I realise this is an old chesnut! but before I go mental, has anyone else has issues with uberbike race matrix pads squealing at the slightest hint of water?

I realise its a fact that water doesnt mix well with brakes, but these are terrible.

Quiet as a mouse in the dry, both as bad as each other. Go silent almost instantly when you get them hot if its a dry day and have just gone through a puddle, but a wet lake district was almost unbearable. Still have decent power (considering the sodden conditions), just incredibly loud.

Its either that, or the IPA I’m using to clean my rotors is somehow contaminated, It can’t be anything else. They are nearly new (3-4 rides), but well bedded in (got them really hot at home, then left overnight before a ride).

Pad alignment has the be right on my formula RX’s as with new pads theres not much room for error with pad alignment.

Recommendations for quiet, powerful pads that will last reasonably well if people have had similar issues..

Mine didn’t squeal, but were inconsistent and shite when worked hard. So I’d suggest just moving on.

But I have nothing productive to add to that, because I use superstar and disco kevlars and they squeal like Ned Beatty. I’ve just stopped caring.

Squealing is normal for most brakes under some conditions.

The water changes the friction between pad and disc. This simply changes the force you apply at the lever (to compensate for the reduced friction) and the additional force pushes the brake/rotor into a resonant frequency and the brakes start squealing.

No big deal – but I do understand it can be frickin’ annoying.

Good luck finding a quieter pad material – it’s blind luck I’m afraid.

I’ve got Formula the one brakes and the noise is driving me insane.
I’m considering changing to SLX or XT.
I’m really getting to the point where I don’t want to touch the brakes which is no good as I’m a chicken going downhill.

Hope tech E 4`s… not one squeel today and it was wet! 😉

kendonagasaki – i can guarantee its not your brakes causing the issue, it may well be your pads, discs, contamination, sticky piston, but no the type or brakes you have T1’s are excellent.
Formulas are great brakes in general I find having tried quite a few! i’m not even considering changing and thats coming from Zee’s, the question I’m asking is if anyone has had noise issues with race matrix pads, or if my issue lies elsewhere.

I’ll clean up the discs and pads and re-bed them just in case before I change anything.

Not had any squeeling issues when using Superstar sintered, been through a few sets on different bikes and they’ve all been quite and lasted well. Just fitted some Disco sintered to the commuter/mtb/hybrid thingy, fancied a change, will have to see how they go.

@Kendonagasaki The grass isn’t always greener, Shimano resin are so loud it’s embarrassing.

Wont be anything wrong with your brakes, some pads just don’t like water.

I had noisy formulas for a long time, the following issues were found that fixed them and increased pad life.

1) new discs. I never matched the braking track width correctly, once I learned that there is a difference in braking track with my pad life increased massively. Before this i used to get through pads so quickly that i would often be caught out and wreck my discs by braking with metal against metal. I now use Superstar wavey discs because they are cheap and the dimensions are correct for my formulas.

2) through mistreatment I damaged the pistons in the brakes, I assume this allowed the pads to vibrate under braking. I fitted new pistons and now treat then with a lot more respect when changing pads.

Also had uberbike pads that made a noise like a dying banshee. I faffed for a while with cleaning everything, then sent Uberbike a brief email to them to let them know about the problem then chucked em straight in the bin.

Superstar ones purchased and quiet returns.