I am thinking of buying Superstar pads as opposed to the standard sintered Avid ones that came with my 3's as they are nearly dead. Anyone used Superstar/Budget pads and liked them? Anyone think the budget pads should be avoided at all costs and I should just pay more the Avids? Your thoughts would be greatly appreciated..

Pulls up chair, opens packet of biscuits and waits for the inevitable onslaught!

Some people hate SS with a vengeance, others think they are ok. IIRC there were issues with one batch where the glue failed but from what friends have said, they were swapped out immediately with no hassle. Others think they are the spawn of the devil and should be avoided at all costs. At the price, I'd be inclined to give them a go, after all, what have you got to lose? It isn't as if they are a lot of money.

I've used them and lived to tell the tale.

When all the fuss was going on about the 'bad batch' and the pad material falling off the backing, mine were fine.

That all blew over, I got some more, took a wheel out to fix a flat and, would you believe it… one of the pads fell apart.

Got some replacements, they were all fine.

Now using the Kevlar ones – they stop me when I pull the brakes and seem to last well.

…and the biscuits are?

I have been running them for the last year or so, including a week in the alps, they are fine, no more no less.

I've not used Superstar pads for a long time so the problems I had may well be a thing of the past but I find the A2Z ones from the Woolly Hat shop (4 pairs for £28) superb

FWIW I use SSC pads in my juicy 7's without a problem….

V good imo. Used to eat avid pads at an alarming rate. Got Superstar Sintered and they last extremely well with little noise, good grip…

Yes, I use the SS sintered too and find they last

slowjo – Member

………….., after all, what have you got to lose? It isn't as if they are a lot of money.

The Mighty Higs – Member

………… would you believe it… one of the pads fell apart.

Got some replacements, they were all fine.

brake pads are safety critical component. I know of a couple of folk who have crashed from brake failure from these pads collapsing – and not from the original "faulty batch"

I've used the LX ones for three years and had no problems. I managed to pull one of its backing by cack handedly catching it with the rotor as I put my back wheel in once, but at 4 pairs for £25 and quick delivery I can cope with that! I can't vouch for any other SSC products but I will carry on buying the pads. I expect there will be some vitriolic replies to balance this as usual though.

someone said what have you got to loose? 😯
mind you i have had pads come off the backing of a few manufacturers.

I use them. Have never had any probs till recently. Hayes 9 and Magura Louise replacements have both needed to be filed down to fit into the housing. Once they fit though they are fine. Mine last donkeys too but then again I do a proper bedding in <why not add another argument to keep the biscuit munchers entertained!>

They're fine.

I use them a lot. fitted SS kevlar pads for the PPDS late June. That's a 90k lift assisted ride around Morzine. Those pads have just worn out to the point of needing replacing now – same goes for a mate who fitted them the same time, and we ride every week in peak district/pennine grit.

yep, I use SS sintered. They have better braking performance, and FAR outlast OEM avid pads. a pack of 4 have lasted 18 months so far, I still have a pack spare, and the pads in the bike at the mo are about half worn.

I'll be getting more, though I may experiment with the Kevlar ones next time if the claims are to be believed.

Used SS sintered in Hayes and Hope brakes and they outlast anything else I've tried. The springs are weak though, so keep your old ones for re-use!

I have had no problems as such, but the last pair were much thicker than Avid ones, which caused some rubbing and amde them difficult to jam in.

No problemo here either. Been using Mono4 and V2 pads from SS for a while now and found the performance and pad life to be great.

pretty much as people above have said, I've good pairs and some bad ones, the bad ones were replaced without a murmur.

I think however the animosity to SS Comps has been the attitude of the proprieter (Neil / Fruit iirc) who was somewhat 'dismissive' (I'm sure others will insert other words here) at times of what seemed at the outset to be quite valid complaints, on both pads and also some of the other components. personally, I've never had an issue with him but equally I'm one of those people that doesn't seem to wind people up as much as others……

Brilliant, this place is normally good for quick responses but you lot have excelled yourselves! Thanks for your advice

erm…where's the octopi please?

