375 miles need new brake pads!

Hi all. Sirocco CDL user here. My back pads are worn. Virtually useless now. Normal for the amount of miles?

 

Any hoo. Does anyone have any recommendations on the best pads? Or the best bargain pads?

£2 for a pair.

 

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/clarks-70mm-cantilever-brake-pads/rp-prod35461

Ordered some. Thanks Trex. I did spot them but I didn't know if the low price was an indication of poor quality.

 

Is 375 miles normal for an ebike? Looks like I'll be changing them once a month!

 

Although I am going to get some hydraulic brakes fitted to the front. Going to take them to a bike shop and get a price.

How are your front pads?

They are what normally do the majority of your braking.

Not brilliant to be honest. I'm not sure whether they're just misaligned again or if the pads are wearing.

If the blocks are mis-alingned, the wear won't be even. Blocks wear more quickly if you ride fast or agressively. A few sharp brakes also wear less than continuous braking.

Post a picture of the worn pads, we'll see better why.

Maybe try some better pads, my Tonaro would have a couple of thousand k's on it now and pads have more life left than used, I only have V's on the front and a low powered roller on the rear so the front does most of the braking.

All dry usage but in steep terrain alot of it dusty.

Also alignment should not need constant adjustment, I tweaked mine once in that time due to a barely audible squeak.

But I did spend a bit of time setting them up spot on when I got the bike.

Thanks guys. I'll send photos of rear V's and front discs

Got the new pads through. I'll fit them the weekend. I'm taking the bike into a shop to get some hydraulics fitted on the front. I just cant seem to properly align them. One day theyre fine and the next i have to adjust. Rather than faffing I'm just gonna get some better brakes fitted. I was virtually brake less on the way home yesterday and I didn't feel safe at all.

Well. After taking it in to a bike shop just now they said it is not possible to fit hydraulic brakes to this bike. He said because it has a motor cutoff on the brakes they wouldn't be able to do it. As they wouldn't be able to reconnect it.

 

I mentioned that a couple of people on this forum said it was perfectly possible on this specific bike. And in fact recommended upgrading to hydraulics.

 

Is the guy right or perhaps misinformed??

 

Really put a downer on my day. Can't ride this bike until the brakes are sorted

You only need one brake cutoff so, if there's one on the back brake & you're not intending to upgrade that to hydraulic, you'll be fine.

The shop is covering itself in case of trouble.

Only one cut off req,d usually on rear as front is easiest to convert.

So they can put front hydraulic on and still have the front brake lever cutting out the motor? I'm getting confused!

simplest solution is to replace the front caliper for an Avid BB7 which has about 3 times the stopping power of the Zoom, simply because the pads are 3 times bigger and last 3 times longer. It's a 5 minute job.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Avid-BB7-Mountain-Mechanical-Disc-Brake-Front-Rear-Caliper-HS1-160mm-Rotor-/201188670694

Thanks guys.

 

If it is the case that I can't use both levers as motor cut offs... Perhaps I should invest in some good quality V brakes? As I really am not getting on with the front discs.

 

There seems to be a "wobble" in the wheel. Which is evident when inspecting the rotation of the disc and upon hearing the "rub" when the caliper is too close - which happens once per rotation

the rotor disc is made out of soft steel and will flex easily by pushing gently with your thumb. You can correct any small mis-alignment with thumb pressure. The Avid BB7's pads are much more substantial and much longer lasting, will pay for itself in a few months. The rear Tektro V-brakes are good, you only need to put new blocks on them. Post some pictures so we can see.

Very hard to get photos inside there. This is what I got...

 

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/10/09/39b2f36c4e8cab79039938791c2e03c0.jpghttp://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14/10/09/55900c0f659cdee1d727559504535fc0.jpg

Firstly crE make sure the front wheel is sitting in the drops outs correctly and is secured tightly. If there is still a wobble in the wheel it may need trueing up or is the disc damaged ?

Break sets below should also be good simple to fit bolt on /bolt off (5 mins as Trek sya's), they come already to use primed and no bleeding needed.

To set up bolt on leaving caliper a little loose,apply break lever to allow pads to grip disc tighten caliper then release lever,spin wheel to check for any rubbing and repeat above if needed.

 

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/clarks-exo-skeletal-hydraulic-disc-brake/rp-prod80605

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-altus-m355-disc-brake/rp-prod119956

Right. I've got a nice grip now. No rubbing. Took for a quick spin. And the brakes lock as soon as they get a tight squeeze

Oh. And after the quick spin. They are rubbing again.

Just disconnect the one you want to replace. You only need a cut-off on the back brake.

So they can put front hydraulic on and still have the front brake lever cutting out the motor? I'm getting confused!

Both brakes have switches, right?

Change the front brake to whatever you want, and you still have a switch on the back one, so the motor cuts when you apply the back brake, but not the front one. You never use the front on its own, so it's not a problem.

So breifly you were happy with the adjusted breaks crE ?

It perhaps sounds like one of the caliper pistons isn't releasing and is causing the rubbing.

The last 3 or 4 posts have told you what to do all you need now is to get on and upgrade, do it yourself for free and forget the dealer who siad no.

use a torch to check if the rotor is centralised inside the caliper.

I would do. But if I can't align disc brakes myself what chance do I have to fit and align new brakes?

there is a little knack to it. The gap between the two pads is usually about 3mm wide, the rotor is about 1mm thick, you only have 1mm each side. If the rotor is warped more than 1mm, it will rub against one of the two pads. Move the wheel slowly so you can see where the rotor comes closest to one of the pads. Then roll the wheel back a bit so you can put your thumb where the rotor is warped the most, push it until it flexes about 3-4mm away from the pad, when you release the pressure, the rotor will spring back but would have deformed just a little, that will keep it away from the pad. Repeat until the rotor is well flat. I often keep the rotor a bit nearer to the fixed pad. As when you brake, the actuator will push the moving pad (the outside pad) against the rotor until the rotor is against the fixed pad, with the rotor nearer to the fixed pad, the piston deforms the rotor a bit less. If after a few brakings your rotor rubs against the fixed pad, make sure that the caliper is well bolted to the forks before centralising the rotor again. This is where hydraulic brakes beat cable operated brakes, hydraulic brakes have twin pistons, the rotor is not pushed sidedways and remains true during braking.

Persevere - once you've cracked it, you can do this in a couple of minutes.

Edited October 9, 201411 yr by trex