Breaking in disk brakes

lukesaddy

i have jut got a new bike with hayes sole single piston disk brakes, how will i know when the pads are broken in?

Big n Daft

Usually when the rotors change colour.

I find that's the best way to tell.

They'll go from shiny steel to a dull brown tint, on the braking surface.

HJ1976

So would you recommend not going down 'steep' windy single track before they are fully bedded in? As I was thinking about taking my new GT (bought last noght ) to dalby this weekend.

lukesaddy

thanks , i'll check the colour, they feel stronger now, i just rode it, and i wouldnt reccomend that lol

Big n Daft

You can use them as they are intended before they are bedded in, just takes a bit more pre planning on braking areas etc.

To be fair, once they have had heat in them a few times, there done. Bedding them in is merely a case of burning the 'glaze' off the face of the pad. A couple of fast quick stops will do that.

They will stop you anyway from brand new, it just lacks a bit of power until bedded in.

Red Panda

I was burning in my new brakes a couple of weeks ago and out of interest I trawled round the different companies advice as to what process each recommends. The Hope guidance sounds like a nightmare - riding with yer brakes on! superb advice if you have pro cycle sprinter's legs ...anyway here's their recommendations and I hope it helps you Lukesaddy.

Magura
New brakes and/or new rotors or brake pads must always be run in by braking at least 30 times from a speed of 30 km/h to achieve the maximum brake power. Take your bike to a safe place to run in the brake.

Hope
Before riding check the correct action of the brake and that braking effort is applied as the lever is pulled. To achieve the maximum braking effort the new brake pads need bedding in. Bed in the pads by riding a short distance with the brake applied. This procedure will achieve good braking performance but will reach its full potential after a few rides.

Avid
It may take anywhere from 20 to 40 complete stops to break in Avid pads. You
may begin to notice an increase in braking power after the first ride. Brake noise
can occur not only during the break-in period but off and on throughout the life
of the brake pads. Noise is dependent upon factors such as brake setup, rider
weight, riding style, braking style, and riding conditions (i.e. dust, soil, moisture,
and contamination of friction surfaces).

Formula
All new brakes, new brake pads and new discs have to bed in. This requires at least 50 applications of the brakes at a speed of 30 Km/h before the brakes reach the maximum performance.
Make sure you are in a zone where there is no road traffic to bed the brakes in.

Hayes
Disc brakes require a special burnish period to achieve maximum braking power. This burnish period will last for about 30-40 stops. During this period some noise may occur.

Shimano
Disc brakes have a burn-in period, and the braking force will gradually increase
as the burn-in period progresses. Make sure that you are aware of any such
increases in braking force when using the brakes during the burn-in period. The
same thing will happen when the brake pads or rotor are replaced.

Anonymous

Big n Daft wrote:

Bedding them in is merely a case of burning the 'glaze' off the face of the pad. A couple of fast quick stops will do that.

No, bedding them in is also a case of wearing the pad face to perfectly match the disc. There will be very slight im-perfections between the two.

If you buy a new disc, with old pads, you'll need to bed them in again, because the imperfections in the new disc won't be the same as the old one.

jimmi07

to clear up any confusion, you bed pads in you burnish disks

you can bed pads in without stopping, just ride along gently dragging the brakes to heat the pads up them allow to cool, doing so hardens the resins in the pad making it much harder wearing.

to burninsh the disk you need to get up to speed and brake quite heavily a number of times, this removes high points etc giving a nice flat surface for the pads to bite on

when they say that hayes brakes need 30/40 decent stops to bed them in they are referring to the burnish period