The old Gary Fisher has rim brakes, and I just bought new Sram Avid pads for it. However I was very disappointed to find that when we came back from a short 10 miles of downhill trail riding, they were worn like crazy . And believe me, its not like we're hold the brakes on all the whole time, but excessive braking force is occasionally needed. So is this normal, or should I try a different brake pad?
That depends on what you mean by "downhill." Bikes intended for riding downhill (as opposed to cross country) all use disc brakes these days and big ones at that.
What kind of conditions were you riding in? Sometimes wet or muddy conditions will wear out your pads really quick too. They have softer compound brake pads too so make sure you didn't get those instead or just upgrade to disc brakes
mud on braking surfaces can act like pumice, or sandpaper; taj is right, conditions can rip through components under rougher conditions sometimes.
pick up some koolstop dual compound pads, when i had rim brake that's all i ever used, ther flick mud right off, oh and i may get flamed for this but i purposely toed them the wrong way for better mud shedding.
There's your answer. I've ran those pads for years and they held up as well as any other pad. I wasn't running through mud that often though.
"vassago" recommended brake pads like these Kool Stop Dura Cartridge Pad Holder Set at BikeTiresDirect , but they say road pads, would they still be good for mountain riding?
