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Need Better brake pads for my mechanical Avid calipers

1K views 7 replies 6 participants last post by  ron m. 
#1 ·
I bought a used Marin Rift Zone a few months ago and am slowly working on making some improvements. One discrepancy I noticed was inferior braking on the rear wheel. Initially I thought that I either contaminated the brake surface or glazed the rotor/pad. After removing the pads and resurfacing it flat, I cleaned everything, put it back together and tested, but no improvement. It takes a long time to stop, compared to my front brakes which would easily throw me over the handlebars.

I noticed that the front pads were unmarked (I assume they were OEM Avids) and the rear ones were blue with a white cat logo (I assume these were Jagwires). At any rate, the rear pads obviously need to go.

Few questions:
1) are Jagwire pads really crap?
2) How about Alligators (the ones Pricepoint sells)?
3) OEM Avids?

BTW, how do I know what model Avid calipers I have? They are obviously mechanical and paired with Avid SD 1.9L levers. Each caliper has two red adjustment knobs on either side.
 
#3 ·
If you have two...

pad adjustment knobs, inboard and outboard, then you have Avid BB7 brakes. The big clue is the shape of the pads, BB7 pads are rectangular, BB5s are round. As for the pads, the standard Avid pads work well for me. The fact that the front brake works fine and the rear works so-so may well be a difference in pad material. Or it well may be that the rear pad is just shot. The stock Avid pads for the BB7 are metalic with a copper colored backing plate. Optional Avid pads include orgainc pad material indentified with a silver backing plate, and organic with a black alloy backing plate.

The blue Jagwires are their "RedZone Extreme" pads that are designed for wet/muddy conditions, not really an all around pad. That may be why they don't bite as well as the fronts. Also if you are running a larger rotor up front there will be a marked difference as well.

But do keep in mind what SteveUK said, a rear brake isn't going to perform the same as a front brake. It doesn't need to, all the rear has to do is keep the bike stable while braking. Most of your stopping should come from the front.

Anyway, I'm no big fan of Jagwire pads, love the cables and housings though. I'd say go with the stock Avid metalic pads for the BB7. I haven't found anything that works much better in them, and many don't work as well.

Good Dirt
 
#4 ·
Thanks for the responses. But literally, I can turn my rear wheel with the same lever pressure but can't on the front... that tells me something. I also understand that most of the braking must come from the front (coming from the sport bike world where my braking was almost exclusively front), but if I apply a reasonable amount of lever pressure on the rear, it takes several feet before I can finally lock the rear wheel.

Squash, good input on the blue pads. I'll try the OEM pad, I'm sure it would be an improvement.

PS: front and rear rotors are 160 mm.
 
#5 ·
Replace the rear pads. Try the Avid pads. The pads are the same for the BB7's and the Juicy series. Most shops carry these on the shelves.

Clean the rotor very well. Use a light grit sandpaper, PLUS alcohol on a lint free rag to clean them after sanding. This will get the old pad material off the rotor surface.

With the install of new pads, braking will not be 100% as the pads will need to bed into the freshly cleaned rotor surface. After several rides, braking will get much better.
 
#7 ·
First, just swap front and rear pads. This will tell you if it's the pads or a bad cable set up or maybe some other problem. The front will always feel more powerful due to shorter hose, but if the front feels much weaker after the swap, get new pads for the rear. A simple swap will tell you a lot.
 
#8 ·
Well, I bought OEM Avids from the LBS and installed it on the front wheels (and moved the used OEMs in the rear). Boy, can my bike brake now! Now I just need to get pad spring clips on the rear pads because my old ones didn't come with any.

Thanks for the help, guys! While we're at it, is it even worth keeping these blue Jagwires? Squash said they're for muddy/wet conditions, but it seemed like the OEMs performed better even in the mud (that's all the riding that I've been doing lately).
 
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