Originally Posted by
cyccommute
Look at it this way, 200 miles by bicycle is from 10 to 20 hours of operation. In an urban environment that's going to be hundreds of stops. If something isn't working properly until it's been used for that long, you aren't waiting for it to 'break in', you are waiting until you get used to it.
But they do need to be broken in. That's not hokum. It's a fact. It wasn't me though who said that it requires 200 miles, that indeed was an exaggeration, but it's definitely more than the 20-40 stops mentioned in Avid instructions. It usually takes a few days for me, maybe 20-30 miles at most or one long ride. Also, I don't believe many bike shops know how to properly set them up and adjust the pads. I did try once to wear my Avid hydraulic brakes by riding around a parking lot and braking aggressively before going on the trail but I just ended up riding and they were fine by the end of the ride.
The bottom line is that BB7s on my heavy commuter with fat tires will lock my wheels. However, the ability to lock the wheels isn't a defining quality of brakes, modulation is, and I much rather not lock my wheels.