Anyone know anything about disc brakes?

Whilst changing my mudguard the other night, I noticed my front pads were completely worn. Not particularly evenly. One side had a mm or so, but the other side was almost down to metal. They've done about 1750 miles I think, all weathers, commuting etc. And they're the J02As. My rear pads are getting pretty low as well, will have to swap them out when I get a sec.

Are the resin pads supposed to be harder wearing?

do you have a sticky piston? if so clean it so the pistons move evenly

Not as far as I'm aware? That was my first set and was from brand new. I'll see how these ones fare.

Also sound like the calipers isn't aligned if it's not the piston.

Easily remedy with a phone on with a white background under the brakes too see if the gap is even on both side.

Are the resin pads supposed to be harder wearing?

Nope, other way round.

http://www.madison.co.uk/products/cycling/transmission-braking-components/brake-pads/l04c-disc-brake-pads-alloy-backed-with-cooling-fins-metal-sintered/

"The metal pad (clearly etched on the pad’s backing plate) material is sintered to a steel backing plate, which essentially means it’s applied in layers and welded on. The resin version is bonded to an aluminum backing plate. The resin pad is a softer material that is designed to provide more modulation and noise control at the cost of raw power and fade resistance. The metal pad uses a much higher percentage of metal in the compound, resulting in a more rigid construction. This is designed to increase power, fade resistance and durability at the cost of noise and modulation. It also increases the weight about a third of an ounce per pair. The resin pads retail for around $30, and the?metal pads retail for roughly $40."

"We knew we would like both pads, but we expected the raw power of the metal pads to win out. To our surprise, for most circumstances we tested in, we preferred the resin."

http://mbaction.com/product-tests/product-test-shimano-metal-vs-resin-brake-pad-compounds

Thinking I could put metal on the rear for its durability and power and leave resin pads on the front for modulation (so I don't throw myself on the ground panic braking)?

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/brake-pad-information-2009.html

In my opinion you should run metallic pads if:
-You are heavy
-You ride downhill
-The conditions are wet, muddy, etc.

and run resin pads if:
-you are light
-Conditions are dry
-You like lots of initial grab
-Your riding is less hard on brakes i.e. dirt jump/street, XC, etc

Having used both sintered and resin pads for polo and commuting (1 biek man!) I would say that resin is sufficient for everyday use.

Never found myself wanting more power and yeah the difference in modulation between sintered and resin is quite noticeable and I'm not willing to sacrifice that.

Not everyday use...

Right, new back wheel. Now the brakes rub and yet the lever also moves too far. So remove wheel, squeeze and then pads too close so have to screwdriver them apart. Lever throw now better but still rub.

Ffs! These are shit. ..nnbbgfdsdhyh

Is there a step by cunting step guide for making these stupid fucking things work without leaving 20W behind?

Rim brakes ftw.

You've re-aligned the caliper when you put the new rear wheel in?

Checked the rotor is true?

Rim brakes ftw

Rear centred.

Front has some plastic clip. How does that come off without breaking it?

Yeah, I've sorted the rear, it's the front that's now the issue. There's some clip to stop the bolt coming out and I don't know which way to move it or if I'm supposed to loosen the bolt first or whatever. Don't want to snap it.

Anyway, just ranting because I was already late for work. I'll read the manual.

Front has some plastic clip.

The thing on the left?

Get it in the sea bin, break it if need be, the do fuck all anyway.

It's meant to stop the caliper coming off if the bolts loosen off. I see how it goes in now - I need to pull it straight off, not try and turn it. Thanks.

They're shit, throw them away.

Gonna install some cantis next week .. been to Vatican, any other precaution i need to take?

Have spied my rotors are a noticeably thinner on the braking surface compared to the rest of the rotor - how thin can you go before replacing?

how thin can you go before replacing?

The thickness that, just before applying the brakes shatters the rotor, killing you in the face, setting you on fire, and making you crash in to poo.

If you are worried about it buy some new ones.

Hmm, I'm not keen on fire, but not fussed by poo. I'll leave it a bit.

Carve a pentagram into your chest.

Have spied...

If you've noticed it, it's time to change 'em.

Replace it anyway.

Easy to forget that your rotor is getting thiner if the brake feel fine.

I've removed it and loosened, grabbed brake, tightened caliper back on, let off brake and still the fucking pads rub.

Here's a trick.

Grab your phone, open a webpages (or a white background), put it underneath the calipers, so you can see how close the pads is to the rotor.

This is the easiest way of seeing and aligning disc brakes than the old white paper and torch trick.