Brake Pads - A break down of what you need to know
There are 2 main types of disc brake pads: Sintered (or metallic), and Resin (or organic). Both types of pads have their pros and cons, and choosing the right pad depends on many things such as:
-Rider weight
-Weather/trail conditions
-What type of riding you will be doing
-What size rotors you run
Sintered Pads
Sintered pads are made up of hardened metallic ingredients, which are bound together with pressure and temperature.
Pros
-fade at a higher temperature than resin pads
-better performance in wet conditions
-last longer
Cons
-louder
-longer break-in time
-not as much initial bite
-heat is conducted through the caliper, not the rotor
These pads will be better if you are a heavier rider. These pads are recommended for riding in wet, muddy, or dusty conditions. They are also a lot better if you are running small rotors, or are on a long descend. Although they are more noisy, and do not have as much of an initial bite as organic pads, you will definitely notice the increased performance at the end of your run. This happens because the heat is put back through your caliper, rather than your disc where you would get brake fade. Since these pads are made of a harder compound they will last longer than resin pads, but do not buy these pads just because they last longer. Always buy the pad that will enhance your performance the best, they are cheap you can always buy more if they wear out.
![photo]()
Resin Pads
Resin pads are made up of fibers and organic material that are bonded together with resin.
Pros
-Quieter
-Shorter break-in period
-More initial bite
-Prevent heat buildup
-Pushes heat back into the rotor
Cons
-Wear quicker
-Not as good in wet/muddy conditions
These pads are for lighter weight riders, and riding where lots of brakes are not required, like cross country, and riding in flatter areas. One thing I really love about the organic pads, is that they have a large amount of initial grab, this is a personal preference and you may not like this. When running these pads with smaller rotors, they will "manage" the heat better, meaning your oil is less likely to boil, which would cause a loss of power. Another great thing about resin pads is that they are much quieter, I know I hate brake squeal, and I'm sure you do too. One big disadvantage of these pads is that they wear out quicker, which means more replacing, and potentially more brake bleeds. Also don't run these pads when it is muddy, wet, or even very dusty conditions. It is suggested that if you are running these pads, you occasionally sand the surface, to remove the glaze.
![photo]()
In my opinion you should run metallic pads if:
-You are heavy
-You ride downhill
-The conditions are wet, muddy, etc.
and run resin pads if:
-you are light
-Conditions are dry
-You like lots of initial grab
-Your riding is less hard on brakes i.e. dirt jump/street, XC, etc.
Although I have now recommended pads for you to use, you have to make your own choices on pads according to your riding, the above list should be considered to be a guideline, and not used as a strict rule.
Sources:
-Hayes Disc Brakes
-Hustler.pinkbike.com
If you have any questions feel free to send me a PM: djman22.pinkbike.com/
Editor's Note:
Do you like articles like this or do you have something to say that would help others out in a technical manner? Well then contact me at brule.pinkbike.com and we'll get it out there for everyone to read!
-Rider weight
-Weather/trail conditions
-What type of riding you will be doing
-What size rotors you run
Sintered Pads
Sintered pads are made up of hardened metallic ingredients, which are bound together with pressure and temperature.
Pros
-fade at a higher temperature than resin pads
-better performance in wet conditions
-last longer
Cons
-louder
-longer break-in time
-not as much initial bite
-heat is conducted through the caliper, not the rotor
These pads will be better if you are a heavier rider. These pads are recommended for riding in wet, muddy, or dusty conditions. They are also a lot better if you are running small rotors, or are on a long descend. Although they are more noisy, and do not have as much of an initial bite as organic pads, you will definitely notice the increased performance at the end of your run. This happens because the heat is put back through your caliper, rather than your disc where you would get brake fade. Since these pads are made of a harder compound they will last longer than resin pads, but do not buy these pads just because they last longer. Always buy the pad that will enhance your performance the best, they are cheap you can always buy more if they wear out.
Metallic Pads
Resin Pads
Resin pads are made up of fibers and organic material that are bonded together with resin.
Pros
-Quieter
-Shorter break-in period
-More initial bite
-Prevent heat buildup
-Pushes heat back into the rotor
Cons
-Wear quicker
-Not as good in wet/muddy conditions
These pads are for lighter weight riders, and riding where lots of brakes are not required, like cross country, and riding in flatter areas. One thing I really love about the organic pads, is that they have a large amount of initial grab, this is a personal preference and you may not like this. When running these pads with smaller rotors, they will "manage" the heat better, meaning your oil is less likely to boil, which would cause a loss of power. Another great thing about resin pads is that they are much quieter, I know I hate brake squeal, and I'm sure you do too. One big disadvantage of these pads is that they wear out quicker, which means more replacing, and potentially more brake bleeds. Also don't run these pads when it is muddy, wet, or even very dusty conditions. It is suggested that if you are running these pads, you occasionally sand the surface, to remove the glaze.
Resin Pads
In my opinion you should run metallic pads if:
-You are heavy
-You ride downhill
-The conditions are wet, muddy, etc.
and run resin pads if:
-you are light
-Conditions are dry
-You like lots of initial grab
-Your riding is less hard on brakes i.e. dirt jump/street, XC, etc.
Although I have now recommended pads for you to use, you have to make your own choices on pads according to your riding, the above list should be considered to be a guideline, and not used as a strict rule.
Sources:
-Hayes Disc Brakes
-Hustler.pinkbike.com
If you have any questions feel free to send me a PM: djman22.pinkbike.com/
Editor's Note:
Do you like articles like this or do you have something to say that would help others out in a technical manner? Well then contact me at brule.pinkbike.com and we'll get it out there for everyone to read!
