Brake disc upgrade.

[Blew it]

It may be a harder pad is needed, pads are usually available as follows:

ORGANIC: Soft pad, quicker to bed in, but a fairly short life.
SINTERED: Harder pad, takes a while to fully bed in but longer lasting.
CERAMIC: Very hard, generally used in high demand competition applications such as downhill racing.

How long the pads will last depends on many things, but generally those small 17-22 mm diameter pads fitted to entry level brakes will have a much shorter life than the comparatively huge surface area of the Avid BB7's.

 

[Scottyf]

Thanks for the quick update. I always used to use Sintered on my motorbikes. They seemed to sometimes lack a bit of feel though.
Might be a little different on the cable brakes.

Will try some although I think I am only meant to use Organic on the disks supplied.

They get Hot quick though!

 

[GSol]

Interesting... also now that I am looking, there are G3 and G2 rotors available. I have narrowed my choices to this set... Front and Rear Avid BB7 with G3 Rotors

Not sure which pads come with it as standard. I am guessing the organic? Is there a way of telling once I receive them?

I'm hoping the fitment to the rear is not too difficult. I think from looking around that the price for what your get is quite good.

Is the biggest benefit with bigger discs the heat dissipation? If that is the case, I am ok with 160mm, I am not too aggressive on the brakes repeatedly.

 

[flecc]

Larger diameter is more powerful for a given application pressure, more distance from spindle to pad gives greater leverage. There's no heat dissipation benefit since the higher pad to disc linear speed friction cancels the heat loss of the greater area.
.

 

[Blew it]

Avid BB7's are supplied with sintered pads as standard.

A good selection of different compounds can be purchased from one of the best after-market manufacturers, and they sell them in packs of four, complete with new anti-rattle springs.

DISCOBRAKES

 

[GSol]

Larger diameter is more powerful for a given application pressure, more distance from spindle to pad gives greater leverage. There's no heat dissipation benefit since the higher pad to disc linear speed friction cancels the heat loss of the greater area.
.

Ahaaa! That makes sense... I should've worked that one out... longer moment arm and thus greater mechanical advantage. All the old physics lessons had some relevance after all hehehe...

And Blew It, thanks for the info, I'll keep them in mind for replacements...

 

[Scottyf]

Excellent link on disco brakes. Think I'll order up 4 pairs right away!

 

[Scottyf]

Got my 4 sets of sintered pads.
Fast delivery and much cheaper than evans cycles where one set cost £10.

Not sure I'm full on board with the sintered. They grip well in both wet and dry situations but are not as powerful as the organic standard sets. They also don't seem to come alive until they heat up. Still there cheap at about £5 a set if you buy 4 pairs. I think next time I'll opt for the cheaper organic ones that wear faster but offer better bite at lower heating points.

Don't get me wrong I can still throw the bike over myself from hard braking but until the pads warm up I don't get the same brake power.

Still great site and very good value for money. Will be using again.