How many miles does your disc pad last?

M

mvly

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May 25, 2011
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I want to know how many miles does your disc pad last on a typical ebike?

I had to replace mine at 1750 miles. Front was pretty worn out. Rear was ok, but probably will last another 100 miles, so I took the liberty to change both.

My guess is disc pads will wear out faster on ebikes, but I do not know for sure.

Is there any statistics?
 
This entirely depends on how the bike is used, how large the brake pad is, how heavy the bike is with the rider, etc...

For example, I use regen for damn near 100% of my stops. I almost never touch the front brake, which is a 6 pot Gatorbrake with fairly large pads. I would imagine they would last tens of thousands of miles like this, so this kind of information is absolutely worthless without context. Even then, its not much use.

My friends with rim brakes, and no regen, get about 100-200 miles out of a set of pads. Another friend with a super cheap mechanical disc brake with a tiny little pad, might get about 500-1000 miles out of light stops with it.
 
Mountain riding: 1 200 Km front, 3000 Km rear with regen braking. This with performance Gustav M brake pads, endurance pads would likely last twice.

Winter city riding was very hard on pads and calipers (Hayes, Avid) last year, hope to do better this year with Gustav M.
 
approximately 3500miles and still ok...tadpole trike,no regen.. no idea what make.. trike is from performance recumbent made by TW Bents in Taiwan :mrgreen:
 
I have just recently changed brake pads both front and rear
Front were all but gone rears still half there, done near 300km's
Got abused alot, they were stock Hope pads, trying ceramic
Pads atm...brakes are Hope monos front and rear.

KiM
 
A little over 2000 miles on the original set of pads on BB7's on the front. But, like Zomgvtek, I use regen to stop me most of the time. I am glad this post came up because I am going to check them against a new set. I will check w/micrometer to see what % used.
 
I replaced my bb7s after 1900, and I was dragging my feet for a few days :mrgreen:
 
I have about 5K on my Hayes MX4s and think I just did the last adjustment on the rear a few days back. BMC V2 so no regen. Mechanical disks with 203mm rotor upgrade great feel, easy pull for braking though a bit of noise sometimes when they are wet. I will probly need new pads in a bit less than 1K. My normal commuting speed is near 20 MPH total weight near 260#.

Caliper
http://www.universalcycles.com/shopping/product_details.php?id=35102&category=13
Rotor
http://www.universalcycles.com/shopping/product_details.php?id=5018&category=13
Adapter
http://www.universalcycles.com/shopping/product_details.php?id=179&category=13
 
ZOMGVTEK said:
My friends with rim brakes, and no regen, get about 100-200 miles out of a set of pads. Another friend with a super cheap mechanical disc brake with a tiny little pad, might get about 500-1000 miles out of light stops with it.
Click to expand...


Wow. I do a lot of stopping (do complete stops after being warned by a cop for a 10mph yield) and city riding, on v-brakes, with some moderate small hills. I brake a lot, use 95% just front brakes, and only replaced one pad since they were just some mismatched used pads. The other used pad I've had on for over 700 miles is still looking good. I would guess at this rate, I will replace front pads every 1500-2000 miles, riding in lots of stop and go.

I've not ridden in any rain though. Central TX drought!
 
veloman said:
ZOMGVTEK said:
My friends with rim brakes, and no regen, get about 100-200 miles out of a set of pads. Another friend with a super cheap mechanical disc brake with a tiny little pad, might get about 500-1000 miles out of light stops with it.
Click to expand...


Wow. I do a lot of stopping (do complete stops after being warned by a cop for a 10mph yield) and city riding, on v-brakes, with some moderate small hills. I brake a lot, use 95% just front brakes, and only replaced one pad since they were just some mismatched used pads. The other used pad I've had on for over 700 miles is still looking good. I would guess at this rate, I will replace front pads every 1500-2000 miles, riding in lots of stop and go.

I've not ridden in any rain though. Central TX drought!
Click to expand...

Stopping from 50 really trashes pads...

I'd imagine you're going a bit slower than that.
 
Bicycle rotors (220mm) lasted me about 25miles, and a set of pads about 50miles (Hayse stroker-ace).

Now I run motorcycle rotors and pads. They barely shown any signs of wear after loads of abuse.
 
The hayes MX2 on my norco lasted the longest for me, well into 5000 + kms and still pad left.. it's mostly GO on the norco, not much whoa..

the A2B burned a set of Avid BB5's in one season, aprox 1000 kms

the V's on the BMX take a beating, i put yellow ( cant remember the brand now.. ) kool stop i think they are.. the stock block types were gone in a weekend.. but the better V's hold up well..

I like the Avid BB5's, cheap, common, and easy to work on.
 
ZOMGVTEK said:
This entirely depends on how the bike is used, how large the brake pad is, how heavy the bike is with the rider, etc...

For example, I use regen for damn near 100% of my stops. I almost never touch the front brake, which is a 6 pot Gatorbrake with fairly large pads. I would imagine they would last tens of thousands of miles like this, so this kind of information is absolutely worthless without context. Even then, its not much use.

My friends with rim brakes, and no regen, get about 100-200 miles out of a set of pads. Another friend with a super cheap mechanical disc brake with a tiny little pad, might get about 500-1000 miles out of light stops with it.
Click to expand...

100-200 miles? Say what? tell them to get their hads off the brake handle. I'm guess they have short brake life on their cars too. I've used rim brakes for the past 30+ years and get 1000s of miles on a set of pads.

