Disc Brakes and Pads

[Sierratim]

@TS25 I cut and pasted the numbers from Specialized site. Will check again. T8000 must be the break system?? Here is couple of pics. They do look exactly like the picture in your link. Thanks.

As a safety measure the hex head bolt securing the pads and spring has a small retaining clip on the wheel side of the caliper. I pull this clip with equally small needle nose pliers and immediately put it in a magnetic base parts holder to avoid dropping it and having it bounce away.

BTW - Shimano pads and springs are marked for left and right side installation. I couldn't see a difference between the parts, but put them in as marked. The Right side is the bike's drive side. The KOOL STOP pads were not so marked.

 

[Nxkharra]

As a safety measure the hex head bolt securing the pads and spring has a small retaining clip on the wheel side of the caliper. I pull this clip with equally small needle nose pliers and immediately put it in a magnetic base parts holder to avoid dropping it and having it bounce away.

BTW - Shimano pads and springs are marked for left and right side installation. I couldn't see a difference between the parts, but put them in as marked. The Right side is the bike's drive side. The KOOL STOP pads were not so marked.

Thanks @Sierratim

 

[dAz63]

Way done! The left pad looks to be completely gone with signs of scoring from rubbing on the rotor. Is the rotor still usable? How was the stopping power?

Not too bad as long as I left plenty of room to stop, very noisy but.

Here is a pair of new pads against the old pads, interestingly the worst pads were the rear ones, the front pads had about 1/2mm left.

 

[TS25]

T8000 must be the break system??

SHIMANO DEORE-XT T8000 | SHIMANO BIKE-US

To Build Closer Relationships between People, Nature, and Bicycles. We believe in the power of cycling to create a better world as we move forward. We inspire all people to enjoy our products in their everyday lives and where they take them.

bike.shimano.com

So T8000 is the name of the complete Shimano series the brake BR-M8000 belongs to.

If you are looking for brake documentation or spare parts you better use M8000.

 

[Sierratim]

Not too bad as long as I left plenty of room to stop, very noisy but.

Here is a pair of new pads against the old pads, interestingly the worst pads were the rear ones, the front pads had about 1/2mm left.

Nice demo as to why you should inspect your brakes regularly!

In our very hilly area I seeing my front pads wear noticeably faster. My local sons report the same on their MTBs.

 

[Sierratim]

Not too bad as long as I left plenty of room to stop, very noisy but.

Here is a pair of new pads against the old pads, interestingly the worst pads were the rear ones, the front pads had about 1/2mm left.

I believe that 1/2mm is the recommended minimum thickness for the pads? This is just a bit more than the thickness of the pad spring as I recall.

 

[TS25]

I believe that 1/2mm is the recommended minimum thickness for the pads?

That (0,5mm minimum for the brake pads) you can find in the Shimano dealer manual,
and minimum 1,5mm thickness for the disc rotor.

I have cut it out:

And here is a link to the Shimano dealers manual for the BR-M8000. Page 31 f. shows brake pad exchange:

Manuals & Technical Documents

Don't let the pictures disturb you. The BR-M8000 brake pads are replaced from the top.
Shimano pad spacer is Y8J709000.

 

[Nxkharra]

That (0,5mm minimum for the brake pads) you can find in the Shimano dealer manual,
and minimum 1,5mm thickness for the disc rotor.

I have cut it out:

View attachment 50691

And here is a link to the Shimano dealers manual for the BR-M8000. Page 31 f. shows brake pad exchange:

Manuals & Technical Documents

Don't let the pictures disturb you. The BR-M8000 brake pads are replaced from the top.
Shimano pad spacer is Y8J709000.

@TS25 I ordered a pair f break pads and will attempt to change myself. It gives me something to do during these times. I hope I dont mess them up. Please check this to see if I ordered correct ones.

