Opinions on these pads
Discussion
I have a heavy ish e-bike that is used exclusively for carting my seven year old around on (proper age rated Dutch rear mounted seat)
I probably weigh 13 stone - my daughter probably 3-4 stone
Ysterday on a bike ride I thought the brakes were not so good
I have never had a bike with disks/pads before so I thought I’d start by cleaning the rotors up a bit with brake cleaner - no noticeable difference
This morning I replaced all pads, seems better but really need to test ride with daughter on board
Do these pics tell a story?
Thankyou
I probably weigh 13 stone - my daughter probably 3-4 stone
Ysterday on a bike ride I thought the brakes were not so good
I have never had a bike with disks/pads before so I thought I’d start by cleaning the rotors up a bit with brake cleaner - no noticeable difference
This morning I replaced all pads, seems better but really need to test ride with daughter on board
Do these pics tell a story?
Thankyou
New pads will make a world of difference (assuming you didn't buy the cheapest you could find). However, the new pads will be perfectly flat and the discs won't be, so the pads need to bed in to the disc. No different in principle to car discs and pads.
You should notice a pretty rapid improvement in braking performance over the next couple of rides.
You should notice a pretty rapid improvement in braking performance over the next couple of rides.
Nigel_O said:
New pads will make a world of difference (assuming you didn't buy the cheapest you could find). However, the new pads will be perfectly flat and the discs won't be, so the pads need to bed in to the disc. No different in principle to car discs and pads.
You should notice a pretty rapid improvement in braking performance over the next couple of rides.
Aye - I put in some Aliexpress pads on my Amflow and braking was underwhelming for the 1st ride, then they bedded in properly and I can feel no difference from the previous (branded) pads - they work perfectly. (people on the Amflow FB group think I'm insane - but then they spend 1000's on fancy braking systems , pads and the likes. I suspect it's part of the experience for them).You should notice a pretty rapid improvement in braking performance over the next couple of rides.
OP - your pads look like mine. Slight lip at the top is just where the disc stops and the pad continues.
The pad to the left in the first pic looks glazed. That can happen to metallic pads when they get really hot, the surface effectively bakes hard and there's no more friction to slow you. They'll also typically howl a LOT.
That said, 17 stone combined, even with a heavy bike isn't massive, for context I've only glazed pads when I've used metallic pads for a wet day in the alps, it's dried and I'm doing 20 min runs over and over. More likely they've been contaminated by road film, especially if they're old.
Personally, I only use OE pads or Galfa, but then I've had proper issues with cheap after-market pads with the braking surface and the backing plate separating, huge heat problems, or they've turned to dust in a few hours. I don't have to change them very often so I don't mind paying a few more £ to reassurance.
That said, 17 stone combined, even with a heavy bike isn't massive, for context I've only glazed pads when I've used metallic pads for a wet day in the alps, it's dried and I'm doing 20 min runs over and over. More likely they've been contaminated by road film, especially if they're old.
Personally, I only use OE pads or Galfa, but then I've had proper issues with cheap after-market pads with the braking surface and the backing plate separating, huge heat problems, or they've turned to dust in a few hours. I don't have to change them very often so I don't mind paying a few more £ to reassurance.
P-Jay said:
Personally, I only use OE pads or Galfa, but then I've had proper issues with cheap after-market pads with the braking surface and the backing plate separating, huge heat problems, or they've turned to dust in a few hours. I don't have to change them very often so I don't mind paying a few more £ to reassurance.
So far my Ali's have proven great - and I've done BPW (twice) and FoD on them , plus every Thursday on the Quantocks.Galfa, set of 4 = £25
Aliexpress, set of 20 = £16
"Few £" = £110 difference.
We'll see - if they continue to perform well enough they should last me the lifetime of the bike! :-) If they seperate from the plates, then the lot will go in the bin. I keep a spare pair in my backpack/tool kit, just in case.
Your original pads are fine in terms of wear, you need 1mm of pad material as a minimum.
What can affect them in this weather is contaminants from diesel and oil building up on the road. We haven't had any rain to wash it off for weeks now so it will be pretty bad for contaminating the pads. The next time it rains the roads will be incredibly slippery and the puddles will have a bit of foam on their surface after a tyre has one through it, that's the diesel lifting off the surface. Usually the odd wet day keeps this down to a minimum and the fine particles don't build up enough to get on bike pads but we haven't had it. My commuter is on mechanical discs (very flat route, hardly brake at all) and I had to wipe the disc and pads down last week as they started to leave an oily residue on the discs. A good clean followed by a few hard stops and they're back to normal.
What can affect them in this weather is contaminants from diesel and oil building up on the road. We haven't had any rain to wash it off for weeks now so it will be pretty bad for contaminating the pads. The next time it rains the roads will be incredibly slippery and the puddles will have a bit of foam on their surface after a tyre has one through it, that's the diesel lifting off the surface. Usually the odd wet day keeps this down to a minimum and the fine particles don't build up enough to get on bike pads but we haven't had it. My commuter is on mechanical discs (very flat route, hardly brake at all) and I had to wipe the disc and pads down last week as they started to leave an oily residue on the discs. A good clean followed by a few hard stops and they're back to normal.
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