Shoutout to the guy who showed me how to properly bed in disc brakes

I spent 6 months wondering why my new rotors would always feel grabby and uneven. Finally watched a mechanic at my local shop in Portland do the whole speed-up-slow-down routine 20 times with actual force. Anyone else learn this way later than they should have?

3 comments

3 Comments

nora_park29d ago

Ive been riding bikes for thirty years and never once did the whole bedding in ritual. Put new pads on, rode them normal, they worked fine after a couple days. Always seemed like one of those things bike mechanics invented to sound important. Not saying it doesnt help a little, but six months of grabby rotors probably wasnt all because you skipped a special braking sequence.

janarivera29d ago

My 2018 mountain bike had pulsing brakes for three months until I finally did a proper bed-in procedure and they've been perfect ever since.

the_kim28d ago

@nora_park I hear you on that. Some people get really into the bed in thing like its some kind of sacred ritual. But honestly, Ive had mixed results myself. Sometimes new pads just feel off from the start no matter what you do, other times they settle in fine with just regular riding. Six months of grabby rotors sounds more like a pad/rotor compatibility issue or maybe some contamination than just skipping the bedding sequence. Not saying your wrong but I think there's a middle ground where a gentle break in helps without it needing to be this whole science project.