Brake blocks

[Wixsteman]

Hi just been cleaning my bike and chain and when I had the wheels off I was looking at the brake and thinking I could give it a go and change the blocks. So the question is when do they need changed? I’m kind of guessing it’s a how long is a piece of string question or do you change them at a set distance? They don’t look badly worn and I’ve done about 1000k since end of January. So I’m wondering is it straight forward as it looks?

 

[T4tomo]

change them when they have pretty much worn away to nothing. Before that you might need to adjust the brakes slightly as they wear, so they still.stop you before the levers are tight to the handle bars.

yes its very straight forward, Google a video on YouTube for it and the brake adjustment referred to above

 

[Racing roadkill]

Replace the pads when the blocks start reaching the rim.

 

[Wixsteman]

Ok thanks for the replies, il try to curb my enthusiasm

 

[mjr]

The better pads have "Wear Line" and a line stamped or printed onto the tops, which removes some of the guess work. When the line's gone, replace them. Otherwise, with old-fashioned blocks, they used to need replacing when the grooves had worn away on either edge. Under no circumstances let any part of the pad wear away completely, as that will leave any metal holding the pad into the block grinding into your wheel rim, shortening its life rapidly.

Replacement depends on the type. Basically, cartridge/holder pads usually need a bolt on the outside of the shoe undoing, the old pad pulling out and the new one pushing in. One-piece blocks are removed and new ones fitted. I thoroughly recommend switching to the less wasteful cartridge/holder pads if they're not already fitted. Detailed instructions on fitting and setup can be found on www.sheldonbrown.com and www.parktool.com among many others. There are lots of types of brakes!

 

[GuyBoden]

At some point in time, Blocks changed to being called Pads, I still prefer calling them Blocks, because they look like blocks of rubber.