Each front wheel has a disc brake. Some ELFs also have a disc brake in the back. It seems all versions of the ELF have used Avid BB7 disc brakes.
Pad Wear Adjustment
As the pads in the brakes wear down the brakes need to be adjusted. You might need to do this every few hundred miles.
You can tell that the bake pads need adjustment when the parking brake no longer keeps the ELF from rolling.
You need to use the dials on the brakes to move each pad closer to the rotor. The pads should wear evenly, so you should turn the dials the same number of clicks. Usually this adjust is just 1 or 2 clicks.
From the service manual linked below: "The BB7 has a manual pad wear
adjustment feature. You can use this feature to
compensate for brake pad wear until the pads
need to be replaced with two very simple
adjustments: Turn both the inboard and
outboard red adjusting knobs clockwise one
or two clicks as needed to restore your brake
to optimum settings. Do NOT use your barrel
adjuster to compensate for pad wear. A pad
wear indicator is at the center of each knob. As
the knob is turned in, the indicator will retract
deeper into the knob giving a visual indication of
approximately how much the pads have worn."
Note: On some ELFs the adjusting knobs are black not red.
You can temporary fix the issue of the parking brake not working by adjusting the barrels on the brake lever. Adjusting the barrels tightens the brake cable. Tightening the cable only moves one of the two pads closer. So this isn't the right solution to the real problem.
This page from Park Tool provides more information. Avid®Mechanical Disc Adjustment
The brake can also get out of alignment with the rotor. The following video shows how to do a full re-alignment:
Replacing Brake Pads
The pad have little levers or handles on them. The inbound (spoke side) handle curves away from the rotor. The outbound handle curves very slightly towards the rotor. If this outbound handle starts hitting the rotor then you need to replace the pads. Your pads might wear differently so you might need to replace them before this point.
 When choosing replacement brake pads for your Avid BB7 disc brakes the choices are "organic" - better braking, "organic aluminum" - lighter and dissipates heat better or "scintered" - compound has better longevity.
Scintered pads, in my opinion, are best choice for the ELF because of the weight of the ELF versus a traditional bicycle. (less than $20 each on Amazon)
New brake pads come with instructions on how to replace them. Basically you need to remove the caliper from the bike. Then turn both dials counter clockwise as far as they will go. And then squeeze the handles and remove the old pads. Often the old pads will not slide out so you need to wiggle them and possibly remove one pad at a time instead trying to remove them together.
Follow the directions to insert the new pads. If you have a hard time inserting the new pads take a look at the service manual to get an idea of how all the pieces fit together. You shouldn't have to take the whole thing apart, but knowing the pieces might help. I also found this 2 part video helpful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rppADOgTNSM
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