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Just to clarify - is it because organic pads wear down quicker in the wet? or are you saying the sintered pads have more 'bite' in the wet? (I think I would be suprised if you meant the latter, as I have found the organic to perform the best in wet and dry, but have the disadvantage of wearing out quickly).
Cheers
Adam
but can you buy better brake fluid that lasts longer/ performs better then the brake fluid that stock brakes come with?
cheers for that man
About the only blanket statement you can make in resin vs sintered is sintered last longer but wear the rotors quicker, the opposite for resins, and resins will fade at a lower temperature. The rest of the list depends on the specific brake and pad composition.
"Resin" can cover a wide range of compositions. I'm 240lbs and ride Shimano "resin" pads with no hint of fade. A look at the Shimano version of "resin" gives a clue to their fade resistance. They have a huge copper content. The correct term would probably be semi-metallic, the best (or worst) of both worlds depending on how you look at it. Since I had no fade with the finned sintered pads that came with my Zees, switching to the resins have been nothing but positive. Better modulation, no change in bite from cold to hot, zero noise not that there was a problem before, just a brake that's good enough that I don't really think about them anymore.
The point being you can't make blanket statements about pads, especially non sintered pads which can have a huge variance in the materials used and performance characteristics. With that said, it would be nice to have more OEM pad choices with more offerings between each extreme (sintered to organic) and with a good description of these "in between" pads.
Bike brake pads should use the same two letter friction coefficient code like cars do. For bikes it would give a good indicator of total power, and for those that run the same sized rotors front and rear but want a weaker rear brake you can select a rear pad with a lower friction coefficient
There are 2 types of 'brake fade'. Pad fade - where the pad has heated up to the point where it no longer works effectively and becomes glazed. And Fluid fade - This is where the brake fluid boils and becomes aireated, leading to the lever pulling back to the bar and no braking.
When the author talks about brake fade he is refering to Pad fade. When he mentions heat being conducted through the pad to the caliper, this is what can cause fuild fade.
Hope this clarify's things.
Will
However, If you have large enough rotors and a well designed brake system with good fluid in, then it should be designed well enough to dissapate enough heat to prevent fluid fade.
Hope this helps :-)
Resin/organic pads work poorly in wet conditions because resin is not porous. Water gets trapped between the rotor and pad and the pad hydroplanes. Sintered (by definition) means "pressed metal powder" and is porous so water is absorbed and evaporates as the pad and rotor heats up. Google "sintered base" to see why sintered bases are preferred over extruded bases in the ski/snowboard industry (they are harder and absorb wax). Semi-metallic is an often used term by pad manufacturers nowadays. These pads are mostly resin pads with a metallic substance added in place of some of the Aramid and Hemp and other organic goodies in an organic pad. They wear less than organic, are quieter than sintered, transmit less heat to the caliper than sintered and wear the rotor less than sintered but they are still resin based so will still suffer some hydroplaning in the wet.
The exception may be the SOS pads you mentioned Nojzilla (cood catch)and I've supplied some links to a few sites with some good info.
Surprisingly, the Taiwanese site is the most informative with way less propaganda and grammatical errors (cough-Hayes) than the more common sites.
www.ashima.com.tw/products_01_03.html
www.velocitydirect.co.uk/uploads/download_362.pdf
Organic pads - Work great in all conditions unless water gets on the rotor (puddles/rain). As soon as water get's on there they start squeeling and there is no bite. In extreme heat they can glaze over but that's usually due to improper braking technique.
Sintered - Perfect for when water is getting on the rotor (puddles/rain), porous material allows proper pad contact giving better bite. Due to metal design I find they heat up a lot more and transfer the heat to the oil causing brake pump/fade. From experience they glaze over badly if it's hot and dry.
So I run organics unless it rains. Most of the other Hope team riders are the same.
They're not so cheap if they only last a few rides like at certain Welsh Trail centres! In this case, longer lasting is better, regardless of performance. Unless you have deep pockets!
What about a comparison between cheapo pads and higher price versions. This really would be useful.
We have been experimenting with the new CERAMIC brake pads and so far they are out performing the metallic pads with less fade, quieter and stronger stops. There doesn’t seem to be any glazing or extra wear on the discs so far.
It also depends on what brake system you run as well and what hose you use. As an EG: Hope will always sqeek in a wet condistion, no matter what pads are in it.
Also differnet types on the make of pads, act in other ways to the same brand of your brake system own pads.
For Dot try: PACE RC312 (DOT 4)
Typical dry boiling point 312 C
Typical Wet boiling point 204 C
Spec: US FMVss 116 DOT4/SAE J 1703/ SAE J 1704
You can use Dot 5.1 what people think is better but just check against the pace's boiling points.
MINERAL is just MINERAL use the one for your system. But with this it can be a bit laggy in extreme temperatures.
Why: as stated in pro and cons it has to do with heat build up. Sintered does not has the bite and heats up the caliper to much, witch is even more so when heavy.
Sintered ar good in wet wetter because they do not wear out that quickly and because of the above stated reason (see kapers comment). In normal conditions performance of the softer organic/resin/normal/semi pads are always the best choice.
Haven't tried the other combo- metallic/sintered on each caliper,
does it make sense?
BTW- I know it's not a promo, but any recommendations for louise brakes (besides the original ones?)
what is lighter? performance doesnt mean shit if one is lighter then the other
pleaes send more
can we have one for rear shocks please? i got a hard tail an i can figure out all the knobs on my pikes easy enuough but,im about to spend a wedge on a full susser an after a while trying different bikes i know what type of frame style i want but, im still confused about the shock terminology an advanteges or dissavanteges of all the different systems
any opinions?