Brake pad and rotor wear vs. rotor size

[michael_bc]

I own a Focus Thron2 with 203mm brake rotors and an Orbea Rise with 180mm brake rotors front and rear.

I have a somewhat surprising observation: the Orbea burns through brake pads at an alarming rate.

	Rotor size	Brake pads lifespan	Rotors lifespan
Focus Thron2	203 mm	1 season	still good after 3 seasons
Orbea Rise	180 mm	5-7 days	spent after 1 season (< 0.5mm)

I'm using the same Shimano D03S brake pads on both bikes. Front and rear are getting worn out at the same rate.

The Orbea came with Galfer Disc Wave rotors which might compromise longevity to save weight? not sure.

My questions:

• Is this due to the smaller rotor size? heat?
• Should I consider different brake pads?

Either way, I will replace the Orbea rotors with 203 mm ones as I have to replace them anyway. Other than the rapid wear I had no complaints about the 180mm rotors. Braking has been nice and grippy.

 

[Bndit]

Stop using Shimano pads! Change to purple Galfers and your fine. And upgrade bigger rotors, 180mm is too small even to acustic bikes

 

[The EMF]

Don’t use your brakes !!!

 

[michael_bc]

Stop using Shimano pads! Change to purple Galfers and your fine. And upgrade bigger rotors, 180mm is too small even to acustic bikes

So I ordered the purple Galfers. I made sure to bed them properly.

Already on the first day, they make all kinds of noises and they vibrate horribly!

I don't think these brake pads are suitable for alpine mountain biking. I'm going to switch back to Shimano.

 

[Winford]

I don't think these brake pads are suitable for alpine mountain biking

There is a sacrifice for better braking and longevity. And that is noise. Shimano pads will be your best bet, you do not brake hard enough to worry about it. 203 rotors are a minimum size for an ebike and 220 is preferred. problem is there are not a lot of 220 rears with magnets for the speed sensor You can buy a lock ring with a magnet to solve this issue. I have 203 front and rear, and I get 2 pad changes to one rotor, and in 6 months, im already trashed my second rotor and been through 4 sets of pads . 3000 miles and climbed 300,000 feet in elevation. All this at high speeds. According to strava

 

[michael_bc]

There is a sacrifice for better braking and longevity. And that is noise. Shimano pads will be your best bet, you do not brake hard enough to worry about it. 203 rotors are a minimum size for an ebike and 220 is preferred. problem is there are not a lot of 220 rears with magnets for the speed sensor You can buy a lock ring with a magnet to solve this issue. I have 203 front and rear, and I get 2 pad changes to one rotor, and in 6 months, im already trashed my second rotor and been through 4 sets of pads . 3000 miles and climbed 300,000 feet in elevation. All this at high speeds. According to strava

Yes, I figured this when I saw on the packaging that Galfer also makes MTB-specific pads.

Then I must be burning through pads faster because I'm riding harder on my new bike. I guess that's a good thing

 

[michael_bc]

There is a sacrifice for better braking and longevity. And that is noise. Shimano pads will be your best bet, you do not brake hard enough to worry about it. 203 rotors are a minimum size for an ebike and 220 is preferred. problem is there are not a lot of 220 rears with magnets for the speed sensor You can buy a lock ring with a magnet to solve this issue. I have 203 front and rear, and I get 2 pad changes to one rotor, and in 6 months, im already trashed my second rotor and been through 4 sets of pads . 3000 miles and climbed 300,000 feet in elevation. All this at high speeds. According to strava

Yes, I figured this when I saw on the packaging that Galfer also makes MTB-specific pads.

Then I must be burning through pads faster because I'm riding harder on my new bike. I guess that's a good thing