Brake Pads Eating My Rim!

Graham100

The rear brakes on my Giant Defy 4 are getting bits of alloy rim(?) embedded in them and having a bad effect on the rim and a terrible noise when used.

Any idea why this is?
Whats the fix?

I think the brakes are Tektro.

StefanP

That doesn't sound good at all. If it is what you said then get some softer compound brake pads perhaps. It could also be grit from the roads though.

declan1

Give the rims a good clean with warm, soapy water and either get new soft brake pads or sand down the current ones to remove any bits of grit or metal stuck in them.

rolf_f

Just keep digging the bits out on a regular basis (sanding won't work as you'll find the lumps go scarily far in - you'd have to sand half the block away to get rid!). I've just got a set of Swiss-stop blacks which hopefully will solve the problem. The alternative is not to go out in this crappy weather so often!

Here's some I prepared earlier!

centimani

Pads off, tip of a stanley knife, and dig out anything shiny or flinty from the pads, then inspect regularly in this kind of weather. There's so much crud out there when its wet, Dont worry too much about digging into the pads, ive always done mine, it doesnt drastically shorten the life of them.

John.T

Fit Koolstop Salmon blocks. Kind on rims and better in the wet than most. Cheaper than Swisstop.

rolf_f

John.T wrote:

Fit Koolstop Salmon blocks. Kind on rims and better in the wet than most. Cheaper than Swisstop.

But only by a couple of quid or so. I went for Swiss-stop because they are more locally sourced and not pink!

Graham100

Thanks for all the advice, thats great.
Followed your advice and cleaned the wheel and brake, removed the pads and dug out metal with a stanley knife.
Need to order suggested pads, do all the pads fit in any cartridge? As I need both I dont want to order bits that dont fit together? The current pads are non cartridge type.

antonyfromoz

I had the same issue with my alloy rims so I bought some Swissstop Green cartridges and found that they did not dig out bits of alloy, stopped me better (cartridge brakes are better than the non-cartridge ones anyway) and did not leave anywhere near as much of the grey gunk on my wheels if I have been riding on wet roads. Overall it was quite a small price to pay for a large improvement! According to what I have read, the Swissstop black ones last a bit longer but do not offer quite the same level of performance. Just check if you do buy a set that they are the ones compatible with your groupset (ie shimano or campag) as they sell different sets IIRC...

rolf_f

Green High Performance: green compound
the rubber mixture of the superlative for all aluminum and ceramic rims. Excellent brake power in dry conditions and unbeatable in rain. Very low pad and rim wear. Compatible with Campagnolo 10-speed brakes

Black Brake Compound: black compound
for less aggressive riding and braking. Very good brake power in dry weather conditions and good performance in wet conditions. Specifically recommended for rims made of soft aluminum material.

Probably the greens are harder and longer lasting though it's hard to really work out which to pick! Green doesn't match the bike though so easy decision! I suspect I may have to review this though if Yorkshire gradients wear the blacks too quickly!