Brake Pad Wear

[bottomsup]

hi how many miles have you gotten out of your pads? I recently got a a break-in tuneup from a local shop and he told me my brakes were worn and i only had 167 miles on the bike. I do live in a very hilly area

 

[Tars Tarkas]

That's low. I would think you'd really have to be riding your brakes a lot to wear them out that soon -- or the bike shop is being over zealous in its diagnosis. You can look at the pads and tell very easily though, and, I don't know what the markup is for brake pads and installation, but it's hard to believe there's enough money there to risk their reputation by exaggerating the need.

Brake wear is highly personal, it can be all over the place, but you're way off the wrong end of the bell curve if your pads really did need replacing.

TT

 

[PedalUma]

New bikes have resin pads for "demonstration purposes." Pop your own pads in that are multi-metallic and see how that goes. It is like selling bikes with plastic demo pedals.

 

[McCorby]

New bikes have resin pads for "demonstration purposes." Pop your own pads in that are multi-metallic and see how that goes. It is like selling bikes with plastic demo pedals.

Lol, “demonstration purposes”! This is absolutely not true. Organic pads have their advantages and disadvantages, just as semi-metallic pads have their advantages and disadvantages.

 

[PedalUma]

Okay. Resin pads do not have a break in period, or at least not much of one. They do not make much noise and have a soft feel. These are great features to sell a new bike. But not that great for long term riding of an electric bike.

 

[McCorby]

My last set of organic pads lasted over 1500 miles with zero issues. The OP’s pads lasting less than 200 miles is not typical at all.

Bottomsup, did the shop give you your old pads back or at least let you inspect them?

 

[McCorby]

Also PedalUma, organic pads DO need to be broken in to perform optimally.

 

[Sierratim]

hi how many miles have you gotten out of your pads? I recently got a a break-in tuneup from a local shop and he told me my brakes were worn and i only had 167 miles on the bike. I do live in a very hilly area

167 miles is very low, even for very hilly area. I live in what I consider to be a very hilly area where my typical ride involves over 2,000' feet of climbing. 6,000' is my local daily record. Even at that, my first set of resin pads lasted 500 miles; the rear were still OK.

You can use the pads until the pad material is just a 'hair' thicker than the arms of the spreader springs. As others have suggested your shop might be a bit over zealous about this.

I've been tracking my brake pad and rotor wear here since last summer;

Thread 'Disc Brakes and Pads' https://electricbikereview.com/forums/threads/disc-brakes-and-pads.33304/

 

[TS25]

Okay. Resin pads do not have a break in period, or at least not much of one. They do not make much noise and have a soft feel. These are great features to sell a new bike. But not that great for long term riding of an electric bike.

What is your understanding of "long term riding"?
I expect my resin pads to last for 5.000 km. Metallic pads could last even longer but I fear their rust could creep all over my bike.

 

[rich c]

I got 5,300 miles on the original pads on my 2016 Haibike Trekking, and it's a class 3. An advantage of living in the prairies of IL.

 

[bottomsup]

My last set of organic pads lasted over 1500 miles with zero issues. The OP’s pads lasting less than 200 miles is not typical at all.

Bottomsup, did the shop give you your old pads back or at least let you inspect them?

they didn't. I don't think they said it to get more $$ out of me as I paid for a post break in tune-up of ~$80 and he just said I needed new brakes so he put them on. I will add post tune up my bike ran better than when it was new. OOTB shifting was clunky and some gears wouldn't hold. Considering this I would not be surprised if the brakes were improperly installed when new and I had some wear/drag I didn't notice due to the bike being new to me and PAS

 

[Gordon71]

Not too bad so far. A little over 1500 miles on my Rad Rover and the brakes still work fine. However they don't get a lot of use with the exception of downhill on trails. I have adjusted them a few times though. I have a new set I plan to install prior to spring riding so I'll know better then regarding how worn down they are.

 

[Luto]

1500 miles on the sinter (no metal) type. They were Shimano. The replacements were "improved" with 40% more pad. So I think it will be more like 2500 miles now. There is a difference between metallic and no metal. I wonder if the pads were rubbing without being "on" braking.

 

[legsofbeer]

2400 miles on the rears, 2000 miles on the fronts, original radrover pads. I do need to adjust the brakes about every 400 miles, usually just a partial turn on the inner pad adjustment does it. Urban biking with a stop about every 0.5 miles.

 

[razz]

So what are the pros and cons? Debating between the following:

TEKTRO E10.11 - organic resin
TEKTRO P20.11 - metallic\ceramic resin

Wondering if the are much P20.11 and if they eat away the rotor much faster?

Also when purchasing brakes do you need to replace the stainless spring every time? Some brake sets come with it, and some do not.

 

[PedalUma]

So what are the pros and cons? Debating between the following:

TEKTRO E10.11 - organic resin
TEKTRO P20.11 - metallic\ceramic resin

Wondering if the are much P20.11 and if they eat away the rotor much faster?

Also when purchasing brakes do you need to replace the stainless spring every time? Some brake sets come with it, and some do not.

@razz, From my point of view worrying about rotor wear would be like a tennis star worrying about shoe wear. You want to be able to stop. Most bikes come with organic pads because they are quiet and break in almost immediately, which is perfect for selling a new bike with a test ride. Combo-metallic pads last longer and stop better but are also harsher. You can reuse the stainless speeder on mechanical discs but probably not more than a couple of times.