Brake Pad Wear

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Mary
I purchased a "mountain" style bike back in November, and
athough I rode most of the winter but not all, my brakes
pads needed to be replaced. I live in Pittsburgh which is
hilly, and I go up and down about six somewhat steep hills
on my twenty mile ride, I have had other bikes of similar
design, and the brakes lasted at least 18 months. I notice
these brakes are wider than my others, but the pad is not as
thick. I guess it gives me better braking, but less wear.
Are original equipment pads of less quality than replacement
pads? Would it be alright ro replace them with a thicker but
narrower pad?

Thanks

Tom

Depends on what you started with and what kind of brakes you have.
Clearance, wear, effectiveness, and compatibility are all issues.
Look at the choices shown on Sheldon Brown's site to get an idea of what is compatible:
http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/brakeshoes.html
Many "V" brakes have thin pads due to clearance issues.
It will help to know exactly what barnd and model brakes you are talking about.

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

I purchased a "mountain" style bike back in November, and
athough I rode most of the winter but not all, my brakes
pads needed to be replaced. I live in Pittsburgh which is
hilly, and I go up and down about six somewhat steep hills
on my twenty mile ride, I have had other bikes of similar
design, and the brakes lasted at least 18 months. I notice
these brakes are wider than my others, but the pad is not
as thick. I guess it gives me better braking, but less
wear. Are original equipment pads of less quality than
replacement pads? Would it be alright ro replace them with
a thicker but narrower pad?

Were your riding conditions wetter with the new pads than
with the old? Wet riding conditions eats through pads very,
very quickly.
---------------------
Alex

"Alex Rodriguez" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>,

[email hidden]

Quoted message said:

says...

Quoted message said:

I purchased a "mountain" style bike back in November, and
athough I rode most of the winter but not all, my brakes
pads needed to be replaced. I

live

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

in Pittsburgh which is hilly, and I go up and down about
six somewhat steep hills on my twenty mile ride, I have
had other bikes of similar design, and the brakes lasted
at least 18 months. I notice these brakes are wider than
my others, but the pad is not as thick. I guess it gives
me better braking, but less wear. Are original equipment
pads of less quality than replacement pads? Would it be
alright ro replace them with a thicker but narrower pad?

Were your riding conditions wetter with the new pads than
with the old? Wet riding conditions eats through pads
very, very quickly.

Worse, they wear through rims. Soft pads also pick up road
grit in wet weather, accelerating rim wear. Check out
KoolStop salmon colored pads. They use a hard compound that
gives excellent braking, is long wearing, and doesn't pick
up grit. Harris Cyclery has them.

"mary" wrote

Quoted message said:

I purchased a "mountain" style bike back in November, and
athough I rode most of the winter but not all, my brakes
pads needed to be replaced. I

live

Quoted message said:

in Pittsburgh which is hilly, and I go up and down about
six somewhat

steep

Quoted message said:

hills on my twenty mile ride, I have had other bikes of
similar design,

and

Quoted message said:

the brakes lasted at least 18 months. I notice these
brakes are wider than my others, but the pad is not as
thick. I guess it gives me better

braking,

Quoted message said:

but less wear. Are original equipment pads of less
quality than

replacement

Quoted message said:

pads? Would it be alright ro replace them with a thicker
but narrower pad?

Thanks

Tom

Were you riding the previous bikes similar distances, on
similar terrain, in similar weather? As another poster
pointed out, wet slushy weather does wear out brake pads in
a hurry, since the water picks up lots of abrasive grit.

Original equipment pads vary a great deal in quality,
depending on the quality/price of the original bike, and
depending on whether the bike manufacturer wanted to give
you good brakes or just cut a few corners. Replacement pads
vary just as much, depending on how much you, the consumer,
want to pay. Find a good LBS, explain that you want longer
life from your brakes, and see what they recommend.
--
mark

Peter Cole said:

Check out KoolStop salmon colored pads. They use a hard
compound that gives excellent braking, is long wearing,
and doesn't pick up grit. Harris Cyclery has them.

On the down side, they are more prone to brake squeal.
Others have made the same comment so I know my experience
isn't unique.

