How to Tell When Your Brake Pads Are Worn (And When to Replace Them)

You're halfway down Expresso and your lever is pulling to the bar. That sinking feeling? Your pads are toast. We hear this from customers all the time. It doesn't have to be a surprise. Here's how to catch worn pads before the trail does it for you.

The Quick Check (No Tools, 30 Seconds)

Pop your wheel out and look at the pads in the caliper. That's it. You're looking at the friction material sitting on top of the metal backing plate. If that friction material is thinner than about the thickness of a business card, you're overdue.

You can also peek through the caliper slot without pulling the wheel. Grab your phone flashlight, look in from the top. Same thing, here you're looking for more than 1mm worth of pad material left. If it's close to that or at that, time to change.

Five Things That Tell You Before You Even Look

1. Your lever is creeping toward the bar

This is the one most riders notice first. You haven't touched your brakes in weeks, nothing's leaking, but your lever pull is gradually getting longer. That's not air in the system. It's the pistons pushing further out to compensate for thinner pads. Once the lever hits the grip, you're done.

2. The squeal that won't quit

Some brake noise is normal. Wet morning on the Shore? Everything squeals for the first few minutes. But if the screaming doesn't stop after the pads dry out, that's usually the friction material gone and the backing plate kissing your rotor. At that point you're also chewing up the rotor, so you're turning a $30 problem into a $100 one.

3. A grinding or scraping sound

This is the "you should've checked last week" sound. Metal on metal. Replace immediately. And check your rotors for scoring while you're at it. We've had customers bring in calipers where the backing plate has gouged grooves into the rotor. At that point you're replacing rotors too.

4. Fade on descents that didn't used to fade

Thin pads have less mass to absorb heat. If you're dragging brakes down something like Bobsled or Severed and the power is dropping off more than it used to, pad thickness is the first thing to check. Less material means the heat hits the caliper and fluid faster, and that's where fade comes from.

5. Shiny, glazed pad surface

Pull the pads and look at the face. It should be rough and textured. If it's smooth and glassy, they've glazed over. You can sometimes save glazed pads with a quick scuff on 120-grit sandpaper, but if they're also thin, just toss them.

How Long Should Pads Actually Last?

Depends on the compound, conditions, and how much you drag your brakes. No judgment, we all do it.

• Organic/resin: Roughly 300-600 miles in dry conditions. Halve that for a wet North Shore winter.
• Sintered/metallic: 600-1200+ miles. These hold up in the wet but they'll eat your rotors faster.
• Gravity compound: 400-800 miles. Splits the difference. That's what we run on our trail bikes and they hold up through a full season of mixed conditions.

If you're riding the Shore, Squamish, or anywhere in the PNW year-round, get in the habit of checking every couple weeks during the rainy season. Wet grit chews through compound fast.

A Few Things Worth Knowing

• Replace in pairs. One new pad and one worn pad means uneven braking and faster wear on the new one. Not worth what you'd save.
• Keep a spare set in your pack. A pad swap on the trail takes five minutes and weighs nothing. Way better than hiking out with a lever at the bar.
• Bed them in properly. 10-15 moderate stops from speed before you send it. Skip this and you'll get weak, inconsistent braking and probably glaze the new pads right away.
• Don't touch the friction surface. Oils from your fingers will contaminate them and you'll be chasing squeal for weeks. Handle by the edges or backing plate.

Time for Fresh Pads?

If your pads failed any of the checks above, sort it out before your next ride. Find pads for your brake model in our brake pad finder. Ships same-day from North Van.