rivers

My gravel bike has hydraulic discs and is the bike I use for bikepacking. I recently did a short trip over Dartmoor, Exmoor, and North Devon in the UK. While not mountainous, it is definitely very hilly- multiple long descents/ day on gradients of 20-25% on both tarmac and gravel/bridleways/fields. I put new brake pads on a few days before I left, and that was that. Had it been a longer trip, I probably would have taken a spare set of brake pads. Bed the pads in properly and don't drag the brakes on long descents and you'll be fine. My hydraulic discs have been trouble free for the 5 or so years I've been using them.