Some say that the best upgrades you can make to a car's performance are better brakes and tires. While a 15" spoiler might look cool and attract bikini wearing girls with finger nail fangs in 6" heels, it doesn't do anything for your car but weigh it down.
As for bikes I would say the same: good tires, brakes, and suspension are the three key components to improving ride quality and control. As I already have great suspension in my 2011 Fox Float 36 RLC Kashima and accompanying DHX5 Air, and good grip in my Continental Mountain King and Trail King tires, I decided to improve my excellent Avid Elixir CR brakes with new pads.
EBC makes brake pads for everything from bikes to military vehicles. Their Red compound brake pads are for added grip and performance which sounds good to me. The pads on my Elixers were nuked so these ones came at the right time! They suggest these brake pads for EXTREME downhill use: fun!
With Christmas coming and all, I thought this would be a good opportunity to practice opening packages.
With brakes that use a retaining pin and separator springs you can't usually get 100% wear on the pads. Doing so will wear through your pad springs and usually the brake will develop air in the lines as there won't always be enough fluid in the lines to push the pistons far enough to reach the rotor. Although there is a hair of pad material left, these pads are done son!
This is what brake pads look like once they're installed (yes.. its true). Not everyone has the opportunity to see newly installed brake pads as the bike is often hurried off to be ridden. With our high-speed cameras we were able to capture the moment. On the rear here, you see the EBC Gold pads, meant for high durability.
To properly fit new brake pads the pistons of the brakes should be reset or pushed back in order to give room for the rotor to spin freely and allow for ample lever throw. A bleed kit should be used at the lever to allow any excess brake fluid to flow out of the system.
Sometimes if a brake is bled when the pads already have wear on them added fluid is introduced to the system. This is why a bleed kit is used when resetting the pads. Keep the old pads in the caliper and use a Park PP-1 Piston Press and a large flat head screwdriver (or Avid pad spreaders) to push the pistons back. Then remove the pads and replace them with an Avid bleed block. Bleed the brake so that there isn't any air in the system. Also ensure that the system has the right amount of fluid to work with the new pads.
Sticky-icky! These are the EBC Red Soft Compound pads; ready to get rad! I'm using my old Avid pad springs since the EBC pads don't come with them. Always make sure to hang on to your old pad springs just in case.
Pop the new pads into the freshly bled brake. Adjust the caliper so the new pads don't rub the rotor the wrong way. Adjust your levers to your liking then think about which trail you'd like to ride the most. Go ride this trail and enjoy having working brakes!
(Always use gloves when working with dot brake fluid as it is toxic and not good to get on the skin).
I'm pumped to try the performance Red Compound EBC pads and see how they compare to the stock Avid pads. I'll be changing the Red and Gold pads back to front to see how they differ in stopping power, modulation and durability. Check in later for the report.
Clear the trails, its time to rail!
-Scott
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