Anyone tried the Superstar ORO sintered pads-looking for something that doesn’t wear like crazy and won’t squeal like a stuck pig in the wet. Tried Formula, Discobrakes & Superstar organics-all rubbish in the wet.

I like them – seem to last longer than standard Shimano for about one quarter of the price. They do squeak a wee bit, but there are so many causes for brake noise that I wouldn’t blame the pad before eliminating other explanations. Not a loud squeal anyhow.

I have the opposite experience.
They last a quarter of the distance (or worse) Shimano ones have done in the past. Both the sintered type.

Octoporn?

Can of worms?

They seem very hard even by sintered standards and squeal loudly in the same set-up where Fibrax pads worked nice and quietly. Can’t really comment on life yet.

Had some in my Shimano. they squealed for a bit, then stopped. Lasted as long as I’d expect them to given the price they were.

I’m using them, and they seem at least OK

At this rate I’m going to go back to my old Hope Mini’s. Pads last forever and they don’t squeal half as much as the Formula’s. They may not have the same superb dry performance but it may be a small price to pay. I even have to carry a couple of sets of spare pads now as one set wore out in 1 day in the Dales-barking IMO

On my XTs I thought they were as good as the Shimano pads…. Sold the bike before they wore out though so can’t comment on pad life…….

No probs here, been running them for a few months now and the friction material hasn’t fell off the backplate and I don’t recall being attacked by a giant octopus or publically abused on a forum by a ginger.

Saints alive! Are there any more questions regarding SSC pads? Lets have a run down of the possible answers:

they fall apart
they don’t fall apart
they squeal
they don’t squeal
I like them
I don’t like them
They’re cheap
buy cheap, buy twice
etc
etc
etc

i like them, they last longer than avid OEM sintered, they work better than avid OEM sintered, and they don’t make any noise. They are also WAY cheaper.

Chill, dude.
🙂

I like them. Seem long lasting and work well so far.

Can’t understand how some people think they don’t last as long. All pads wear faster in the wet than the dry – is it possible that you’re not comparing the same conditions and just assuming the wear is worse because the pads are so much cheaper?

Some Formula brakes have such a ludicrously small pad area that they wear in an instant. Very bad design just to get the headline weight down by a couple of grammes.

Another thing that really bugs me is making brakes that are fiddly to switch pads on – unforgivable design mistake, which might actually be dangerous.

All of which make me like my Shimano XT brakes even more – nice big pads, easy to change, nice solid construction etc. Only drawback is pad cost – which Superstar metals counter very nicely, thank you very much.

Without really digging into dates of use (which I intend to at some point) I’d say they were used during fairly equal conditions.

I’m not making any claims on bedding them in properly but all were treated equally badly.

Superstar pads
Front
90.77miles (used beyond the pad material) Oct-Noc 08
86.84 (used beyond the pad material) Nov-Jan 08
117.03 (still in use but not looking very clever) Dec 08
49.04 (still in use) Jan 09
Rear
49.04 (still in use) Jan 09
86.84 (used beyond the pad material) Nov-Jan 08
483.53 apr-nov 08

Shimano XT pads
Front
421.16
809.96 (OEM LX) Jan-Dec 08

Rear
315.55
152.36 (still in use) Nov 08
291.10 (OEM LX) Jan-Dec 08
709.46 dead Mar 08

So yes the SS have been used mostly during winter when they have performed terribly for lngevity. During summer (which was very wet) the one set did very well for it’s cost.
But Shimano have outlasted them easily.

Man, that is some awesome anality.

That is completely different to my experience – Shimano pads are a total rip off if you ask me. All pads can go unexpectedly quickly in the wet.

Glenp – I run hopes using a variety of pads from reputable manufacturers. Life span is in thousands of miles used right thru the winter. anything less than a few hundred miles is premature wear due to faulty pads IMO. the tandems M4 genuine hope pads are less than half worn after about 1000 miles. Solo I changed the pads as they were begining to wear into a wedge shape after 2000 miles or so. Still half the thickness left tho.

Pads last way longer in hope brakes than many others.

For example, I’ll go through about 4 sets in my jucies for every 1 my friend goes through in his M4s, doing mostly exactly the same rides.

People should brake less.

Is that ‘cos hope pads are formulated for UK conditions?

I really can’t get to grips with this premature wear some folk have – partly ‘cos its never happened to me and I can find no theory that covers it.

