My commuting jacket is drying over a kitchen chair, and the cat has come down off the workbench to sniff the sleeve with deep suspicion. Fair enough. There's a stripe of brown grit up the back, the kind wet roads and mashed leaves throw up all autumn. That grit ends up on brakes too. So here's a short pre-winter check for Defiant riders. I'm working from general technique and the JupiterBike product listings, not from my own bike. Why autumn chews through brake pads Quick jargon check. On a disc brake, a metal disc called the rotor is fixed to the wheel hub. Two pads squeeze it to slow you down. They sit in a caliper , the clamp that straddles the rotor. Wet roads carry grit and leaf mush onto the rotor. When you brake, that grit gets trapped between pad and rotor and works like sandpaper, so the same commute wears pads faster than it did in July. Wet leaves can also leave a film on the rotor, which makes the first squeeze feel weaker. On leafy stretches, brake earlier and more gently than you think you need to. Checking pads and rotors by eye Find good light or a torch, and prop the bike so it can't tip. Look into the caliper from above or behind. You should see a pad on each side of the rotor: a metal backing plate with a layer of friction material (the grippy part) facing it. That layer is what wears away. The listings don't give a minimum thickness, so check your manual or ask a bike shop. Holding a new pad next to the old one shows how much has gone. Things that mean stop and look closer: a metal-on-metal scrape when you brake, or a lever that pulls much closer to the bar than it used to. Pads that look glazed (shiny and hard on the surface) are worth a second opinion too. Then spin the wheel slowly and watch the rotor. Deep grooves, a visible wo

My commuting jacket is drying over a kitchen chair, and the cat has come down off the workbench to sniff the sleeve with deep suspicion. Fair enough. There's a stripe of brown grit up the back, the kind wet roads and mashed leaves throw up all autumn. That grit ends up on brakes too. So here's a short pre-winter check for Defiant riders. I'm working from general technique and the JupiterBike product listings, not from my own bike. Why autumn chews through brake pads Quick jargon check. On a disc brake, a metal disc called the rotor is fixed to the wheel hub. Two pads squeeze it to slow you down. They sit in a caliper , the clamp that straddles the rotor. Wet roads carry grit and leaf mush onto the rotor. When you brake, that grit gets trapped between pad and rotor and works like sandpaper, so the same commute wears pads faster than it did in July. Wet leaves can also leave a film on the rotor, which makes the first squeeze feel weaker. On leafy stretches, brake earlier and more gently than you think you need to. Checking pads and rotors by eye Find good light or a torch, and prop the bike so it can't tip. Look into the caliper from above or behind. You should see a pad on each side of the rotor: a metal backing plate with a layer of friction material (the grippy part) facing it. That layer is what wears away. The listings don't give a minimum thickness, so check your manual or ask a bike shop. Holding a new pad next to the old one shows how much has gone. Things that mean stop and look closer: a metal-on-metal scrape when you brake, or a lever that pulls much closer to the bar than it used to. Pads that look glazed (shiny and hard on the surface) are worth a second opinion too. Then spin the wheel slowly and watch the rotor. Deep grooves, a visible wo