Originally Posted by DerekU2
I use whatever came on the bike. I'm not a fast rider by any means - I usually travel between 10-16MPH. There's a lot of skidding involved when I have to jam on the rear brake! I think I'm pretty good at controlling it though - dating back to my BMX days when I was a kid. I just never knew any better, I guess.
I've been forcing myself to use the front brake more, but it's become immediately evident I need to do some maintenance there. The pads are pretty thin - not from my use -- this is a used bike.
Changing brake pads is one of the simplest DIY jobs on a bike. I am a complete mechanical klutz, but even I managed to change both sets, first time trying, in about an hour. All you need is new pads and an Allen wrench. Of course, the LBS probably doesn't charge much either. It does seem like a pretty good idea to keep them working--especially the front ones.