Does the quality of brake pad affect rim wear?
- Thread starter chris__P
- Start date
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numbnuts
Legendary Member
- Location
- Gone over the hill and far away
I pay only £4 for my brake pads, rear wheel rim lasted 10,000 miles and the front is still going strong after 28,000 + miles, but I suppose it's all down to how many time you use your brakes and the condition of the road, most of my rides are on shity country lanes, and I don't meet a lot of traffic.
Herzog
Swinglish Mountain Goat
- Location
- Bern, Switzerland
Clean the rims and brake pads after each ride during the tour and you'll have no problems!
Cheap pads will not necessarily either enhance or reduce rim wear, but the cleanliness of rim and pad certainly will!
Cheap pads will not necessarily either enhance or reduce rim wear, but the cleanliness of rim and pad certainly will!
Davidc
Guru
- Location
- Somerset UK
The answer is yes, but there are more important factors.
Herzog is right, but I've only ever bothered if the weather or road filth is bad enough to cause a grinding noise. Otherwise it gets done with the weekly checks. numbnuts experience is about the same as mine, and based on age I suspect he's been riding about as long as me.
Steel rims used to last longer than alloy ones do, but half the time the brakes didn't work at all with them!
When touring (don't do much real touring any more though) I've lost a few rims to pot holes and French cobbled streets, never to the walls wearing out from braking.
Herzog is right, but I've only ever bothered if the weather or road filth is bad enough to cause a grinding noise. Otherwise it gets done with the weekly checks. numbnuts experience is about the same as mine, and based on age I suspect he's been riding about as long as me.
Steel rims used to last longer than alloy ones do, but half the time the brakes didn't work at all with them!
When touring (don't do much real touring any more though) I've lost a few rims to pot holes and French cobbled streets, never to the walls wearing out from braking.
Mr Haematocrit
msg me on kik for android
- Location
- Out of the saddle
As stated above yes... some wheel makers only warranty wheels if you have used approved pads
andrew_s
Legendary Member
- Location
- Gloucester
Some pads wear the rims a lot faster than others, but it doesn't seem to depend on price.
Check the pads regularly (even frequently at first). If you always find some grit/glass and you can see bits of shiny metal in them (which was previously on your rim), swap them for a different brand. Picking the bits out is better than not picking them out, but in the end it's easier to swap pads than to keep stopping mid ride to check them.
I found Shimano pads picked up lots of grit and wore the rim out faster than the tyre on the rim wore (front), and that Koolstop rarely got any grit in them and the rim lasted a lot longer (approx 3x the life).
Check the pads regularly (even frequently at first). If you always find some grit/glass and you can see bits of shiny metal in them (which was previously on your rim), swap them for a different brand. Picking the bits out is better than not picking them out, but in the end it's easier to swap pads than to keep stopping mid ride to check them.
I found Shimano pads picked up lots of grit and wore the rim out faster than the tyre on the rim wore (front), and that Koolstop rarely got any grit in them and the rim lasted a lot longer (approx 3x the life).
biggs682
Itching to get back on my bike's
- Location
- Northamptonshire
as stated on earlier reply's more damage is done through grit and dirt so keep an eye on them and clean when required
