Brake Pads lifespan

My semi-metallic pads get noisey when they get dirty. I frequently blow them off with the compressor and clean the pads and rotors when I clean the chain, maybe every 250-300 miles. I use alcohol on the rotors and pads to get the organics, then wipe down the pads with acetone to get any hydrocarbons. They're always much quieter after a cleaning!
 
I'm at a point where I'm going to need to replace the pads on my 2020 Rad Rover for the first time. I looked at the Rad site and they want $13 per set. I checked Amazon and found them for just a little more but they include a new spring which I didn't see that included from Rad. I expect overall buying from Amazon would be less due to free shipping. The pads have the same number E10.11 A30.
What does the E10.11 A30 mean on the pad? Is that a size, compound?
 
The E10.11 is a green pad for Tektro.
It's more standard, so I upgraded to P20.11, which is metal ceramic and more high performance.
That said, for everyday use, I don't really feel substantial difference. Maybe it's a little better, but nothing like "wow, this is so much better".

Also, I am not sure about the compound.
My impression was, E10.11 was organic (resin) and P20.11 was metallic (sintered), but when I went on Tektro website, it said they're both resin.

I bought 15 pairs to save money.

There is also A10YS, which I am curious to try.
Did you have to replace your brake rotors yet? Wondering when brake rotors also need replacing. My bike is only at 1500 miles, so have some time.

From an earlier video in this thread, there was a chart of organic, semi-metallic, and metallic. Seems the metallic eat the rotor away the fastest, which would make sense.
 
Also, I am not sure about the compound.
My impression was, E10.11 was organic (resin) and P20.11 was metallic (sintered), but when I went on Tektro website, it said they're both resin.


There is also A10YS, which I am curious to try.
Found this: https://www.tektro.com/upload/Product/F_20170613131999DtkdK8.PDF

E is organic where as the P are metal-ceramic resins. Do you find the metal-ceramic resin louder when braking?

Anyone can confirm is the metal-ceramic resin eats away the rotor much faster?
 
When replacing brakes do you need to replace the metal sprint retainer pin every time or is it optional? See not all brakes come with it.
 
Found this: https://www.tektro.com/upload/Product/F_20170613131999DtkdK8.PDF

E is organic where as the P are metal-ceramic resins. Do you find the metal-ceramic resin louder when braking?

Anyone can confirm is the metal-ceramic resin eats away the rotor much faster?
Organic Resin are usually the cheapest and wear fastest.
Metalic sintered have the greatest stopping force but typically wear rotors faster and are more noisy.
Ceramics are in the middle and have the best heat dissipation... My personal preference.
 
The E10.11 is a green pad for Tektro.
It's more standard, so I upgraded to P20.11, which is metal ceramic and more high performance.
That said, for everyday use, I don't really feel substantial difference. Maybe it's a little better, but nothing like "wow, this is so much better".

Also, I am not sure about the compound.
My impression was, E10.11 was organic (resin) and P20.11 was metallic (sintered), but when I went on Tektro website, it said they're both resin.

I bought 15 pairs to save money.

There is also A10YS, which I am curious to try.
I stay away from metallic brake pads. I find them noisy, and have no perceptional performance improvements. I would rather have a faster wearing pad, than a pad that wears the roasters faster. Just an opinion here!
 
I believe Tektro pads are the same pattern as many Shimano pads. Food for thought.

Brake pads on bikes are very similar in characteristic to car brake pads. So if you are familiar with the grades of those you'll get the same results choosing bike pads. I would skip the concern over what the proprietary numbers and letters mean since they are specific to that one pad manufacturer.

Comfort pads are not going to need a lot of heat to work effectively, and they will wear faster. Race pads will be very noisy for most riders because they need heat to be in the system to come into their own. They will also shed dust a lot more if used at lower (i.e. normal riding) temps. If you are riding in steep hills in town and need to lean on the brakes for a sustained interval on the downslope, thats the time for race pads. Pretty much never anywhere else except singletrack. 'Performance' pads tend to try and be somewhere in the middle on wear, noise and temperature. You just have to experiment to decide which you prefer, and the bike you are riding may dictate a different answer. My Bullitt has a 20" front wheel and a 203mm rotor, which is big. I use the 2-piece blue Comfort pads not the 4-piece ebike or Performance pads to ensure I have tons of modulation and its really difficult to lock up that wheel. Pretty much on every other bike I use the 4-pc Performance formulation. I use either the genuine Magura Perf pad or some Chinese clone pads I discovered are pretty darn good and stupid cheap.

Change your pads when they get down to about 1mm thick.

Typical brake rotors are 1.8mm thick when brand new. Use a caliper to test them. When they get to 1.6mm its time to change them. If you have the Tektro ebike brakes with the thick Type 17 rotors, those suckers are 2.3mm. I have yet to wear a set out, frankly, although I am using them in Magura brakes that ordinarily take 2.0mm rotors that are worn out at 1.8mm. So I have 0.5mm of usable wear on them versus the usual 0.2

A regular bike wanting to upgrade from stock 1.8mm rotors can try going to 2.0mm Magura MDR-C rotors. They should fit and will last a lonnnng time. But at about $38 each they are not cheap. Still, thicker rotors resist warping and just plain last longer.
 
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