Brake Bedding
Steps to Bed-In Your Disc Brakes
1. Prepare Your Bike
Find an open, safe space free of obstacles to complete the bed-in process.
2. Start Pedaling Your Bike
Get it up to a good speed.
3. Engage Rear Brake
Squeeze the rear/right brake lever evenly until you’re at walking speed. You may notice poor stopping power at the beginning of this process, which is perfectly normal. There may also be excess noise created during the process, which is also normal. Use care not to come to a complete stop or to lock up the brake and skid. Doing this can deposit an uneven amount of material on the rotors.
4. Repeat Bedding Process
Repeat the process between 10 and 50 times. You will know that you’re done when you’re able to stop smoothly and quickly. You should be able to skid if you were to try, but do not skid during the process!
Take care not to fully lock up the brakes. Doing so can transfer an uneven amount of material to the rotor, which can lead to inconsistent braking and excessive noise.
5. Front Brake Bedding
When the rear brake is properly bedded in and you are able to stop smoothly and quickly, repeat the process for the front brake.
6. Ready to Ride
Once both brakes feel steady and safe, get out there and enjoy the ride!