J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

I recently purchased a second hand/hardly used Carrera Kraken Mountain Bike, gave it its first run out today, nothing to hard but it involved a lot of mud, the brakes worked really well but when I got it I adjusted the brakes so they bit harder and so that there was less travel on the lever, anyway this was ok for a while but when I got back (absolutely kanckered) the brakes had loads of travel again, I checked the adjustment and it hadnt moved so either the cable has stretched or I have used a significant amount of the brake pad, checked and cleaned them when I got back and they were full of crap and had about 1 -2 mm of material left on them.

Is it possible to get through the pads so quickly ?

Also any recomendations for tyres that actually allow progress in mud .

milo

cables stretch a fair bit, which is one of many reasons why i much prefer hydraulics.

its entirely possible that you could wear down a set of cheap pads on cheap discs that quickly, yes (which is why people advised v-brakes in that price range), but probably more likely that they were part-worn to begin with. its also possible that something could have been rubbing, causing the pads to wear faster.

as for tyres, take a look at the reviews on mbuk:
http://www.mbuk.com/kittestarchive.asp?cat_id=49

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

It cost 150 quid and was pretty much as new so I am not complaining, the brakes are pretty effective, considering the crap I went through today they kept on working and a set of V brakes wouldnt. Not sure how much meat new pads have on so I will buy some for comparison and change them anyway. Will buy a better bike if I get really into it, my old one was just way past any kind of off road so this at least doesnt let me down, at the moment I am pretty unfit but hoping to get much fitter, I suppose I will then start wanting more out of the bike as at the moment the bike is the least of my worries, puffing and generally getting knackered all the time being the major one, forgot how difficult riding in mud actually is.

Oh and the saddle on it is a bit over intimate, I appear to have grown some additional anatomy down there.

It is a pretty good way of getting fit as you ride out somewhere, its difficult to cop out and go home as you have to cycle back or decide to live in a forest, unlike the gym.

unclebuck

*Is it possible to get through the pads so quickly ?*

If they're crap (which they are) then yes. On a bike of that sort of budget you are better off with 'normal' brakes.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

So is it a case of putting better pads in ?

Cant see any reason why a cable/cheaper disk brakes would wear the pads any quicker than a set of hydraulics.

unclebuck

True. But what make are the ones fitted? How much mud got onto the braking surfaces?

Actually thinking about it, cheap cables and cable stretch won't help either.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

They are branded 'Tektro', it all got pretty cruddy down there so it got hosed off and I whipped the pads out and cleaned the rest off, the pads do look pretty knackered but the disks look like new with very minimal wear, I have a set of 262mm Black Diamond disk for a Rover 200 sat here, I buggered those as well !

anc-sti

The softer the pad the more effective it is at stopping you, unfortuately this also means they wear quicker in muddy abrasive conditions. I run hope mini's, and have destroyed a set of pads on a muddy Polaris, if the pads are damp before you ride they disintegrate. Its not so much about quality of pad more the conditions your riding in. Same goes for every almost component on the bike, british winters eat mountain bikes. Make sure the bike is cleaned and dried out properly after every ride then re-lube, this will help extend the life of the components and be easier on your wallet.