| What tools will you need? |
While carrying out this task, you may need:
A brake pad spacer, brake cleaner and a microfibre cloth. |
| The process of bedding-in the brake pads on a bike is essential for effective braking. |
The purpose of the bedding-in process is to create an area of consistent contact between the brake pads and discs by gradually heating them up.
Before going ahead with it, clean the discs, replace them if you're installing new brake pads, and make sure you have the right equipment to hand. To be extra safe, do the bedding-in on a flat road when it's dry and free of traffic or obstacles. |
| Bedding-in means performing a series of braking actions in which you gradually apply the brakes at different speeds, from slow to fast: |
To bed the pads in properly, apply the front and back brakes alternately, then perform a series of slow-downs: brake ten times at 15 km/h to slow down to 5 km/h, ten more to go from 20 down to 5 km/h, and the last ten at 25 km/h to go down to 5 km/h. Make sure you ventilate the disc and caliper between each series by riding along for a few metres without using the brakes. |
| A few extra tips for bedding-in your brake pads: |
To bed-in your bike brakes properly, use one brake at a time, without sudden stops or abrupt braking.Ride on a flat road and give the system time to adjust, which can take about 30 minutes.If your rainbow traces appear on your discs or the brakes lose power, then your pads are probably glazed.. The Decathlon workshop can help you fix that. |