Its really bugging me.

i think if you only get 40 miles out of a set of pads you either brake alot or there is a fualt with them

Even in the wet muddy conditions you should get a couple of hundred miles. Unless you are doing the strathpuffer!!

Even if you ride 40miles down an Alp DH course in the wet?

Not sure it’s just hope pads, TJ. You said yourself that you use pads from other manufacturers. Seems to be something about hope brakes to me (pads last ages in my old C2s too).

I’m glad it bugs TJ.

Tj I think it could be the Hope design or some such. My Hope pads lasted much longer than the juicys I’m using now.
I would get 500 – 700 miles from any pad in the Hopes and yet the best I’ve had from the Juicy 5’s is about 200 the worst 50 and that was OEM!

SS pads, sintered or otherwise, last ok, still not seen an Octopus on the trail, quite disappointed about that.

Hi TandemJ, So where do you mostly ride?
“I really can’t get to grips with this premature wear some folk have – partly ‘cos its never happened to me and I can find no theory that covers it.”.

The local soil type makes a massive difference. It’s very sandy here, and the spray is a terrible abrasive in the wet. In winter I get less than 250 miles out of SS pads, and that’s through hardly even touching the brakes.

Clay “mud” in lowland areas may be very different with much softer rounded particles.

I had to correct a SS pad the other day after adjusting calipers, and was shocked just how soft they seemed. A normal file took the material off like it was cheese.

Pads last me several months in the Cotswolds, wet or dry. Same pads have dissapeared in one wet ride in the Peaks, 50% worn in one wet ride at Swinley, worn out in one wet morning at Afan.

All the muds washed out of Scotland hasn’t it?
;0)

Can I point people to matt’s rants on Hope pads and every other pad he’s ever used. 1 albeit long ride or less for most of them.
http://mattmagic.com/

I’m quite happy with the wear rate on Shimano Sintered. The organic ones do disappear at the first sign of mud though.

Have you tried Goodridge? There seems to be a huge shortage of Oro sintered pads in the country at the moment, but I’m probably going down the G route. Or Clarks (£9 from crc) – but they look a little too cheap to be true…

Mountaincarrot – most of my riding is done in central scotland – peat / alluvial stuff base I think is the basic soil / rock. You bike gets covered in a nice mix of acidic peat and fine grit – it wreaks chains in no time

However we took the tandem to a very wet weekend in the quantocks which by repute is an area of high pad wear. In a full weekends riding in wet conditions there was no measurable ( with vernier callipers} pad wear – that is zero. I was sad enough to measure the pads before and after.

I still think heat is a part of it – thast weekend in the quantocks were dragging the brakes hard down every descent – enough that a following rider commeted on the smell of hot brakes. the discs are blued from heat

I can accept soil type making 10x the wear or more – but 1000 times the wear?

Quantocks which by repute is an area of high pad wear.

Is it? I’ve never thought that myself. Generally I get through about 3 sets of brake pads a year. I change about now, a pair of sintered. then I’ll swap them out regardless of their wear for a set of Resin, when the trails dry out in about May. That’ll last me until about November, when I’ll put in a fresh set of Sintered that’ll normally last until Feb/Mar again.

Nickc – I was told to bring spare pads as some of the folk I was riding with get thru pads in a weekend. Could have been a wind up of course

I must go to Afan on a wet weekend to try abnd see if we wear out pads there

Afan’s not that bad either IME. None of the Welsh trail centres are really. The worst (by far I think) that I’ve ever come across was the Peaks, which is proper grinding paste. I’ve known pads (and paint for that matter) to go in a couple of hours up there in the wet.

TJ 4th poster on a SSC thread. You just cant help yourself can you old chap?!

Nowt pejorative tho BigYinn – merely offered some worms and some octoporn

Nickc – again folk I know claim Afan is the worst – pads wiped out in one wet ride is common according to them.

Really? Blimey. I’ve done quite a few wet rides round Afan/Glencorrwg (Once when it literally knee deep in water), and pad life has never been anything other than normal. Certainly I’ve never thought; “Off to Afan, must pack spare pads”

Nickc – This is why I am totally puzzled by this premature pad wear. there is some variable that I just can’t see / find / get my head around

Well I’ve found the normal, cheaper SS pads, to be suit me best. They seem to just feel nicer – smoother and more progressive braking than the SS sintered ones.

All lasted just as long as any other, usually OEM, pads I’ve ever used across a variety of conditions and rides.

I usually believe you have to pay top dollar for quality but tbh the SS pads have perfomrmed brilliant for me and 4 pairs for 20 earth posted is too good not to use.