How long should my brake blocks last?

[Piemaster]

Think on the whole I prefer a softer compound and change the pads rather than the rims. It's easier. I only have rim brakes on the road bike which doesn't often go out in the rain anyway and rides tend to be longer affairs on country roads with not much braking involved.
City riding/wet weather cruddy roads I have a disc braked bike. Easy to change pads and much easier/quicker/cheaper to change a disc than a rim.

 

[doughnut]

Certainly, most of the times I've been out in the last few months its been wet and the roads have been very gritty, so maybe I have been sandpapering them down.

I've been using the barrel adjusters as the blocks wear down. When the V grooves in the block are not visible anymore because the block is worn down level with the bottom of the groove, I count that as the block is completely used up. I'm guessing if I go much further then the metal part of the block will show through the rubber which wont help the rim at all .

I think maybe I will spend a bit more on the next replacements (probably Clarks) and see how it goes. And spend more time cleaning the blocks and rims after each ride, rather than just a quick wipe down, especially if the roads are wet/gritty.

Thanks again for all the replies.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

The stock decathlon ones on my old Triban 3 didn't last long at all. Sub 1,000 miles. The same with my husband's Triban 3. I switched mine out for Swisstop GHP2's and got roughly 5,000 miles out of them before they needed replacing.

I've also known my husband to go through a brand new set of brake blocks in less than 20 miles on a technical mountain bike course... On mtb trails we took to carrying a spare set of pads with us for him just in case (until we changed his bike). It just depends on how much braking your route require and what pads you have one!

 

[bpsmith]

The stock Tektro pads on my Defy 2 lasted about 600 miles before the fronts were about gone (they were terrifying in the wet too). Changed to Clarks triple compound jobs which gave much improved braking, and have been on for 2400 miles now. They are about ready to replace.

105 pads on the best bike are nowhere near worn out at 1500 miles (but they aren't as good in the wet as the Clarks)

Totally depends on usage, obviously, but I changed the callipers on my Defy 1 from Tektro to 105 and the pads were nowhere near worn out after 1,500 miles. Everybody rides differently and on different terrain.

 

[Drago]

Still on the original set of Shimano105 blocks on my commuter, and that's a 2011 bike with 5000M on it. I'm a big heavy chap with a couple of steep descents going into work. I think my rims might give out before the blocks

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

No direct experience, but I still have the original blocks on my 1979 Viking (and indeed, they could do with changing.) My 2013 Bianchi is demanding its third set already. The big difference is that the Bianchi does actually stop when I put the brakes on.

Three sets on my Dyna-Tech, since 1994
The originals lasted till about 2010!! (then 2 additional sets , when it was used as a commuter)

I can't remember ever changing brake blocks on my Cannondale, which is almost exclusively ridden in dry conditions.

Winter rides on gritted roads on my Basso grind down brake blocks pretty quickly. New blocks put on in the autumn are looking a bit worn now and will probably need replacing by the spring. (I have to do a lot of braking on steep descents round here so the brakes get a lot of use.)

Rear ones tend to wear quicker, when mudguards are fitted for some reason
Whether it's due to road-filth collecting on the mounts, then dripping down onto the blocks??

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

The thing to really worry about is trying to make the blocks last too long and wearing them out mid-ride, especially if you are going down a steep hill at the time and have no choice but to carry on braking. The expensive sound of a wheel rim being destroyed by a brake cartridge is not a nice one! DAMHIKT!

Ok, I'll give you that!

 

[ColinJ]

Rear ones tend to wear quicker, when mudguards are fitted for some reason
Whether it's due to road-filth collecting on the mounts, then dripping down onto the blocks??

Maybe it is because you use the rear brake more when roads are a bit slippery? (It is very hard to recover from a front wheel sliding out from under you!)

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

No, I still 'front brake' a lot

Even when I was racing CX, I used the front quite a lot

 

[ColinJ]

Oh, do you mean rear wearing more than rear normally do, rather than rear wearing more than front?

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

Rears wear quicker, maybe 50% faster
Then again, it's used in all weathers

 

[steveindenmark]

Jannies Winter bike has been eating them this Winter. But they are cheap ones. I dont think all the salt has helped.

 

[zacklaws]

. (I have to do a lot of braking on steep descents round here so the brakes get a lot of use.)

That statement has made my day Colin, I cannot stop laughing, your about the most fearless descender I have ever seen and leave me in your dust with my brakes jammed hard on praying to myself in terror and I never thought for a second you ever touched your brakes or even had any or do you brake when you go up the accent on the opposite side of the descent to just kill your speed a bit in case you go into orbit when you hit the peak.

 

[zacklaws]

Rears wear quicker, maybe 50% faster
Then again, it's used in all weathers

Unless your not using your fronts much, you will find fronts wear out far quicker than the rear. The front brake has the most braking effect and consequently increased wear. Whenever I change my pads, I always move rear to front and put the new ones on the back to try an enhance the rears braking effect. But some riders do avoid using the front to prevent the wheel grabbing and locking up especcially MB riders on poor surfaces and therefore they will wear the rears out quicker.

My bikes must be different to yours too, as the front gets used as much as the rear regardless of the weather

I track most of the components on my bikes on sporttracks, at the moment my current pads, XLC red/Black have done 3442 miles on my (workhourse) road bike and still plenty of life in them, yet I have just had to replace a cheap temporary set on my X bike after just 816 miles as they were completely worn out, and that was just with road use use too. Untill I started using XLC red/black, I used to be lucky to get a couple of thousand miles out of all the different brands I used.

 

[bpsmith]

Strava users can add all their kit to each bike if they want to keep track. I find it very useful when factoring in early purchases when deals are on, rather than buying literally when needed.