Been using sintered ones and they've not killed me yet

As far as Neil at SS is concerned, I found him to be very pleasant and helpful. Anyway, I have some pads on order too.

One of my new SS avid pads fell out on a ride yesterday, fortunately it was the rear brake so I was able to get home with no probs. I;m not sure if this is a one off or a fault with the pads. I'll pop another one in and see how it goes.

i used them and all was well until this weekend, pads have been on the bike 6 months, about 1/2 worn, was fitting new forks, swapping calipers and pad fell away from backing, maybe it was my clumsy fault i thought, so i check the back brake, low and behold the rear does the same, lesson learnt i think

pads have been on the bike 6 months, about 1/2 worn, was fitting new forks, swapping calipers and pad fell away from backing

Same here- have only had one pair and the pad fell off, which I've never had before. So while they were half the price of others they've lasted half as long, and since this seems to be pretty common on STW I've gone back to regular ones.

I use the ones from Bikefridge on ebay – slightly cheaper than Superstar if I remember right & never had a problem. Even the organic ones seem to be as good as some sintered pads. Last ages.

What no octopi I am deeply disapointed

I use the ones from Bikefridge on ebay

they were worse than SS, and after numerous replacement pairs which also fell apart I got a full refund 🙁

I bought a pair at the begining of summer. They were really nice, then I went down a fast and rocky descent-low and behold the power of my front brakes decreased dramatically. Thought I'd check it over when I got back and only found two backing plates and a pad that hadn't fallen out so on the hill i stopped myself with bare metal and my trusty old rear rim brake. They looked as though the pads had almost rusted off- I don't look after my bike very well though.

My kevlar superstar pads this afternoon, after 3 hours of riding, fit them new to my new summer season build last week:

I just got some bikefridge sintered ones. 4 sets for £22! Really good friction. I will be on here screaming and cursing if they fall to bits.

My set have been on the bike for a while (i've not rideen much) but they have outlasted………

continntal gravity tires (because they were shit and went in the bin)
Cane creek S8 headset (ditto)
easton EA70 seatpost (bent)
SDG bel air (worn and torn)
DMR paint job (ditto)
Time ATAC pedals (worn bearings)
My right knee (ditto)

So they can't be all that bad, but then again I dont count brakes as bedded in untill I can smell them burning on a road decent.

The bearings have gone in your knee? Ouch, that doesn't sound good 🙁

Killed my rear pads yesterday, and think I'm going to give the SS's a go… Rode home last night on the backing plates, so I know that if everything goes wrong that I'll still have some brakes.

Jase_mk

You're doing something wrong. I'm riding superstar kevlars all weather in the alps. I got though 2 sets in the summer and 1 so far sep-nov. That's riding minimum 3x/week. Swiss mud is not dissimilar to UK mud and these pads are outlasting all the OEMs I've tried. Power is slightly less than organic and there's some squeal until the water is gone but they do the job.

The bearings have gone in your knee? Ouch, that doesn't sound good

Indeed, aiming to have pestered the NHS into another OP sometime in January so I dont lose yet another Summer's riding (2006 was my last full Summer's riding!)

If superstar make knee joints………………..mine came from the first dodgy batch without enough cartilage installed

re: doing something wrong, I'd had a couple pairs of SS pads in the past which have been fine as well as a few pairs of Hope ones. I reckon these were just a dodgy pair.

Other than bedding them in properly, there's not much else to do wrong, surely?

I used the normal type about a 18 months ago I had two sets which lasted 1 ride each in the winter. Took the plunge again and bought one pair of sintered and they have lasted about 4 months and still have plenty of life in them would buy the sintered again

Jase_MK: Have you had a look at your pistons? I've had proper (as in came with the brakes) pads wear just like that from pistons not retracting properly in gritty wet rides.

Oh FWIW, I have had a couple of ss pads fall apart, some have been very average indeed and some are really just fine.