Shopping around it appears that I can get a pair of resin Shimano pads without fins for my SLX brakes for about £9, whilst the finned equivalents are £7 more. I’m not a hard rider and was wondering whether the finned variety were worth the extra cash. I’m using SLX single piece rotors and not the Icetech ones.

Non-finned here I use the slx-alfine-g01s pads cheap as chips no problems

& imo the SLX/XT calipers look better without the fins

Cant tell the difference, if was was dragging brakes or doing 2000m descents all the time maybe. Bigger rotors are cheaper in the loung run

Finned = extra gnarr

Do you ride a gnarpoon or a one of those 26″ iron horse antiques?

In the UK the fins provide placebo, in the alps they provide cooling.

Both can make you a better rider 🙂

I find that brake authority burly & ceramic pads on my saints and rahox pads on my xtr brakes work better than the oem finned pads, even(especially) on long descents.

Increased downforce from the fins is a winner

There’s no advantage to all these fins, funky rotors etc in an adequate brake, tbh. if you feel like your brakes are just not quite dealing with heat, and you don’t want to buy better brakes, then they might make the difference though

Uberbike do finned pads with backing plates so you only replace the actual pad after the initial purchase, whether or not they make much difference I’m not sure but it’s a cheaper way to run them.

Didnt even notice when downhilling all week in the alps with the fins on. Thats on 1 week of SRAM guides and 1 week on deores. I won’t bother with finned again. The ones where you only replace the pad and not the actual fin (superstar and uberbike) have thinner pads, so won’t last as long.

The ones where you only replace the pad and not the actual fin (superstar and uberbike) have thinner pads, so won’t last as long

Do they? [goes to workshop to check] fair point, they do, though some width is saved on the pad backing too so it’s not as bad as all that.

Having toasted some nice calipers on an alpine descent before I like finned ones now. Superstar don’t cost a lot.

For the UK id not bother with fins, but I managed to boil some Saints in the Alps once, so Id try fins there but not here.

Anything to help on those 20 min long almost vertical descents would be welcome.

I’ll be more interested when someone starts doing the finned bit in nice anodised colours..

What are the non-finned equivalents to the XT finned pads?

GO1S work fine with SLX/XT

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-slx-alfine-g01s-disc-brake-pads/rp-prod92721

I use the finned pads because they seem to last longer than cheaper equivalents. After a week in the alps and the Shimano finned pads were only about half worn, no fade and always consistent feel.

Perhaps I wasn’t trying hard enough

No finned option for Hope V2?

I managed to intermittently over-heat my front 785 XT last summer, notably in the lakes on the lower slopes after dropping in from high ground, but also locally, where even though the maximum elevation is 330m, there are a couple of descents that start fast, and drop into slow, steep tech, where the brakes build alot of heat quickly and then don’t get a chance to cool off even though the speeds drop.

I bought some super star finned inserts and pads for the front, and they’ve neatly dealt with it. If it was more regular, I’d get bigger brakes.

doesn’t actually take much to heat up the pads and calipers so anything that removes heat is a good idea. Personally I prefer the way the finned ones look but its a big price difference if you use up pads regularly.

I will add that I was using mine with floating rotors when I had no problems.

When using solid rotors I trashed 203mm ones on my dh bike in 1 day in the alps. I’d use the finned pads on solid/conventional rotors. Only on floating if you’re a big guy doing lonnnnnng descents

The rotors with radiator bits in look like an interesting idea.

I covet a set of vented rotors though, but not for any practical reason – just because. I regret not having specced them when I bought the bike!

Fins add weight

I find the fins help on left handers but hinder on right handers.
I’m thinking of fitting some worn out ones to the right side of my bike to try and balance this out.

I’ve got some, they came with the brakes, I’ll get some more for Les Arcs in summer, but otherwise – I’m reading that genuine Shimano Min Oil has a higher boiling point than Dot5.1 and doesn’t degrade, couple that with mine being water cooled with what feel like frigid puddle water almost constantly at the moment and I question the need for them – judging by their performance first pull on a ride I could do with pad warmers if anything.

Mineral oil systems do degrade, just by a different mechanism to dot 5.1

DOT 5.1 absorbs water therefore lowering the boiling point of the liquid overall, where as in mineral oil systems you can get “pools” of water that boil which is actually potentially worse.

There are two basic problems caused by heat in braking systems, boiling the fluid and glazing the pads. It is highly unlikely that the fluid will be boiled in mountain biking if the brakes have been bled with a reasonable quality fluid (dot or mineral) recently. And it is pretty hard to glaze non organic pads, I personally would much prefer the much better compound in the pads I recommended earlier than the fins of oem shimano pads.

As elsewhere, in the UK it’s a peace of mind thing. If you think the extra is worthwhile go for it. In my experience the Shimano metal pads last so well in xts that you may as well.

There’s always the uberbike cartridge finned option. One hit big price, then cheap replacement forever more. Only organic or their keeler ‘race matrix’ compounds though. Peaty’s SPS like the stuff so it can’t be all bad…

DON@T Get Shimano Resin for UK winter. Mine came with a set, after 1.5 rides they were half way through the backing plate.

DOT 5.1 absorbs water therefore lowering the boiling point of the liquid overall, where as in mineral oil systems you can get “pools” of water that boil which is actually potentially worse

I’ve heard this theory of course, but in a closed sealed system like in bike brakes (unlike cars), is water ever really going to get in?

I have not bled some of my brakes for years and years – perhaps I should get myself a brake fluid tester and find out?

Finned all the Way.

They match the calipers better.