours? I know it can be quite dependent on the environment your ride in. I'll be riding in dry weather on flat roads and probably never encounter rain.

Sorry if this is a rather N00b question but I'm starting from ground zero as far a disc experience goes. I guess I was just wondering if I should start to load up on pads when I see a sale on them.

Iride01 

5000 plus and counting. Still on my first set. I bought pads at about 3000 just to be ready.

Wide range of values you are seeing are likely because some people are in areas with high demands for braking and others are in areas where you can just let the hammer down for the entire ride.

I also suspect some ride the brakes more on turns and others are more confident of their line and speed through the turn.

Polaris OBark

Low. Under 1K. I ride lots of hills and abrasive dirt.

delbiker1 

I recently had to put new pads on the front of my Orbea Avant with Shimano mechanical disc brakes. I am estimating at least 6000 miles, max of 8,000. I have a new set for the rear, just have not done it yet. I live in flatland and do a lot of rural, small town riding, so braking is minimum, all pads last a long time.

TakingMyTime

Thanks. I'm nowhere near needing any yet but trying to source different parts being what it is nowadays I thought it would be good just to prepare and have them in my drawer.

WhyFi

I probably go through a set of rear pads once per year, so about 6,000 miles or so. I live in a fairly flattish metro area, so it's a lot of stop & go but not a lot of hard braking for descents or the like.

Koyote

It's sooo dependent on individual circumstances: terrain, weather, riding style, etc. Impossible to make a prediction. As brake pads are still very expensive right now (a holdover from the pandemic-induced supply chain issues), I recommend you just keep an eye on them and purchase spares when you see a decent price.

NoWhammies

Anywhere between 5,000 and 6,000km. But I ride up (and down) a LOT of hills.

TakingMyTime

That's kind of my dilemma right now. I just purchased a 12 speed Di2 bike and would like to slowly put together a drawer of spares i.e. chain, cassette, brake pads etc. I guess the hard part is trying to decide if a 12 speed cassette is going to be $111 like it is now or drop to $80 a year from now.

BTW... thanks for all the replies

Polaris OBark

jaxgtr

4k+ at the moment on the original set. However, I do not have hills or mountains so, I expect to have 6K at a minimum

sshakari

Just changed my brakes at 3.5k miles. Im also curious about how often people change the disk.

vespasianus

I have an MTB with 10+ years of use and I have never changed the rotor. They can last forever.

Drago1010

I have a 2015 road bike with probably 22000+ miles and just changed rotors this year at 1.4mm thickness, (1.5 mm spec min on rotor), I've propbably changed my front brake pad 3-4 times and my rear twice (I mostly use my front brake). I replace the pads by measurement (<1mm).

WhyFi

I swapped one recently, a Shimano IceTech, Ultegra-level, 160mm jobber. I think that it had about 16,000 - 18,000 miles on it. This was, again, on the rear, which I tend to wear out more quickly than the front.

Koyote

Just goes to show the individual nature of it. I just replaced the front rotor on my gravel bike after 10k miles -- it was measuring less than 1.5mm thick with my caliper. Rear rotor is still at 1.6mm or so.

Polaris OBark

I tend to go through rotors about once a year or so. I find the center-lock ones (which also have better cooling fins) seem to last longer.

sshakari

wonder if you sand them down every so often? Just replaced both front and back as my rear had deep grooves in it from lack of care and worn-out back brakes.
Also, changed the front caliper as I was too frustrated with its performance of it and sticky pistons - no matter what I did. Was very frustrated with it and decided to just get a new one. Only realized that there is a rebuild kit for them and its quite easy to rebuild them. Truth be told, I also snapped a mounting bolt on it with my f***up torque wrench. Lots of lessons were learned in this work.

WhyFi

Definitely. Braking habits, topography, community - lots of reasons for mileage to vary.

I've never sanded down my rotors, though I've sanded down my pads once in a while, when they've been contaminated.

Bob Ross

One of the most amusing posts I ever saw on my cycle club's message board came from a member who -- in all seriousness -- wrote "I prefer to ride solo rather than in groups because that way I get more life out of my brake pads."

Polaris OBark

I tried it. I had a new rotor damaged by a pad that was beyond end-of-life (kid was on the bike, we were in an active wildfire zone, and no time and nowhere to stop and deal with the problem). I wanted to see if I could salvage it, as it looked a bit pitted but otherwise ok. It only made it worse.

sean.hwy

Still good? Having trouble finding replacement GRX brake pads for the gravel bike. I am so used to auto brake pads. These bike pads look done to me but they are not to what I assume is the warning track.

WhyFi

In general, if the spring clip isn't rubbing the rotor, I'm fine with it, but Shimano does have a min thickness spec out there - should be easy enough to find.

Shimano pads were nowhere to be found (other than price-gougers) earlier in the year and I wouldn't be surprised if that was still the case. I was in dire need and ended up going with some compatible pads from Kool Stop.

sean.hwy

thanks

bampilot06

I’m at 10,000 miles currently on the original set of pads.