​

Shimano J03A Resin Disc Brake Pads Resin, Aluminum Backed I searched for BR-M8000 there were few kinds to match the number​

 

[Sierratim]

@TS25 I ordered a pair f break pads and will attempt to change myself. It gives me something to do during these times. I hope I dont mess them up. Please check this to see if I ordered correct ones.

Shimano J03A Resin Disc Brake Pads
Resin, Aluminum Backed
I searched for BR-M8000
there were few kinds to match the number

The Shimano J03A resin pads are the heat sink version of the original G03 pads that come stock with the Vado. They will fit your M8000 calipers.

Don't forget to remove each wheel and have some type of piston press/spreader handy.

 

[Nxkharra]

The Shimano J03A resin pads are the heat sink version of the original G03 pads that come stock with the Vado. They will fit your M8000 calipers.

Don't forget to remove each wheel and have some type of piston press/spreader handy.

Thank as always @Sierratim. What is heat sink?
Should I get G03?

 

[steve mercier]

How many miles are you getting on a set of pads? What brand and type of pads?

I've never owned a disc brake equipped bike before my Vado 5 though I have worked on a few with my sons and at the local 'bicycle kitchen'. Nice stopping power, but my pads wear much faster than I'd expected. I got ~500 miles on the first set of pads with the front pads wearing noticeably fatser than the rear. I suppose I was accostomed to the life I get out of the V-brake pads on our mechs. Lighter bikes on more level ground are apparently not good standards to set expectations for disc pads!

Our Vados are equipped with Shimano BR-M8000 calipers and SM-RT76 series rotors. Shimano G03 'organic' pads were originally installed as I recall.

At my sons'suggestion I switched to Shimano metallic/sinthered pads, J04C. The goals were even better stopping power and much longer pad life. I struggled to get them to quit squealing and as I've said in at lesst one other post, noisy brakes suck. I 'bedded' them in (see https://reviews.mtbr.com/how-to-bedding-in-new-disc-brake-pads and

), cleaned rotors and pads several times, lightly sanded the pad surfaces, and even tried the Squeal Out abrasive compound. Nothing really helped, except Squeal Out, but it only worked for a few miles. After reapplying it several times, I gave up after ~60 miles of trying and went back to organic pads, more G03s. Quite brakes rematerialized instantlly.

The 2nd set of organic pads were wearing just as fast as the first set. One theory I read was that since the organic pads don't conduct heat to the rotors well their wear might be accelerated by heat build up caused by braking on our local hills - my typical ride inclides 2,000 - 3,500 feet of climbing. After several hundred more miles of quite braking (and maybe 50% pad wear) I decided to try organic pads with integrated heat sinks. Shimano makes these as well, J03 pads, but I decided to try another brand, KOOL STOP Aero Kool KS-D635K pads.

View attachment 50546

So far, so good. The brakes aren't quite as quiet (did I get the 'e's in all the right spots?). KOOL STOP does claim longer life so maybe the pads are harder. They seem to have the same stopping power as the original Shimano pads. Time will tell if the heat sink improves pad life. I'll report back.

How are your brakes doing?

I really like those Kool Stop finned pads . I like the way they feel.

 

[byunbee]

If you go through pads often, there's an option to buy in bulk.

93.75US $ |25 Pairs / 50 Pairs Original SHIMANO B01S MTB bike bicycle Disc Brake Resin Pads bike accessories|Bicycle Brake| - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

142.86US $ 26% OFF|25 Pairs/50 Pairs Original Shimano G03a G03s Mtb Disc Brake Resin Pads For Br-m9000/m9020/m987/m985/m8000/m785/m7000/m6000/m675 - Bicycle Brake - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

What's the difference between Shimano G035 and G03A?

 

[TS25]

What's the difference between Shimano G035 and G03A?

It's not G035 but G03S.
The difference is the price and the backing material.

