Now I know that there’s been a business model around for ages based on selling an initial product cheap and then making a killing of refills (safety razors, printer cartridges etc.) but genuine Shimano replacement pads for my LX M585 brakes are currently hovering around the £25 mark; that’s nearly £50 to replace the pads on a brake set that cost less than £105 in the first. It strikes me a something of a ripoff.

So, I’ve been looking at cheaper alternatives. For example these people on ebay will sell me a pair of compatible pads starting at under a fiver each. Opinion on here seems to range from the idea that cheap pads are a fantastic deal to “buy cheap buy twice” to suggestions that some brands might even be unsafe.

I’m not too worried about wear, after all if a £5 set of pads wears 4 times quicker than a £25 pair you’re still saving money (albeit with a bit of extra hassle) but equally I don’t want to scrimp on something as safety critical as brake pads if the cheaper pads don’t perform properly.

I was wondering what people felt about the cheaper options/brands such as the Bike Fridge ones on ebay, A2Z, Clarks etc. a good deal or a safety hazard? Equally will there be much difference between the cheaper brands or are they all likely to be sourced from the safe place.

Should I stick to a more established brand and pay the extra?

Buy superstar never let me down just the best and fruit is ace to deal with…..Superstar customer service and attention to detail are legendary ask TJ or was it Ralph I forget now.

this is a regular debate on here and some will swear by the cheap ones and some will say they fall apart etc I would say for £5 try them and decide.

gets a chair, tea anyone hob nobs on the way

super star thumbs up here!
as good as the real thing, no worries.
make sure you bed them in properly is the only thing i would say, but thats not too hard.
i may have even over done it a bit on this latest set :$
the cooling water on the caliper didnt so much sizzle, as per the instructions, but explode.
was a 50m steep downhill bigring pedal, with the brakes on as hard i could put them while still moving.

maaaaan they were rotor warpingly HOT!

Good quality replacements from a reputable company should be OK – I have hope brakes and have used Koolstop and EBC in them as well as originals. I always get thousands of miles out of any pad tho so cannot comment on comparative wear rates.

I would never use ones from a company I had not heard of or that has a bad reputation. Its a safety critical component so never scrimp on safety.

I ain’t gonna comment on SSC pads as I have said more than enough in the past. Just have a google for complaints about them and make your own mind up.

No problem here with SSC stuff, even in Peak district pad grinding sand and mud.

THe ebay company you linked to is also now hosting their own website, discobrakes.

I’ve used them lots over the last few years. Nice and cheap , pads last well (medium compound pads with deore 556 brakes) even in winter.

I would say go for it!

Ive used MTB Direct pads (same as superstar ones I think) and they work fine. Only problem is that the pad has a tendancy to come away from the backing. In my opinion, not worth buying.

Apparently A2Z pads are good and still pretty cheap, or try fibrax ones from chain reaction as these were £13 last time i looked

“I would never use ones from a company I had not heard of or that has a bad reputation”

The superstar ones I’ve used have been fine. Perhaps a little less ‘feel’ than genuine avid pads, but not by much. They last just as long.

The ‘normal’ ones are slighlty sintered already by the looks of them.
(Available for all of these brakes)

The sintered ones are even more long lasting (but only available for a few of the most popular brakes)

Get a set. If you don’t like them you can always send them back
Just make sure you bed them in properly (though I’ve not had any problems with them falling apart)
superstar components disc brake pads

I was a big fan of superstar pads until my lunchtime ride today. Pads were about 6 months old with plenty of wear left (no big hills in Essex). On the ride out I heard a clonk as one rear pad seperated itself from its backing plate, by the time I stopped to change them both were gone. 5 miles later the front pads did the same. 4 pads failing on one ride, I guess it was corrosion. Scared me a bit!

Tomato wrote….

Pads were about 6 months old…..one rear pad seperated itself from its backing plate…….5 miles later the front pads did the same. 4 pads failing on one ride

Damn it !!!!! Between james’s post and tomato’s I only went and ordered four bloody sets of Superstar pads thinking everything was all-right with them now :o{

Apparently A2Z pads are good and still pretty cheap

I’ve tried loads of different makes of brake pads over the years, and the A2Z ones are not only the best performing (possible exception of the EBC red stuff, but those last minutes, not rides!), but one of the longest lasting too.

They come highly reccomended from me, and plenty of people I know use them pretty much exclusively too. Price has gone up a bit though I think, used to be that you could get them for £6 an end from Woolly Hat Shop.

Slugwash – I bought these pads over a year ago so they maybe ok now – Good Luck!

“Damn it !!!!! Between james’s post and tomato’s I only went and ordered four bloody sets of Superstar pads thinking everything was all-right with them now :o{“

Just make sure you bed them in properly to start with, and although I don’t know that it will help, maybe somehow make sure you keep on riding things that get your brakes hot (some brake dragging maybe required?).

Only a theory (as I’ve no idea about anyone else), but maybe being heavier means I’m getting them hotter more often, and so as they wear they’re being cooked/heated/hardened more often? Only a wild guess though

Where is Neil/Fruit? Does he not love us anymore? In the old days (pre-christmas cataclysim) he’d have been in on this discussion.

Is he in a secret bunker with Tim Flooks and Brant plotting world domination?

james,
I’m a fat fooker as well and my SS sintered are fine. Avoid the non sintered like a banker in a pension discussion