New disc brake pads.

Dippydog3

I am after some spares for my road bike.

The existing pads are resin (organic) type, but according to this I would be better off with the metal (sintered) ones, as I am 90kg and they are for my winter bike which is often wet and nuddy.

Is this articel good sdvice? What do you think?

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/brake-pad- ... -2009.html

ugo.santalucia

Keep them until they wear out, that's the rule. Organic work better but last less...

ElectronShepherd

The advice in the article is perfectly valid, but much more applicable to mountain bikes than road bikes.

Mountain bikes regularly go down gradients that you would never find on a road and as a rule need sharper braking. Assuming you are doing genuine road riding in the UK (i.e. on tarmac, not using a road bike for cyclocross, not going down Alpine passes etc) I would stay with the resin ones. True they don't last as long, but for the same reasons they are kinder to the discs.

Dippydog3

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Keep them until they wear out, that's the rule. Organic work better but last less...

ElectronShepherd wrote:

The advice in the article is perfectly valid, but much more applicable to mountain bikes than road bikes.

Mountain bikes regularly go down gradients that you would never find on a road and as a rule need sharper braking. Assuming you are doing genuine road riding in the UK (i.e. on tarmac, not using a road bike for cyclocross, not going down Alpine passes etc) I would stay with the resin ones. True they don't last as long, but for the same reasons they are kinder to the discs.

Thanks. My riding is all on the road, or cycle paths, so no major descents, but a lot in the wet. Like today. Three hours through gritty puddles and lashing rain and hail.

Happy to replace them whenever. I just want to know that when I pull the lever the bike slows down, ideally without making a noise loud enough to scare small children.

I took the pads off after the ride and cleaned them with brake cleaner, and the rotors. Now super quiet but a bit worn so I thought I would get spares so I have them ready when needed. I think the front might have had something weird on one of the pads, hence the noise.

pippi_langsamer-2

Try Uberbikes range of pads when you renew next.

A lot of MTB guys swear by them- seems the belief is they're made in the same factories as the branded ones. I got a set of sintered ones for my MTB which are holding up nicely in the gritty mud.

http://www.uberbikecomponents.com/categ ... Brake-Pads

Dippydog3

Pippi Langsamer wrote:

Try Uberbikes range of pads when you renew next.

A lot of MTB guys swear by them- seems the belief is they're made in the same factories as the branded ones. I got a set of sintered ones for my MTB which are holding up nicely in the gritty mud.

http://www.uberbikecomponents.com/categ ... Brake-Pads

Like the site, but they don't seem to do the ones with fins, which is what I have.

meanredspider

Sintered ones tend to wear less quickly and are popular on events like the Strathpuffer 24 hr (winter) MTB race where you can get through multiple sets of pads due to the mud and very sandy surfaces. Organic pads are destroyed in a lap or two (6-12 miles).

I'd use (and have used for 4 years) organic pads on my road bike (and, in fact, my winter road-going Ice Spikered MTB). They have better wet braking characteristics and kinder to the discs. When I was shopping for some pads in Le Bourg d'Oisans, the LBS said they only stocked organic because that's all that the MTB riders wanted. I'd stick with organic.

jimothy78

Dippydog3 wrote:

Like the site, but they don't seem to do the ones with fins, which is what I have.

The finned pads are only made by Shimano, however there's plenty of third-party pads that will still fit your brakes. Look for the model code on the brake levers/calliper and use that as the basis of your search.

You will not need finned pads as replacements - they're designed to dissipate the heat generated by extended severe descents (like alpine MTB trails) - complete overkill for a road bike.

ugo.santalucia

meanredspider wrote:

When I was shopping for some pads in Le Bourg d'Oisans, the LBS said they only stocked organic because that's all that the MTB riders wanted. I'd stick with organic.

It's different geology though... in the Alps you've got two to three times the yearly rainfall you get in England, but the soil drains like crazy and there is virtually no mud, except when the snow melts in April-June depending on altitude

meanredspider

ugo.santalucia wrote:

meanredspider wrote:

When I was shopping for some pads in Le Bourg d'Oisans, the LBS said they only stocked organic because that's all that the MTB riders wanted. I'd stick with organic.

It's different geology though... in the Alps you've got two to three times the yearly rainfall you get in England, but the soil drains like crazy and there is virtually no mud, except when the snow melts in April-June depending on altitude

The LBS owner was a lot more straightforward in his explanation: pads are much cheaper than discs. People don't want to replace their "expensive" discs

maddog 2

I prefer kevlar or organic over sintered, on both my road and mtbs. Better feel.

I always use organic on the mtb in the Alps too, as the heat management is better than sintered, which can overheat on prolonged descents.

ugo.santalucia

meanredspider wrote:

The LBS owner was a lot more straightforward in his explanation: pads are much cheaper than discs. People don't want to replace their "expensive" discs

I've never managed to get to the end of a disc rotor... you must do something pretty spectacular to wear it out

Ouija

Discs don't wear out. Unlike rim brakes, where the rim gets thinner and thinner, disc brakes actually get fatter and fatter as more and more material is laid down on them (it's an additive system). It's the layers of brake pad material stuck to the discs that bond with the identical material in the pads that cause the friction (hence the reason they don't work until they are bedded in). The only reason to change discs is if they are warped, the layered material is getting uneven (leading to squealing) or because your changing pad material (organic pads won't bond molecularly as well with a rotor covered in another compound, for instance). In the latter two cases, it's just easier to sand the disc back to bare metal and start afresh.

jimothy78

Ouija wrote:

Discs don't wear out. Unlike rim brakes, where the rim gets thinner and thinner, disc brakes actually get fatter and fatter as more and more material is laid down on them (it's an additive system).

I honestly don't think this can possibly be true. Whilst it's not in question that pad material gets transferred to the rotors, it doesn't get laid down in successive strata, as you suggest - I believe it fills microscopic holes and fissures. Particles of dirt that get sandwiched between pad and rotor clearly gouge the surface, so over time rotors will become thinner, and the pad material on the surface gets replaced bit by bit, as it gets sloughed off, not built up layer upon layer

ElectronShepherd

Ouija wrote:

Discs don't wear out. Unlike rim brakes, where the rim gets thinner and thinner, disc brakes actually get fatter and fatter as more and more material is laid down on them (it's an additive system).

It must be April 1st and I haven't noticed!

meanredspider

Ouija wrote:

Discs don't wear out. Unlike rim brakes, where the rim gets thinner and thinner, disc brakes actually get fatter and fatter as more and more material is laid down on them (it's an additive system). It's the layers of brake pad material stuck to the discs that bond with the identical material in the pads that cause the friction (hence the reason they don't work until they are bedded in). The only reason to change discs is if they are warped, the layered material is getting uneven (leading to squealing) or because your changing pad material (organic pads won't bond molecularly as well with a rotor covered in another compound, for instance). In the latter two cases, it's just easier to sand the disc back to bare metal and start afresh.

Aye, right...!