1000km, 620 miles, on a set of front pads seems very low to me. Terrible in fact.
Have you ever wondered why its so low?
Interesting.
Remember, I have only ever had one bike with disk brakes, so I never wasted my time "wondering" about pad or disk life....
Also, I had nothing to compare it to!! Nor do bike tests dwell on such things.....not that I read that many either!
My last e-bike's V brakes took more time and money to keep in a good working state, and braked OK, but nothing like my present brakes slow me down!
But assuming that you are right, and the wear on my pads is high, but up to no, I have still not seen any "facts" from anyone here about wear, so its possibly a result of the very cheap pads I buy!
Aso, the pad material area on BB5 sized pads is quite small in comparison to other types of pad.
But its so little money each year, and so little work to change or adjust them, I am not thinking of making any sweeping changes at all, particularly as we have very, very steep and very long hills in our forest, which means minutes at a time braking, or you might easily be touching 60 KMH or more (guessing only!) before very long!
The hills here might be considered mountains in some parts of the UK!!
I once found 40 KMH, on an unmade forest road, unnerving enough, when testing out the speed of my Weimaraner!! (Dog Breed!)
My brakes handle the "workload" for me perfectly, even though they can still get very hot, as the energy must go somewhere, they still work well! I have never experienced the fading that some e-bikers claim to get on long, steep hills....
With brakes, functionality and safety are my primary concerns, and saving 5 UK Pounds a year does not interest me in the slightest! Even 10 x that amount is of no interest either to me.
So I looked around for some facts on e-bike brakes and wear life, but other than many sellers pushing expensive products, there is not that much to see.
But I did find this:-
Q.How long do Shimano brake pads last?
A.Your mileage will vary based on weather, braking habits, pad type, riding style and terrain. But you should normally get 500-700miles from a resin pad, and 1000-1250 miles from a sintered metal pad. The Strathpuffer race ( a 24 hour MTB race in Scotland in January) is famous for grinding down brake pads in one night.
I'm fairly new to mountain biking and I was able to put in around 900 miles on my first set of brake pads on my Giant Anthem X2. At that point they started grinding metal on metal. I went and bough...
bicycles.stackexchange.com
So it appears that I am in the accepted "ballpark" for my pad type and mileage, and remember, my brakes and pads are all no name, and the results above are for Shimano!
Also, there is no discernible wear from my cheap pads on the disk surface, just polishing, and thickness has remained basically the same on a micrometer, which I see as a big plus, though replacing the disks is also a doddle if need be eventually!!
Maybe the longer lasting pads that you use, cause a shorter disk life, have you considered that point? The braking energy must go somewhere!
Here also supports my thoughts rather well, read the first post copied below:-
My front brakes have gotten noisy and the pads look thin (but there wasn't much pad to start with). The measurements are so small and precise that I have no way to check. I have a little over 1000 miles (1600k) on my bike, much of it at higher speeds (because it's an ebike). I don't think I...
electricbikereview.com
My front brakes have gotten noisy and the pads look thin (but there wasn't much pad to start with). The measurements are so small and precise that I have no way to check.
I have a little over 1000 miles (1600k) on my bike, much of it at higher speeds (because it's an ebike). I don't think I use the brakes that much but I'm sure slowing from 45k uses much more brake than regular non-e bike speeds. Is it reasonable to think I'm probably due for new pads?
Is this an easy DIY project? I see lots of youtube videos on how to do the job.
(This is a 16/17 Turbo X with Deore hydraulic disc brakes)
So he has exactly the same wear, at around the same mileage as I get, so my wear, according to these websites, is about the same as others are getting, and mine is at a very low cost!
So why would I even think of changing anything?
So I see no reason to even think about changing, but you apparently get a much longer pad life than I,and probably a far shorter disk life, so its "6 of one and a half a dozen of the other", maybe?
Many thanks for your comments, but for me personally they offered, once I had examined more of the facts online, absolutely no useful infos at all.
But its still a great discussion forum here, with many different viewpoints!
I wish you a great weekend.
Andy
