New brake pad day

07/03/25 22:57 Filed in: Gear

No matter which disc brake I am using (Shimano, SRAM or Campagnolo) and what sort of bike (road or mountain), there is nothing quite so good for the brake lever 'feel' than a new set of pads. A hydraulic system, in theory, feels the same from the first application of the pads to the rotors as the final one, but the reality is that the lever throw increases with wear on the pads. Brakes feel softer when the pads are thin than when they are new (and thick).
I just replaced front and rear pads on my commuting bike (thin enough that the spring which pushes the pads apart had evidence of contact with the rotor) and the levers went from pretty good to rock solid. If you bleed your brakes with the brake block in between the pistons, you cannot achieve that rock solid feeling with thinner, worn pads. If you do bleed specifically for thin brake pads, you won't be able to put new pads in there when they wear out (without re-bleeding the system).

And because I only had one of each, there are organic and sintered pads in the bike at the moment. I intend to replace the sintered with organic and keep the sintered for the MTB. Honestly, the sintered took a few more stops to bed in but otherwise there has been no difference in use.

Michael Hanslip Coaching

If you want to go faster, you have to pedal harder

New brake pad day