--
Dave dvt at psu dot edu

In article <[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

Peter Cole said:

Check out KoolStop salmon colored pads. They use a
hard compound that gives excellent braking, is long
wearing, and

doesn't

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

pick up grit. Harris Cyclery has them.

On the down side, they are more prone to brake squeal.
Others have made the same comment so I know my experience
isn't unique.

That's not a bug, it's a feature. It warns others that you
are slowing down so that they don't run into you. 🙂
-------------
Alex

dvt <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Peter Cole said:

Check out KoolStop salmon colored pads. They use a hard
compound that gives excellent braking, is long wearing,
and doesn't pick up grit. Harris Cyclery has them.

On the down side, they are more prone to brake squeal.
Others have made the same comment so I know my experience
isn't unique.

Hi, maybe more prone, but not guarranteed. When I put the
first set on my old road bike with steel wheels, they really
squealled. I picked up a used set of wheels with Mavic MA 40
rims, no squeal. I recently put a set on my LeMond
Tourmalet, it uses the Shimano type refills, and those are
silent too. The wheels are Matrix Auroras. I do like their
stopping abilities, I haven't got enough miles on them, to
comment on wear. Life is Good! Jeff

dvt said:

Peter Cole said:

Check out KoolStop salmon colored pads. They use a hard
compound that gives excellent braking, is long wearing,
and doesn't pick up grit. Harris Cyclery has them.

On the down side, they are more prone to brake squeal.
Others have made the same comment so I know my experience
isn't unique.

In my experience, when Kool-Stop Salmon pads squeal
stubbornly and seemingly can't be adjusted to not do so,
it's the brakes that are at fault. Excessive play on
mounting studs or too much flex anywhere can cause
intractable squealing with good pads. Pads with lower
coefficient of friction (that is to say, lousy ones)
often don't expose the problems with crappy brakes by
making noise.

Chalo Colina

i had a very similar experience that you described

one part of my problem was that one pad was usually in
contact with the rim very lightly, which i figured wouldn't
make a big deal, but it turned out that it did

"mary" <[email hidden]> wrote in message -"]news:[email hidden]-
net.com...

Quoted message said:

I purchased a "mountain" style bike back in November, and
athough I rode most of the winter but not all, my brakes
pads needed to be replaced. I

live

Quoted message said:

in Pittsburgh which is hilly, and I go up and down about
six somewhat

steep

Quoted message said:

hills on my twenty mile ride, I have had other bikes of
similar design,

and

Quoted message said:

the brakes lasted at least 18 months. I notice these
brakes are wider than my others, but the pad is not as
thick. I guess it gives me better

braking,

Quoted message said:

but less wear. Are original equipment pads of less
quality than

replacement

Quoted message said:

pads? Would it be alright ro replace them with a thicker
but narrower pad?

Thanks

Tom

Chalo said:

In my experience, when Kool-Stop Salmon pads squeal
stubbornly and seemingly can't be adjusted to not do so,
it's the brakes that are at fault.

All brake pads squeal at some point, but then they wear in
again and the squealing stops. I haven't found Kool-Stops to
squeal more than any other.

Quoted message said:

Excessive play on mounting studs or too much flex anywhere
can cause intractable squealing with good pads.

This is true, especially with flex.

Quoted message said:

Pads with lower coefficient of friction (that is to say,
lousy ones) often don't expose the problems with crappy
brakes by making noise.

Could be.

Matt O.

"Matt O'Toole" <[email hidden]> wrote;

Quoted message said:

All brake pads squeal at some point, but then they wear in
again and the squealing stops. I haven't found Kool-Stops
to squeal more than any other.

I find that in the most intransigent squealy-brake cases,
what needs to "wear in" is the rim anodizing. Once it's
gone, the noise usually is too.

Chalo Colina

I use plain rubber some times sold under the invicta brand
name they are two dollars and are much kinder to your rims I
ride 12 miles every day and carry a 280 pound total load it
rains here 7 months out of the year. With this setup I can
get a year out of a front rim using mostly front braking.
The worst brake shoes are the cheap plastic ones made by
shimano one reason shimano is so hated by some.