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How can you easily tell when disc brake pads are (nearly) worn? (Presumably not when you can hear metal, grinding metal, I'm guessing?)
There's usually a spring/clip thingy that helps the pads move away from the rotor. Just a little thicker than this and they're due to be replaced,
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Using your eyes?
look at them?
Your right, it was a numpty question
is this another head set style question?
Why is this "numpty" question? This is a mountain biking forum FFS...
To the original poster: if you're worried they're getting thin you may need to take the pads out to make a decent assessment of wear... because they don't always wear evenly (one side of pad could be more worn than the other side). I generally go almost down to the metal before replacing; there's no reason not to.
+1 TP
buy some new ones, leave them in the packet, but compare against the old ones.
(take the wheel out, clean off any muck, have a look)
put the packet of new brake pads in your riding bag, so they'll be there if you need them miles from home.
(they can die suddenly, especially on a wet/muddy ride)
take out and re-fit the old pads, just for a bit of practise.
Keep an eye on them, i know people who bin them when there's still a bit of life left, i know people who carry on riding long after they've started grinding metal on metal. If you're not sure/confident, err on the side of caution.
and ALWAYS cover the disc/calliper with an old T-shirt if you're going to spray oil on the chain.
(STW T-shirts are very good for this; is cos they're black innit)
Hope say change them at half a millimetre. They usually start to be less efficient before they get metal to metal, don't know why, is it the heat? The spring can get worn away and distorted if they're too worn.
Metal to metal isn't too uncommon and I've never seen any lasting damage done (to the brake).
I usually look at the pads with the lever pulled on. If I can still see pad material, fine, if it appears the backing is touching the disc - remind self to fit new ones before next week's ride.
When they get to this stage - I tend to start thinking about replacing them
Dalby - last Saturday 🙂
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dalby - the ultimate brake pad sh@gger...
Why does Dalby 'shag' brake pads?
There are hardly any downhills that require any real braking as far as my memory serves.
I've seen folk panic when pqads are 50% worn. Wear them to the metal and carry spares I say!
When I hear the spring hit the rotor and get mangled is normally when I change them 🙂
Dunno about dalby but a very wet day at llandegla (also not much braking involved) I shredded boths sets of pads - very well bedded in organics
dalby - the ultimate brake pad sh@gger...
'fraid not, Torridon takes that honour. I wore out a set of brakepads on a climb once. The grit up there is savage on components.