Sintered, Ceramnic or Organic
clwydian_rider92
Posts: 416
Basically i'm looking for long lasting brake pads. However i don't know the difference between Sintered, Ceramnic or Organic.
Also good brake pad maufacturers would be really helpful - i have had a look on ebay e.g. 4 pairs of sintered for £20. Is it worth it or are they cheap and nasty?
Thanks
Also good brake pad maufacturers would be really helpful - i have had a look on ebay e.g. 4 pairs of sintered for £20. Is it worth it or are they cheap and nasty?
Thanks
Giant XTC SE 2006
Cube LTD Race 2009
Trek Fuel EX 9
Cube LTD Race 2009
Trek Fuel EX 9
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Comments
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What brakes do you have(avid/shimano/formula.....)?
What type of riding (downhill/xc/commute)?
What terrain (road/trail centres/muddy paths/mountains)?
Do you ride in the rain or mud?
In general - original pads (~usually organic) are best for performace - but longetivty suffers,
Sintered pads last an age - but you'll miss some 'feel'. Sintered seem to generate more heat and on long (500m+ vertical) descents do seem to cause more pump up in the lever.
Superstar components do a good value range if they have your fitting. I've got a set of sintered that have lasted 3000km on Scotlands muddiest & grittiest paths but I swap them for originals for dry downhill blasts. They also do kevlar ones that are a 'race' pad and promise longer life and increased performance - but they do squeal!0 -
After having numerous failures from Superstar pads on my old Hope Mono M4's (pad material separating from the backing plate and ruining two discs) I decided to stick with Avid pads on my Elixirs. The standard pads work really well and seem to be lasting a long time too.
Buy cheap, you get cheap.0 -
Joe_Pineapples wrote:After having numerous failures from Superstar pads on my old Hope Mono M4's (pad material separating from the backing plate and ruining two discs) I decided to stick with Avid pads on my Elixirs. The standard pads work really well and seem to be lasting a long time too.
Buy cheap, you get cheap.
out of curiosity, how many is numerous?0 -
Two that I didn't catch resulting in damaged discs and one that I did, resulting in a wasted day's riding and a gentle trundle back to the car park.0
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The backing plate thing was fixed ages ago, I had 4 failures myself and stopped buying them for months but after reading they'd sorted it and given the price I started buying them again and haven't had any failures since.
Currently use SS sintered but they're pretty noisy so planning to give the new kevlar ones a go next time.
As for OEM options, depends on your brakes. I found Hayes sintered really good (but pricey) and Formula Oro organic ones pants (stop OK but lasted one 50km ride). Apparently Hope organic pads last ages but not used them myself.0 -
I bought one pair of maguras at 12.99 and after they went I thought thats way to much.
Been using superstar ever since and never had a problem, and if my pads get oil on them I dont get so mad about replacement now.
But just bought myself some XT brakes, but have not needed pads yet, but will keep buying from superstar, until another company comes along with better and cheaper, which I doubt.
I have always used organic, but have been eying the kevlar ones.0 -
Sintered better in the wet but sqeal more ime.
Organic maybe feel better but don't last as long. Used organic in the alps as they don't heat up as quick. Generally use sintered here.
Tried a kevlar one from SS which seems fine so far. Never had a problem with SS brake pads personally - they don't last quite as long as official avid ones but they are so cheap it doesn't matter.0 -
Sintered are best overall but as said they will heat up so fine for xc or trail riding.
Organic bite good and work better in some conditions but wear shockingly fast, i can go through a set in two weeks.
Ceramic, i have a set of these from bike fridge, it's their 3x life pads and they seem to be a good compromise, slightly less bite but very good pad longevity.
I typically use quad semi sintered pads so i get the benefits of good braking with quite a decent life, bit less than ceramics but i get better bite.The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it.
Giant Anthem X0 -
when i next need some i'm planning on getting the ashima SOS pads, supposed to work pretty nicely and it's a neat idea!0
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Similar idea to semi sintered, you get the best of both worlds and imo they make the best all round pads.
Ebc gold are meant to be decent as well though i've never tried them.The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it.
Giant Anthem X0 -
I've used Bikefridge on ebay a lot. The quality has always been good and the prices were always about the same or less than Superstar (not used Superstar's brake pads)
My brakes are Hope Mono-minis, and Bikefridge didn't used to do sintered, so I used the S compund (all they used to do). This is their description:
"Compound S: Semi Metal/Graphite : Medium
Containing metal & graphite for long wear. Great for muddy conditions, and a good choice in all conditions. A medium compound with consistent wet performance and good grip.
Advantages: Cheap, Above average all around performance
Disadvantages: Grippier and longer lasting pads are available
Suitable For: Everything
Conclusion: Best Value"
Seem to be as good or better than the original Hope ones, also seem longer lasting than they claim, last me better than the Hope ones (which were always sintered).
Now they also do sintered for my brakes, so might try them out next time.
Theoretically, sintered brakes should be better, although I think on long (like in the Alps) downhills they build up heat & fade quicker. It depends where you look for info as to what you'll read, so to a certain extent you need to try stuff to be sure.
If you can obtain/afford the right kind of ceramic you'll get more power & better heat dispersal, but shorter life.
On the same ebay shop here's an explanation of various compounds (maybe a bit specific to that brand)0 -
+1 for the EBC Golds. I have these on the back (haven't had to change the front yet) and I'm pretty impressed with them. You do lose a bit of modulation with them though as they are much more powerful than the stock Avid Organics that were fitted and can be a bit grabby as a result. They're doing pretty well in terms of noise levels too, a bit quieter than the stock pads.
That said, the stock Avid pads are lasting really well. I've got about 5 months out of them so far and there's still plenty of material on the front, only changed the back because I contaminated it. While I only do about 50-60 miles a week I consider this pretty good wear for organic pads considering the awful weather we've had.0 -
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realnumber 1 wrote:
Discobrakes are the ones sold by Bikefridge on ebay.0 -
realnumber 1 wrote:
disco brakes is what i'm running at the mo and i've got no complaints0 -
switchback18 wrote:realnumber 1 wrote:
Discobrakes are the ones sold by Bikefridge on ebay.
I was thinking that looking at the descriptions. Different packaging though (going by the pics).0 -
The ones I've had from Bikefridge have always come with a couple of stickers in the packaging with the Discobrakes logo on. Packaging might have changed, but photos not been updated maybe.0
