Do disc brakes have a life span? Ive possibly never had the same pair long enough to find out (3 years max), but I’ve ordered a new frame and fork (Smuggler and a Pike 😀 ), hoping to salvage as much as I can off my current build. Group, wheels, brakes etc, both 29ers. Current bike is a 2012 Rocky Mountain with Formula brakes, R1 maybe but not sure! Have had some heavy use but generally working well, apart from sometimes the pistons taking a long long to press back in when changing the pads.

So am I probably safe not having to get new brakes?

Cheers!

Is it the ones with 2 rows of little holes? They wear erratically rather than fast, have a look at your pads and see if they’re flat or wobbly. The bit of disc where the holes are wears down faster so you get really uneven pad and disc wear after a while.

If they’re the more solid ones they last for ages. Generally feeling for a step on the edge of the braking surface is a good diagnostic. I replace mine once I can more or less see through them but that’s not good advice 😆

They are these ones (not my exact ones, just found on google)

Yeah, sometimes the pads don’t wear evenly (im guilty of not changing them in time too). More concerned with the life span of the calipers themselves though.

Oh, sorry, they brakes themselves rather than discs? The seals are perishable wear items but pretty durable in a higher end formula like these. Don’t worry about it for as long as they’re reliable, basically, I have a set of 2007 Oros in daily use. Replacements are available but not exactly cheap.

If it’s hard to push the pistons back, that can be the bellows in the lever acting up- it’s supposed to vent out past the bars but if they’re a tight fit, or soft carbon, or just full of gunk you can end up with a little bit of pressure and basically an air spring pushing the pads back. Loosening the lever bolts so the lever is free of the bar just by a hair, might change it.

Loosening the lever bolts so the lever is free of the bar just by a hair, might change it.

That’s why I love this forum, so useful for picking up useful tips.

I have had the same issues with my RX brakes. Next time I’ll try that. Cheers

If it helps, then it’s probably worth giving the whole thing a good clean, maybe even strip the back off the brake- really simple. I’m not totally sure it works with RXs tbh, haven’t had those but I think probably it will.

Oh, sorry, they brakes themselves rather than discs?

Yep. Got some pimpin red rotors from XCracer only 2 months ago! 🙂 .. Quarx or something like that.

Thanks Northwind

My Formula Evoluzione brakes are fully functioning on the original seals.

15 years old.

Rear needs a bleed, not sure I’ve done it this decade.

😀

R1s? They’re my modern replacement brakes. One of the B4SLs they replaced is now in regular service on the uni.