Changed my tune on disc brake rotors after a trip to Moab last fall

I watched a shop in Moab swap a set of scratched up rotors on a rental bike after just one day of riding slickrock, and the noise difference convinced me that rotor condition matters way more than I ever thought... anyone else notice how fast dust and rocks chew up your braking surface out west?

2 comments

2 Comments

hernandez.jordan1h ago

Rolled into that same lot last year with pads that looked fine and @umab86 called it before we even hit the trail - said my rear rotor was singing like a dying cat. Three miles in on the Porcupine Rim and the dust had turned my braking surface into a cheese grater, could hear the scraping over my own panting. Should've listened to him and swapped them at the truck instead of trying to save ten bucks.

umab8612h ago

Man that dust out there is like sandpaper on everything. Brake pads turn into grinding stones real quick on slickrock.