3 top tips for brake pad break-in: How to get the most out of your disc brakes
Sebastian Brust
· 01.08.2025
If you are wondering why your MTB disc brakes with organic brake pads suddenly fail completely (fading), you are probably dealing with the phenomenon of outgassing. Uncured binding agents in organic pads outgas at temperatures of around 200 degrees. The braking effect then drops significantly despite increasing operating forces, accompanied by an acrid odour.
What appears to be overheating due to overloading is actually part of the braking process of the brake pads of a hydraulic disc brake on the bike. Only after outgassing is the pad finally hardened and becomes temperature-resistant and wear-resistant.
The "soft" pad that is not fully braked in, on the other hand, can wear out completely within a few kilometres of riding. To prevent excessive wear and the sudden onset of so-called initial fading, new brake pads - and also new discs - must be properly braked in. We show you how to do this with three detailed tips:
The most important tips for braking in the brake pads on disc brakes
Pre-treatment by the manufacturer
Okay, this is not a tip for at home, but we want to mention it anyway: In the manufacturing process, the outgassing of organic rubbers can also be produced by the manufacturer by heating the rubbers to a high temperature. The processing step is called "scorching". In this process, the disc brake pads are exposed to high temperatures (400 °C) for several minutes. Only a few manufacturers explicitly state that their disc brake pads are pretreated in this way, for example BBB or, years ago, the former brake manufacturer Brake Force One.
1. grind in discs & pads
Pads and brake discs must first be ground in. This is important so that the microscopic unevenness of the respective surfaces is levelled out. Otherwise, only the tips of these mini-mountains rub against each other, which leads to extremely high localised heat development.
The result: pads are thermally overloaded and can glaze (especially sintered metal pads), discs can warp. We therefore start with a very gentle grinding ride at walking speed. First, let the MTB disc brake grind gently for 200 to 300 metres while riding slowly or on a slight incline.
2. moderate braking from 30 km/h
Brake manufacturers usually specify the braking process for disc brakes in one way or another: At least 30 moderate brake applications from medium speed (approx. 30 km/h) almost to a standstill. Almost to a standstill to prevent brake pad build-up on the friction surface, which can later cause unwanted vibrations (cause of noise).
You should feel an increase in the braking effect during this step. If the braking power of the disc brake no longer increases noticeably, this step is complete. Most bikers now consider their brakes to be braked. However, there is still one important step missing.
3. braking really hot on a long descent
To finish braking in disc brakes on a mountain bike, you should - with organic pads - provoke fading. To do this, let the brakes drag (one at a time!) on a long, steep descent (i.e. brake really hot) until initial fading begins, i.e. the braking effect decreases significantly. Very hard-core riders can even stay on the MTB brakes until the deceleration effect returns.
Only then is the pad optimally braked, wear-resistant and stable. Sintered-metal brake pads and most so-called semi-metallic brake pad compounds for disc brakes generally do not require this step for outgassing, as they contain no or only very small amounts of volatile solvents. However, they must also be exposed to high temperatures so that the necessary friction layer can form sustainably.
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Sebastian Brust
Editor