Shimano brake pad codes at the end:

A = Aluminium
S = Steel
Ti = Titanium
C = Composite
F = cool ripped

 

[byunbee]

Thanks for the explanation. If I were to buy the bulk pack, I'll probably go with the cheaper option G01S. 50 pairs is too much, 25 is also a lot and probably will last longer than the bike.

 

[TS25]

@TS25 I ordered a pair f break pads and will attempt to change myself. It gives me something to do during these times. I hope I dont mess them up. Please check this to see if I ordered correct ones.

​

Shimano J03A Resin Disc Brake Pads Resin, Aluminum Backed I searched for BR-M8000 there were few kinds to match the number​

These are in the BR-M8000 Shimano line-up so they should fit. Expensive though.
As my brake is a different model I can't add practical experience.

Others from Shimano are: G02S, G02A, G03A, G03S, G04S, G04A, G04Ti, J02A, J04C.
And there are others from other brands.

Did you manage to find out which disc rotor model your Vado has been equipped with?

F.e. @Sierratim posted his is a SM-RT76 but other Vado 5 and 6 with Shimano BR-M8000 caliper have a SM-RT86 rotor.

 

[Sierratim]

Thank as always @Sierratim. What is heat sink?
Should I get G03?

The heat sink feature of the J03A pads includes the pad aluminum backing plate and exposed metal fins. The aluminum conducts heat better than the G03S steel backing plate and the fins help radiate heat from the plate. I'd go with these pads rather than the original G03S pads. The heat sink feature is reported to improve pad life (and reduce brake fade on long downhills).

 

[Sierratim]

If you go through pads often, there's an option to buy in bulk.

93.75US $ |25 Pairs / 50 Pairs Original SHIMANO B01S MTB bike bicycle Disc Brake Resin Pads bike accessories|Bicycle Brake| - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

Are you sure the B01S pads are compatible with M8000 calipers? See https://bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/51083/b01s-brake-pads/51084#51084 .

142.86US $ 26% OFF|25 Pairs/50 Pairs Original Shimano G03a G03s Mtb Disc Brake Resin Pads For Br-m9000/m9020/m987/m985/m8000/m785/m7000/m6000/m675 - Bicycle Brake - AliExpress

Smarter Shopping, Better Living! Aliexpress.com

www.aliexpress.com

I tried ordering Shimano pads through Aliexpress ~2 mos ago. They never shipped, probably due to C19 restrictions. I finally cancelled and went with domestically sourced , but more expensive, pads. It seems that other Asian sourced components are causing supply shortages as well.

 

[Sierratim]

These are in the BR-M8000 Shimano line-up so they should fit. Expensive though.
As my brake is a different model I can't add practical experience.

Others from Shimano are: G02S, G02A, G03A, G03S, G04S, G04A, G04Ti, J02A, J04C.
And there are others from other brands.

Did you manage to find out which disc rotor model your Vado has been equipped with?

F.e. @Sierratim posted his is a SM-RT76 but other Vado 5 and 6 with Shimano BR-M8000 caliper have a SM-RT86 rotor.

Correct. both of our Vado 5's have the SM-RT76 rotors. The Ice tech SM-RT86 rotors appear to have a mid-year change.

 

[Sierratim]

I really like those Kool Stop finned pads . I like the way they feel.

How many miles do you have on your KOOL STOPs?

 

[Nxkharra]

These are in the BR-M8000 Shimano line-up so they should fit. Expensive though.
As my brake is a different model I can't add practical experience.

Others from Shimano are: G02S, G02A, G03A, G03S, G04S, G04A, G04Ti, J02A, J04C.
And there are others from other brands.

Did you manage to find out which disc rotor model your Vado has been equipped with?

F.e. @Sierratim posted his is a SM-RT76 but other Vado 5 and 6 with Shimano BR-M8000 caliper have a SM-RT86 rotor.

@TS25 I checked and they are SM-RT76-M front says 180. Thanks for all your help. I also ordered Park Tool Piston Press recommended by @Sierratim and you.
please let me know if anything else I need to be careful when changing the pads.