Heaving down a fast Qs trail today. The gate approach and I hit the brakes. But the front brake lever went to the bar! Lots of hanging bum over the back while it fish tailed on full lock and I managed to avoid impact. Phew! Examination showed that material from one of the pads had come off the backing. The backing looked rusty. Clarks pads.
This sort of thing scares me because it’s a catastophic failure.

When’s the last time you inspected them?

catastophic

drama queen 😀

When’s the last time you inspected them?

I inspect mine when I hear the sound of metal on metal 🙂

Three_Fish – Member
When’s the last time you inspected them?

what for – missing friction material ?

I inspect mine when I hear the sound of metal on metal

me too 😳

Having motorbike pads delaminate at 120mph … that’s scary 😉

I just eyeball stuff before putting the bile on the car. There was plenty of pad there. But I know what you are getting at. Brakes are so reliable normally they get ignored until they fail. In this case about 1.5 mm of pad fell off which is why the lever went to the bar

I just eyeball stuff before putting the bike on the car. There was plenty of pad there. But I know what you are getting at. Brakes are so reliable normally they get ignored until they fail. In this case about 1.5 mm of pad fell off which is why the lever went to the bar

Do people really inspect their bikes to that detail before they ride? I just tool around on my bike whilst my mate phaffs around getting his stuff together, and if it seems to work, off we go….

I fear things like this every now and again. Snapped bars, collapsed wheels, failed brakes…

We could make a long list of things that could go wrong – but, if your bike is properly maintained, the likelihood is slim. A tree is far more likely to do you damage than a failed part…

Must have been very scary.

GB

what for – missing friction material ?

That, and anything else that looks like it might be an issue.

Do people really inspect their bikes to that detail before they ride?

No, but I usually inspect my brakes after every ride. That way I can pre-empt any failure and make repairs or replace parts in advance of my next ride. It takes less than five minutes per brake to make a reasonably thorough inspection, and that includes removing/refitting the pads. Brakes are a primary safety component and worthy, in my view, of regular attention.

Had exactly the same happen about a year ago. Not just scary but a PITA to get home with only a back brake. Truly cooked by the time I got home.

Now going to stick with Hope or Goodridge where the pad material has two lobes that go through the backing plate so not just relying on glue to keep them in place

I had the same thing earlier in the year. didn’t cause too much harm as was checking setup after fitting a new fork. brake was a few years old and original pads so not surprising although unexpected.

same thing for me in chatel this year, original avid pads

No, you’re all wrong, this only happens with Superstar pads and is an unforgivable sin that no real pads would ever do 😉

It isn’t nice though. Try it on a motorbike 😯 I was all for burning down carbon lorraine’s factory after that one.