My MiniST developed a bad rattle, which turned out to be the battery in its mount.  I now use two of those little bungee cords (the little ones with metal ends) and the rattle is fixed.  Because most of my miles are on mountain bike trails, this is a good fix.

I put them around the battery and controller, just above the hoop in the frame for the battery.

Maybe of little interest, here, but last week I rode the "practice loop" on my Rad Mini ST.  My good friend (younger guy, only 71 years old) rode my spare Mini ST.

The first thing you see painted on the rock is "Just as hard".  That lets you know you are in for all the steep stuff, deep sand, holes, cracks, etc. that are part of the main loop.

This was my "50 years anniversary" of my first Slickrock ride, done on a Honda Trail 90.  This trail is actually a motorcycle trail, originally conceived and laid out for small motorcycles.  There are more mountain bikes riding it, these days, and the riders and bikes are "very fit".

The folks running the Park told me I am the "oldest original years rider" to come back and try it.  That was a bad sign.

The practice loop (which actually measured 2.6 miles) was a brutal eye opening to my age, my recent stroke, and the small wheels/limited suspension of my Mini. Many of the downhills were too steep for me to trust my riding.  I had to walk the Mini down them, with both brakes locked and the tires squealing all the way. 

Some uphills were unrideable because each stroke of the pedals, with full throttle applied, resulted in intermittent tire squeal followed by violent "pop up" wheelies.  We had to walk and push the bikes up.

Many of the more level trail areas are steeply side-sloped.  This gives many "pedal strikes" that try to flip you over sideways.  In some areas, a fall can put you over the edge with fatal results.

My friend and I made it through, but we were pretty used up at the end.  We met many riders who turned back after a few hundred yards, and called it quits.  I kept thinking, "I will get the hang of this...I've done it before!"

This was not a very smart thing to try.  The bike did as good as it could, but the rider made a bad choice.  The Mini did get me through, after a fashion, and that's pretty decent.

1500 miles on the bike and starting on the 3rd set of brake pads (front and rear).

My normal ride is a 12 mile deal.  From home I ride to a local mountain bike trail (which is 7 mile trail in and out), and then back home.  That means 7 out of every 12 miles is on the trail (with lots of steep hills to climb and descend).

I often do this ride twice or three times a day (it is only 2.5 miles from my house).

Anyone else seeing this much brake pad wear riding mountain bike routes?

Probably normal, but curious about other experiences.

Just a short note about the front wheel bearings.  I have found that the 6mm bearings used in old Honda motorcycle steering stems are very high quality and perfect fit in our front wheels.  You would probably find the same bearings in other Japan brand motorcycles.

I caught my bearing issues before the races or cones were damaged.  The problem sounds like loose spokes, when you first notice it.  Don't wait....fix it right away.

Easy fix.