Disc Brake Pad Bedding In Procedure

A correctly functioning braking system is fundamental to the safe operation of a bicycle. If you are not confident in your ability to install your brake pads we recommend you seek the help of a trained professional such as the bike mechanic at your local bike shop. Brakes are a safety critical system and as such great care should be taken when working on them.

Sinter organic disc brake pads are a significant upgrade to your brake system. It is important they are installed and bedded-in correctly for optimal performance.

The bedding in process prepares both the brake disc and pads to work together to slow you down. In essence the two components need to become more alike so your pads have more to work with than just some laser cut metal. When you bed in your pads, you are moving some pad material over to the disc so that when you brake there is maximum contact of friction material. This then allows your system to work efficiently giving you better results.

1. Take some time to clean and degrease your brake disc. Effective braking relies on the surfaces of your pads and discs working in harmony together. When you bed-in the new pads, material from the pad will be deposited on the disc so having a clean disc for this material to adhere to is critical.
2. Install your new pads in line with the brake system manufacturer instructions taking care not to touch the pad compound. Simply hold the pads between your fingers using the backing plate or better still, use gloves.
3. Be careful not to activate the brake lever without the wheel installed - if this happens you may need to push your pads and pistons back into the caliper with an appropriate tool.
4. When you have re-installed your wheels it's time to perform the bed-in process and for this we recommend a traffic free environment.
5. Ride your bike at 15km/h or 10mph and activate your brakes 20 times but never locking up your wheels. Simply apply the brake to reduce speed to 5km/h, release the brake and carry on repeating that action.
6. Then, increase your speed to 25km/h or 15mph and apply the brakes 10 times, this time harder. Again it's important not to lock up your brakes. Reduce your speed each time you brake to 5km/h like before.
7. Then ride 30km/h or 20mph and brake hard twice down to 5km/h.
8. Your pads will now be bedded-in. This process is important to follow. If you don't bed the pads in correctly you will not have full braking performance when you go ride.

More about Sinter compounds

Choose from our range to suit your braking style. Go for the same compound front and rear, or mix compounds to dial in the perfect set up.

Gravel rider living in a hilly steep location: Green front / Blue rear
This combination gives exceptional stopping power and control but also lets you modulate your speed on long, loose descents.

Enduro mountain bike racer: Green front / Black rear
The freedom to push hard on the descents but with the resistance to wear in a variety of conditions.

Road rider in a mountainous region: Green front and rear
Going green front and rear lets you brake late and hard but still retain control on the tarmac giving you confidence to push harder each ride. If you tend to drag your rear brake while descending you can use Blue pads in the rear.

Electric Cargo bike parent: Blue front and rear
Taking the kids to school, loading up with groceries and carrying random stuff? Blue gives you long life and confident braking no matter what your load!

Urban commuter. Black front and rear
You never know what the weather will bring but you can rely on Sinter Black to give you the same repeatable performance day after day.

More about Sinter

Sinter make organic brake pads. Both organic and metallic pads are manufactured using a bonding process. Occasionally there is confusion around our name but we always like to point out we only make organic bike pads.

Organic pads are comprised of different types of fibres and materials. Each compound is a fine balance between lubricants and abrasives. It’s a little bit like baking a cake - small changes to ingredients or combinations can result in significant braking characteristics.

We use fibres such as kevlar, ceramics, clay minerals and carbon combined with resins.

Our friction materials R&D lab go to great lengths to develop pads that deliver particular characteristics to suit individual riding styles and perform exceptionally.

One of the greatest benefits of organic pads is that they transfer less heat into the caliper via the rotor. They don’t conduct heat as readily as metallic pads so the braking energy is retained in the pad and rotor - the result is a more stable braking system with greater modulation and predictability.

Sinter have been making friction materials for over 50 years in Slovenia, Europe. Stopping or slowing down at the right moment in the right way is the most important thing for your safety and performance. We take it personally.