Bob
 
izeman said:
i never use them long enough to wear down. i always have to change them because they start squeeking sooooo loud because they overheated.
so never more than 500km ;)
Click to expand...

A light sanding with a fine sand paper will clean the pads nicely and reduces/eliminates. And watch to be sure the pads are toed in at leading edge and you may want to sand a small angle on the leading edge.

Bob
 
dumbass said:
100-200 miles? Say what? tell them to get their hads off the brake handle. I'm guess they have short brake life on their cars too. I've used rim brakes for the past 30+ years and get 1000s of miles on a set of pads.

Bob
Click to expand...

When the bike is only used for 'recreational' purposes, and goes about 50 MPH, the pads wear extremely rapidly. A single stop from 50 and the pads start smoking. If the bike is used to actually go somewhere, I would imagine you wouldn't need to use the brakes often.
 
There are so many factors that would affect brake wear, that one can't rely on others experience and has to do the math for himself.

Evaluate your need, find a brake set that performs accordingly, then find the best pads for your riding style.

For me, the second part was most difficult, for I had to go through a few calipers to find those that meet my expectations.
Then, finding the best pads for them is only a matter of time, and I don't care so much about the cost of new pads, providing they give me the stopping distance that I need. There are many different pads for my brakes, and I'll try many before making my mind on one. The average 1200 Km they last is 5 weeks of riding. I find it's fair, and will have tried most brands within a year.

They could be overkill for someone with lesser need, or not enough for a heavier rider with a bigger setup.
Braking habits also have a great incidence on brake wear, all other factors being equal.
 
Just measured the pads.

NEW - pad is 2.0mm -
USED w/ 2067 miles pad is .35 avg thick because of uneven wear

Good thing I checked them, it would've been metal to metal soon.
As has been stated, it all depends on how you use them. However, "regen" is certainly going to make them last longer if used properly
 
I use a rear disc brake (Avid BB7, 203mm rotor) on a long wheelbase recumbent.

http://mrbill.homeip.net/albums/power_gold_rush_build/pages/page_83.html

Bike weighs about 280 lbs when loaded-up, and I ride much in hills. After an 80-mile ride with 7000 feet of descending, some of which requires much braking--I don't have regen., I usually have to adjust the pads two clicks on the dial on each side.

If I'm lucky I get about 1000 miles on a pair of pads, whether they be the original equipment or a set of cheap aftermarket replacements like these:

http://bit.ly/vDNwpw

Note, that on this bike I use the rear brake much more than the front due to the rear-biased weight distribution.

My front brake is a Shimano LX V-brake using Koolstop "Salmon" pads. I get about 7000 miles on these. I got about 4000 miles on the same rear V-brake pads before I installed the disc brake.

I switched to the disc because rims hot from braking were causing my rear tire to blow off at inconvenient moments. If it weren't for the blow-off problems, I'd prefer to use rim brakes. The pads last longer, need less frequent adjustment, make less noise in use, have better modulation (with dry rims), and stop the bike better (again, with dry rims) than the disc brake.
 
DSC01489.jpgThe Stealth Bombers and Fighters use Gator brakes. They last long and have great stopping power. I would guess 2000 miles F and 2500 R when used with lots of stops and starts. They seem to be a metal ceramic like a MC brake.

That's the 6 pot size that is stock, there is also a 8 pot but I can do a stoppie on the Bomber as is :)

the 8 pots: http://www.gatorbrake.com/page3.htm

the 6 pots: http://www.gatorbrake.com/page2.htm
 
Slightly off topic....can anyone here recommend a good hydraulic front rotor and disc-set with an IS fitting for the brake? I can only find the Magura Clara with a 180 but I've heard they leak a bit. Thanks.
 
The Mighty Volt said:
Slightly off topic....can anyone here recommend a good hydraulic front rotor and disc-set with an IS fitting for the brake? I can only find the Magura Clara with a 180 but I've heard they leak a bit. Thanks.
Click to expand...
The Clara is for a lightweight bike, I would recommend looking for the Gustav M, Louise FR (Freeride), or the (very rare now) Big Julie Tandem. They can be foud used or new old stock for a fair price, easy to maintain and all spare parts are available. Magura IS adapters are available to mount for 210mm, or 203mm if you prefer to fit an 8in standard disc. That would give you good braking performance, and reliability.

Here's a Gustav M front kit with IS adapter and 210mm disc:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Magura-Gust...Cycling_Parts_Accessories&hash=item53e9d4bf23
 
ZOMGVTEK said:
veloman said:
ZOMGVTEK said:
My friends with rim brakes, and no regen, get about 100-200 miles out of a set of pads. Another friend with a super cheap mechanical disc brake with a tiny little pad, might get about 500-1000 miles out of light stops with it.
Click to expand...


Wow. I do a lot of stopping (do complete stops after being warned by a cop for a 10mph yield) and city riding, on v-brakes, with some moderate small hills. I brake a lot, use 95% just front brakes, and only replaced one pad since they were just some mismatched used pads. The other used pad I've had on for over 700 miles is still looking good. I would guess at this rate, I will replace front pads every 1500-2000 miles, riding in lots of stop and go.

I've not ridden in any rain though. Central TX drought!
Click to expand...

Stopping from 50 really trashes pads...

I'd imagine you're going a bit slower than that.
Click to expand...


I definitely am. Occassionally I'll need to stop hard from 30mph, but most of the time I time it so I don't brake until I'm below 20.

I would want motorcyle brakes if I was stopping from 50mph often.
 
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