Disc brake stopping power

[fooferdoggie]

You know, I did not ask at the shop but those seem to be what he had in my repair parts pile. I remember the RED and those initials. He showed me where my wear was relative to those pads. We shall see...

first time I have seen them. from what he told me the fins on the Shimano pads don't do a lot but they sure add to the cost. it makes them easier to change the pads though. plus there is a left and a right so no worry about rotating them.

 

[fooferdoggie]

My results seemed low to me too. My Vado is the SL 5.0, weighing about 33 lbs. I'm around 210. I'm not nearly as comfortable with speed as you seem to be! 28-30mph is about my limit, and that's on a downhill straightway. Turns are much slower. I try "to brake in short progressive bursts," but I confess to riding them and no doubt brake "more per foot" than might be optimal.

My LBS decided which pads I needed, so that's how I ended up with the semi-metallic pads. I'll let you know how it goes, although it will be a while since I'm not a rainy day rider.

ya I am not brave on our tandem and keep it around 25. but mile long descents and 20% grades I bet in a block we could be over 40 mph. my wife would freak out. off road we go slow maybe 10mph with all the twists and turns and such.

 

[mschwett]

My results seemed low to me too. My Vado is the SL 5.0, weighing about 33 lbs. I'm around 210. I'm not nearly as comfortable with speed as you seem to be! 28-30mph is about my limit, and that's on a downhill straightway. Turns are much slower. I try "to brake in short progressive bursts," but I confess to riding them and no doubt brake "more per foot" than might be optimal.

My LBS decided which pads I needed, so that's how I ended up with the semi-metallic pads. (I don't know what type of pads came on the new bike.) I'll let you know how it goes, although it will be a while since I'm not a rainy day rider... and Northern California is finally getting rain.,

not a huge weight difference, but i definitely keep
a higher average speed on descents, which means drag is doing a lot more of the “slowing” than the brakes. don’t take that as incentive to go faster than feels safe, going over on a fast descent is the last thing you want to do!!

 

[John in CA]

don’t take that as incentive to go faster than feels safe, going over on a fast descent is the last thing you want to do!!

Don't worry!! I'm 74 and no longer a thrill-seeker, but thank you for the advice and concern. A woman was killed in Berkeley a couple of weeks ago coming down Claremont Blvd from Grizzly Peak on her bike. Apparently it was a "solo accident," meaning no other bikes, vehicles or pedestrians were involved. The report said she hit a rock. Scary stuff! (mschwett.... I know you are in SF, so I suspect you might know where that happened. Very steep descent.)

 

[Stefan Mikes]

the fronts could have lasted a little longer but wanted then both fresh.

You mean "the rears"? Front pads wear much faster!

I had a funny situation on our mountain rides this year. I and brother were descending on a road that was just totally cracked asphalt. To maintain traction, I had to apply "long progressive bursts". When we eventually stopped at a junction in the valley, I touched the front brake rotor... to burn my fingers!

 

[mschwett]

You mean "the rears"? Front pads wear much faster!

I had a funny situation on our mountain rides this year. I and brother were descending on a road that was just totally cracked asphalt. To maintain traction, I had to apply "long progressive bursts". When we eventually stopped at a junction in the valley, I touched the front brake rotor... to burn my fingers!

front pads wear faster if you know what you’re doing, but as a new cyclist i relied much too heavily on the rears, full of childhood tales of flipping over the bars on a descent…

my braking is more balanced now.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Mschwett: it is not really how you put it.
If both brakes are used at the same time, 70% of the stopping power (and wear) is allocated to the fronts. I do understand you used no front brake in the past. In more normal use, it is sometimes reasonable to swap the pads between the front and rear, especially if it is hard to buy new ones fast.

We are discussing, i.a., the brake pad fast wear in the mountains here. What a surprise. I looked at the front brake pads of my Vado SL, the e-bike that never saw any serious hill. After 3,000 km ridden the pads are as new...

 

[Citycrosser]

I have recently noticed that my aluminum Creo's stopping power pressing the left brake lever seems less effective. Frankly, I'm not a disc brake expert so don't know what to expect. I've probably got a bit under 2,000 miles on the bike. I know I've read that when the pads are wearing or worn, there might be some odd sounds. But I don't notice anything other than the stopping power seems less.

Ideas? I guess I can go out to the infallible Youtube and see what I can discover!

Has the bike been upside down or placed where the caliper is above the reservoir? Perhaps, the system need to be bled after being upside down. This happened to my ebike after a trail side repair to a flat (it wasn't upside down but laying on its side with the reservoir lower than the caliper which apparently allowed air into the system.

 

[fooferdoggie]

Has the bike been upside down or placed where the caliper is above the reservoir? Perhaps, the system need to be bled after being upside down. This happened to my ebike after a trail side repair to a flat (it wasn't upside down but laying on its side with the reservoir lower than the caliper which apparently allowed air into the system.

I had my bike fall ovedr bevause the kickstand broke it landed on the pannier so it was not hard but then the back brake was mushy got a couple of rides then it was gone.

 

[kahn]

Has the bike been upside down or placed where the caliper is above the reservoir? Perhaps, the system need to be bled after being upside down. This happened to my ebike after a trail side repair to a flat (it wasn't upside down but laying on its side with the reservoir lower than the caliper which apparently allowed air into the system.

OKAY, I like it. Yes, I did fix a flat and inverted the bike. Actually, I inverted after the tube was replaced when I had trouble threading the REAR wheel back into the mix of disc brake, derailleur, etc. I've never had this much trouble replacing rear wheels as I do with my Creo. It does not work, it does not work and then suddenly it threads right into place. Other than not inverting the bike, is there a way of recovering the hydraulics? Pumping the brakes or maybe just wishing on a star!!!

I see @Stefan Mikes mentioned his did clear up after use?

 

[Citycrosser]

OKAY, I like it. Yes, I did fix a flat and inverted the bike. Actually, I inverted after the tube was replaced when I had trouble threading the REAR wheel back into the mix of disc brake, derailleur, etc. I've never had this much trouble replacing rear wheels as I do with my Creo. It does not work, it does not work and then suddenly it threads right into place. Other than not inverting the bike, is there a way of recovering the hydraulics? Pumping the brakes or maybe just wishing on a star!!!

I see @Stefan Mikes mentioned his did clear up after use?

My bike needed some other work so I had the LBS bleed the brakes while they had it. That cleared it up for me. Hoping someone chimes in with a better solution as this will most likely happen again...

 

[Stefan Mikes]

OKAY, I like it. Yes, I did fix a flat and inverted the bike. Actually, I inverted after the tube was replaced when I had trouble threading the REAR wheel back into the mix of disc brake, derailleur, etc. I've never had this much trouble replacing rear wheels as I do with my Creo. It does not work, it does not work and then suddenly it threads right into place. Other than not inverting the bike, is there a way of recovering the hydraulics? Pumping the brakes or maybe just wishing on a star!!!

I see @Stefan Mikes mentioned his did clear up after use?

It is not correct to say any bike rotating/inversion leads to the neccesity of bleeding the hydraulic brake lines. For instance, I inverted my Vado SL twice this morning with no adverse effects. Weakened braking action or soft brake lever might occur after inverting the bike if some air had already been in the line. Putting the bike on wheels, a couple of minutes waiting, and pumping the lever normally brings the brake back to life.

Only if there is so much air in the line the braking action does not return, bleeding the brakes is necessary. That does not happen very often though.