Cheap brake pads could shorten the life of your wheels...don't do it!!

[DWiggy]

I have quite a hilly commute with long fast descents which means I'm on my brakes at high speed quite a bit, last year I went through 2 sets of Shimano R501's because the rim had concave severely so replaced with set of hopefully stronger Mavic Ksyrium in combination with some Swis Stop greens.

The wheels were holding up really well with very little sign of wear they had done about 3500miles and the braking surface was smooth and bearings running as smooth as day one, that is until stupidly I replaced the worn out Swiss Stops with Wiggles super cheap Lifeline replacement blocks...why did I do it!!!, within ~300miles for using these the braking surface has scored badly with a many deep ridges, once or twice a week I would have to pick out metal shards stuck in the pads!!, this never happened with the Swiss stops not once did I notice metal stuck in the pads so I have a suspicion that the cheap compound used on the Lifeline pads may contain metal as a braking aid.
So I'm now back on a new set of Swiss Stops which are worth the extra £15 they feel so much better under braking and no grinding/scraping either just hope the damage hasn't shortened the life of my wheels!

So the moral of this story is don't be tight and get the cheapest replacement brake blocks as it might end up costing you a new set of wheels!

 

[Citius]

The metal shards are coming from your rims - it's not in the pads already.

 

[DWiggy]

The metal shards are coming from your rims - it's not in the pads already.

But this never happened on the better pads and they were used in all weathers?

 

[DWiggy]

....and I had done in excess of 3500 miles in all weathers with no damage to them what so ever the only thing that had changed was the pads?

 

[Citius]

But the pads don't have metal in them, that's all I'm saying.

 

[mjr]

But the pads don't have metal in them, that's all I'm saying.

It sounds like the Lifeline pads are holding onto metal shaved from the rims by grit more than the Swissstop ones did.

The Lifeline V brake pads seem fine - maybe they differ a lot between styles. I am a bit fussier about caliper brake pads because they're smaller anyway. I'm currently on Revolution Advanced Road as first choice but I've not used them on aluminium much yet. I have tried Fibrax (which I always thought was a steel-specific pad... were on the bike when I got them... they discarded a lot of dust onto the aluminium rims) and Alhonga (hard-wearing and don't seem to damage the rim but don't seem to stop the bike much either) too. I've inspected (but not used myself) Shimano pads, which are the closest I've seen to the OP description of gouging and holding metal: no, just no.

It always surprises me when people seem willing to prioritise saving a few pence on brake pads at the expense of either their rims or stopping ability.

 

[lpretro1]

3500 miles commuting year round will take it's toll on any wheel. You can minimise wear by regularly picking any grit/metal or other foreign objects out of the pads and keeping the braking surfaces really clean - a lot of crap is picked up in water./mud from the roads. Brake pads come in a variety of compounds- some are very hard/abrasive and will work well but give faster wear - and rims vary too - some will wear faster than others. Often the harder compound blocks are the cheaper ones but not always so - we find that Aztecs give god braking but are very hard on rims - like the OP we find the Swisstop greens to be excellent for wear rate and braking efficiency. You pays your money and takes your choice!

 

[mjr]

Or if you're doing those sorts of utility distances, you can minimise wear by hub brakes

 

[totallyfixed]

Brakes? You use brakes?

 

[DWiggy]

The compound of the Lifeline's is much harder than the Swiss Stop and in their marketing gumf it mentions "Complete absence of abrasive materials which could damage rims" (Swiss Stop) which does seem to be true but during the time I got the new wheels and the better brake blocks I did not have to pick very small metal shavings out of them.
It's quite possible that the harder compound is much more abrasive than the more expensive ones causing the rim to disintegrate faster.

 

[derrick]

I am with you on the swiss stops, Worth the extra money not only do they not knacker yours rims as quick as other pads they also stop you better
than the cheaper pads.

 

[Globalti]

It's a trade-off. Fit harder rubber blocks and your rims will wear faster; fit softer rubber and the blocks will wear faster. It's the same story with organic and sintered brake pads and steel discs. The little gleaming bits stuck in your pads are grit and shards of aluminium gouged out of the rim by the grit. Cleaning the rims carefully and picking out the grit will give you longer life from both. In winter I do non-urgent braking more with my front brake because the rim is always cleaner.

 

[jay clock]

I have had these for years http://www.discobrakes.com/?s=0&t=2&c=52&p=283&tb=001 great value, soft and rubbery, don't glaze up with shards of metal in, and just excellent. £4 a pair

 

[youngoldbloke]

I have just swapped 4 week old Clarkes pads for Swiss Stop, as the Clarkes sounded as if they were grinding away the rims every time they were applied. After cleaning the Clarkes pads show very little sign of wear - just a few scratch marks, and appear to be made from a very hard material. The Swiss stop sound totally different, or rather don't sound at all! I know many on here use and recommend Clarkes, but I believe they were damaging my (Aksium) rims, and I will not be fitting them again.

 

[ANT 666]

The 2 things that keep us from oblivion are tyres and brakes , don't skimp on either!