Originally Posted by
Koyote
That's exactly what it means. Most of your braking power is on the front -- so if you're doing it most effectively, your rear pads will last far longer than the front.
Way back when I was doing a lot of group rides, I used to use my rear brake a lot for the very slight speed adjustments that you often need to do in a tight group, where you want to shed a LITTLE speed - more than you lose if you stop pedaling, but not enough to justify grabbing both brakes. Turns out I wore out the rear rim faster than the front.