mad question: brakes & brake pads

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

quick mad question.

we need to source a new front wheel for my OH's mtb after a couple of steep descents yesterday saw him wear through a set of brake pads. The current pads are the 'all in one' type which neither of us a particularly keen on - simply because of the issue that has just arisen.

The mtb came with the original rear brakes (Shimano alivio) and upgraded front brakes (Shimano Deore possibly M590's). Currenlty both are on 'all in one' and I was wondering if we can take them over to cartridge brakes or if they have to stay as 'all in one' brakes?

thanks

 

[Supersuperleeds]

You should be able to. I changed my hybrid from all in ones to cartridge based and am currently waiting for the bits to try to change the road bike over as well.

 

[Rob3rt]

You can change, I am guessing the next tier or 2 up in the Shimano line come with cartridge holders, just buy some of the carts for those and fit to your lower end brakes. I did just that fitting 105 cartridges to my old Tiagra brakes (which started life with the all in 1 style brake pads).

 

[smokeysmoo]

I did just that fitting 105 cartridges to my old Tiagra brakes (which started life with the all in 1 style brake pads).

Just done the same thing with some Tiagra calipers I bought off accountantpete. They came with new 'stock' pads which I instantly swapped for cartridges with Swissstop green pads

 

[MrJamie]

If you're buying a new front wheel anyway, you could look into upgrading to front disc brakes. I paid something like £60 for a Shimano front wheel with rotor mounts, £45 for Avid BB7 kit, a longer front brake cable and it's pretty easy to install. I'm not sure how much more that is than the wheel/cartridge setup you were thinking of, but I have been very impressed by the performance of discs, especially in the wet and removes any risk of wearing rims like that so maybe worth thinking about.

 

[TheDoctor]

Get something like these ones from CRC - fiver a pair

 

[HovR]

You should have no issues changing to cartridge style brake blocks.

If you're using a mountain bike with rim brakes off road regularly I'd recommend carrying a spare pair of brake blocks with you, especially if you live in an area with gritty soil. In the wet off road it's quite easy to wear down a pair of brake blocks in one ride, especially if it's quite a hilly route.

 

[smokeysmoo]

If you're buying a new front wheel anyway, you could look into upgrading to front disc brakes.

I suspect the OP would also need a disc specific fork to complete this.

 

[Paul.G.]

Not my normal place to buy bike spares but called into go-outdoors a few weeks back and picked up two sets of the pads your looking for with replaceable cartridges. Each set comes with a spare set of replacement pads and only £14 for the lot! Gave them a try on the cross bike but at that price I was not expecting much, how wring I was, excellent pads and intend going back for more for stock, give them a try if you have a store close by.

 

[MrJamie]

I suspect the OP would also need a disc specific fork to complete this.

Ahh, thanks that one slipped past me, I should amend my suggestion to "if you have disc mounts on your fork..."

 

[GlenBen]

Sjscycles have decent prices on brakes/pads. When I was looking to upgrade my v brakes from all in one to carts I was considering the koolstop holders and pads at £14 a pair, due to all the reviews on here. On the end I decided to get a whole new deore lx set, they came with the carts included for a few pounds more than just pads and carts.

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

Asda brake pads are great and so cheap is unbelievable. I used them on my fixies, and had no problems with wear or stopping.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Sjscycles have decent prices on brakes/pads. When I was looking to upgrade my v brakes from all in one to carts I was considering the koolstop holders and pads at £14 a pair, due to all the reviews on here. On the end I decided to get a whole new deore lx set, they came with the carts included for a few pounds more than just pads and carts.

thank you for that idea.

it got me looking at options - if I upgraded his rear brakes, to these http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/shimano-deore-br-m590-v-brake-prod20324/ they would match the front brakes (no major reason other than the fact I know they will fit & the fronts are significantly better than his rears even when not on the bike, just spinning the wheel) and appear to come with cartidge and pads for £17.99.

searching around gives me a complete new set for £22.07 (front, rear & shoes) http://www.bike-discount.de/shop/a1...cr=GBP&cn=gb&gclid=CMKir6LYv7UCFRDKtAod-iIA3A which would deal with the issues of cartirdges much more easily than anything else I have seen. Stock pads may not last long, but we have pads that fit these cartirdges as it is, so that is not an issue - both my road bike, but not his, & our tourers would then take the same tyre pads, just compounds to consider and ironically my road bike is on the same compound that I would take his mtb over to - something good under wet & muddy conditions...

now to sort the wheel out. the one we have won't fit because of the difference in the forks...

 

[GlenBen]

Thats a brilliant price for two sets, wish I'd seen that one. The stock pads arent actually as bad as I'd thought though. I cantbe any help with the wheels though, dont know a great deal about mountain bike wheels.

 

[Graham]

I don't really get it - How did two descents do that to a brake pad? What difference will cartridge pads make? Isn't there something wrong with the rims rather than the brakes? If there is nothing wrong with the rims then isn't it simply a question of getting quality pads, cartridge or otherwise?