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Rant: A customer's comment made me change how I set up new brake pads
A guy brought in his gravel bike after a pad swap I did, saying the brakes felt 'grabby' on the first ride. He was right, I'd just slapped them in and spun the wheel. I started taking the extra minute to sand the glaze off the new pads with 120 grit, then bed them in with ten hard stops in the parking lot before handing the bike over. It makes a huge difference in initial bite. Anyone else have a small step they added after getting called out?
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sam_thomas6mo ago
Totally, that pre-bed-in is key. I even keep a little block of wood wrapped in sandpaper right at my stand now. It's crazy how much smoother that first real stop feels for the rider, no scary grab at all.
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eva_adams686mo ago
That's a solid fix. Sanding off that factory glaze makes total sense, it's like a quick pre-bed-in. Good on you for actually listening to the customer and changing your routine.
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davis.adam6mo ago
Used to think that factory finish was there for a reason and messing with it was just making extra work. Then I tried the sandpaper trick on a set of pads for my own bike last season. The difference was night and day, zero grab from the first pull. Completely changed how I set up every brake job now.
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