Hi everyone.

First off, this past weekend my wife and I (Athena and Clyde, respectively) tackled our first ride of any length that wasn't on a rail trail. We rode approximately 10 miles throughout the Antietam/Sharpsburg battlefield. This was the first time either of us have dealt with hills of any kind. Some were fairly steep. I made it up all of them; my wife walked up a couple towards the end. I was very proud of her for gutting it out for the whole loop.

My first question is, how long should brake pads last?

My second question is, to what degree does the quality of brake pads used determine how much stopping power a bike will have?

Third question, is it normal to have to continually adjust the brake cable length to maintain braking power as your brakes wear out?

Thanks

1) Brake pad wear depends on the conditions that you ride. Wet weather tends to make them wear more by adding moisture and more dust and grit along with more force to get you to stop the bike. Your results will vary depending on the pad and brake style also. V-Brakes see to eat up pads for me quicker than a Road Brake does.

2) There are some aftermarket pads that are WAY better than the Stock parts. Kool Stops have been a great replacement pad for many years, and one that I highly recommend.

3) If you are noticing that your pads are wearing enough that you need to adjust the cable, it may indicate that the pads are dried out or worn out. But even with normal wear, the cable will need adjustment as the pads wear. I would rather see my pads wear than seeing the sidewall of the wheel wear away. Much cheaper to replace the pads than it is the wheels.

Chris

highly recommend the Kool Stops. Have them on all my families bikes. If you don't plan to ride in the rain, don't bother with the salmon color pads, they wear much faster than the dry weather pad. Find them on ebay a lot cheaper on occasion.

The wear on the pads also depends a bit on your ride style. You should see your rear pads go first though.

Hi everyone.

First off, this past weekend my wife and I (Athena and Clyde, respectively) tackled our first ride of any length that wasn't on a rail trail. We rode approximately 10 miles throughout the Antietam/Sharpsburg battlefield. This was the first time either of us have dealt with hills of any kind. Some were fairly steep. I made it up all of them; my wife walked up a couple towards the end. I was very proud of her for gutting it out for the whole loop.

My first question is, how long should brake pads last?

My second question is, to what degree does the quality of brake pads used determine how much stopping power a bike will have?

Third question, is it normal to have to continually adjust the brake cable length to maintain braking power as your brakes wear out?

Thanks

Congrats on the ride!

On my mountain bike the pads have about 900 miles on them, and are getting pretty worn. My roadie has about 650-ish on 'em and they're looking allright. I'd say probably 1,000-ish miles, but heavily depends on your riding style.

A very good amount. When I bought my MTB the shop put on some aftermarket pads without me even asking, but for the life of me I don't know what they are. They stop GOOD, that thing has braking power that seems better than discs. My roadie has the stock Trek pads, and they're not so hot. At 1,000 miles I'll replace both sets with Kool-Stops.

Finally, yes. On both of my bikes I've adjusted the cables to compensate for pad wear. The MTB I've only adjusted once or twice, but the roadie more often.

The wear on the pads also depends a bit on your ride style. You should see your rear pads go first though.

I would expect the front pads to go first, because most of the stopping force is on the front wheel, so if your braking properly, your front pads should go first. You can actually, except for downhill riding, use just the front brake most of the time, so yeah, front pads should go first. I think Sheldon Brown, the patron saint of cycling talks about it on his website.

One thing you can do, is get the cartridge pads, with cartridge pads there is a metal housing that you attach to the brake, then you have a rubber brake cartridge. When you do the brakes, you only replace the cartridge, this is especially useful on V type brakes, where the pad needs to be adjusted in about 15 different directions all at once, since it's the housing that gets adjusted and not the cartridge, putting in a new cartridge is much easier, pull out the pin, pull out the cartridge, pop in a new cartridge, and put the pin back in, without disturbing the settings. You have the bonus in that you can keep a spare set of cartridges in your saddle bag, so if you wreck one, you can just pop in a new set. Kool Stop does make and sell cartridge pads as well.

Semi-related wear and tear question:

Does anyone notice more rapid wear-down on their rims (assuming you have rim brakes) than you think should be appropriate?
I put a Mavic XC-717 on my rear as a replacement for the stock Specialized rim I had worn out, and after only 1300 miles I'm already starting to notice the wear to the machined braking surface. I keep my rims as clean as I can, but commuting in the rainy PNW through the winter means wet roads with traction sand/cinders. Being that I'm carrying more momentum than say, a 150 pound rider, could it be that what I'm seeing is just the normal effect of having to put more pressure on the brakes than someone 100 pounds lighter?

Thanks for the replies.
I stopped in at the bike shop yesterday and picked up new pads. They didn't carry Kool Stops, so I picked up another brand. They are much longer an narrower than the stock pads.

I put them on and everything seems to work. Took a bit to adjust everything. I hope these last longer than the stock pads.

Semi-related wear and tear question:

Does anyone notice more rapid wear-down on their rims (assuming you have rim brakes) than you think should be appropriate?

With you living in the PNW, you have some of the worst conditions for brake pad wear. I see that the Mavic XC-717 is a Mountain wheel so can I make a suggestion? I'd try and go with a Disc Brake next time around if you can. Of course that is dependent if your bike will accept a Disc.

If you can't do this, then try and find a SOFTER Pad. This will increase your pad usage, but will cut down on the wear of the rim. Either you sacrifice the pads or replace the rims sooner. That is the trade off. Kool Stop Salmon colored pads would be my choice for your conditions.

http://www.koolstop.com/brakes/index.php

If you are going to be replacing pads often, then maybe you should also look into the Kool Stop V-Brake Holders. This will allow you to replace pads without having to re-adjust the brakes each and every time. The pads slip in and out in the holder and are secured with a small cotter pin.

I hope this helps.

Chris