I purchased some of the UberBike Race Matrix Pads as my usual ‘go to’ Superstar kevlar have been out of stock for ages.

The first pair of the Race Matrix I used on the front didn’t last long at all but I thought might just have been a 1 off. However, now the second and third pairs fitted (one front and one on the rear) have both worn out in next to no time!

Difficult to quantify the exact timings but in terms of distances ridden I’d say they have had maximum 30 km! They took a while to bed in, then were good for a period and now they are rubbish! No bite at all!

Anyone else had a similar issue?

nope mine have last quite a while. 30km is one ride on a good day for me, where are you riding?

Ridiculously long lasting for me and I’m a serial brake dragger

Mine last almost as long as sintered.

Hmmm….

I’ve just been doing some local loops here in Aberdeenshire. Nothing majorly steep, no major brake dragging and until today it’s been dry for a few weeks so no terrible conditions.

You mean the pad material has won out after 30km ?? 😯

My first set lasted at least 500 miles on the front, probably much more. Very impressed for the price.

You say no bite at all – do you mean they are glazed or contaminated or has all the friction material worn off?

I use them almost exclusively on my cx bike, riding hard through the winter filth with very good pad life.

As TJ says… Mine went all sorts of horrible on the first day in the alps, they’d worked great at home though

I had a pair on my cx bike once – they disappeared in a cloud of dust on the first ride!! 😥

I’m always baffled by brake pad threads on here. I know everyone loves a deal but going for the cheapest shouldn’t always be your first thought with brake pads. Uberbike have always been hit and miss for me. The best i ever had for Shimano was alligator pads. They were amazing. They just bit and lasted for ever.

As for Hope pads i reckon Rahox have it nailed. 15 euros a pair and their statement that you don’t need to bed them in was put to the test on a 1500m descent in the pyrenees recently. It was wet and freezing and they just worked straight outa the packet. Yep i love em 🙂

I use hope sintered. Last thousands of miles. I have no idea why anyone uses cheap brake pads

I found the race matrix to be guff as well, performance died very quickly. I use finned OE shimano pads now

mactheknife – Member

I’m always baffled by brake pad threads on here. I know everyone loves a deal but going for the cheapest shouldn’t always be your first thought with brake pads.

Sure, but price and performance aren’t really all that linked. I love the superstar kevlars- they last decently, they’re unfussy about breaking in etc, they work in all conditions, and they just happen to be cheap. But now they’re out of stock.

At least it’s not just me then!

As for price – Superstar kevlar were as good for me as anything at twice the price so I was kinda hoping that there were other options out there at less than top dollar.

Looks like I am going to give EBC and Rahox a try next. Not sure which Rahox pad matches Zee brakes?

Maybe it’s a Scottish thing

When I get thousands of miles out of a pair of hope sintered that fit perfectly every time, come with new pins and clips and work well why would I go elsewhere for pads? Buy cheap buy twice.

I am astonished at folk that buy cheap pads then complain they don’t last. Buy decent ones then.

In my defence tj the reason I bough SuperStar Kevlar was because of good feedback on here – they were ace and I got thousands of miles from them just like you do with your Hope’s.

Saw a few folk posting that the Race Matrix pads were great but they’ve turned out very poorly for me. Given they have a decent reputation, despite the fact they are cheap in comparison to some others I think their performance was sub standard. Maybe the kevlar would be better.

Or maybe Hope or Shimano would be better still but it’s great to hear a variety of opinions.

poah – I’m Irish….

groundskeeperwilly

Are the pads you are complaining about worn out ie no friction material left or is it just the performance has decreased?

Performance decreased to the point that they are next to useless. They were good for a spell in the middle of their use but took a while to get to that stage and then dropped off a cliff after (same with each set)

Immediately remedied by replacing with other pads.

sounds like cold glazing – try sanding the surface. Or contamination.

Been contaminated surely? My mate can’t understand the link between loss of braking, and spraying his drive train with wd40 as lube.

I gave the second and third sets a sanding and it didn’t help. The braking material also wore away really quickly…

I’ve had contaminated & glazed pads before which worked Ok after a sand or a good rotor clean but this doesn’t seem like the same thing.

I’d be surprised if it is that with 3 sets of pads in a row TBH. Maybe if I’d been going wild with WD40 but that’s not likely!

Sorry it’s probably something thats 100 times easier to see/feel in reality than explain on here but judging by the comments the performance hasn’t been great for others either.

groundskeeperwilly

~Fair enough then. Sound like rubbish pads

Yeah pretty disappointing!

Edited….

hope only do pads for their own brakes!

groundskeeperwilly – Member
I purchased some of the UberBike Race Matrix Pads as my usual ‘go to’ Superstar kevlar have been out of stock for ages.

The first pair of the Race Matrix I used on the front didn’t last long at all but I thought might just have been a 1 off. However, now the second and third pairs fitted (one front and one on the rear) have both worn out in next to no time!

Difficult to quantify the exact timings but in terms of distances ridden I’d say they have had maximum 30 km! They took a while to bed in, then were good for a period and now they are rubbish! No bite at all!

Anyone else had a similar issue?

If you still have the pads it’d be worth giving Uber a call and explaining your issues. I had some that the braking material came away from the backing. Sent in the problem set and received a nice thank you email and some new FOC pads of my choice

Weird. I’ve used Uberbike’s Race Matrix in Zee brakes for the past three years and I like them. An average summer ride is 3000-5000m vertical of steep lift-accessed alpine terrain and they last me 15-20 rides. Tried Superstar Kevlars once out of curiosity – felt a little nicer but they were down to the metal midway through the third ride.

The first pair of the Race Matrix I used on the front didn’t last long at all but I thought might just have been a 1 off. However, now the second and third pairs fitted (one front and one on the rear) have both worn out in next to no time!

What exactly do you mean by that? Worn out to one person may differ to another. Down to the metal?
They’re pretty thin to begin with obvs so even 50% wear can look like there isn’t much life left, when there is.

I’ve had Uber pads in for ages now all over winter and they’ve been Bob on.

poah – I’m Irish….

I’ve just been doing some local loops here in Aberdeenshire.

maybe its a Scotland thing 😳

I buy Goodridge pads and stop worrying.

Northwind – Member 
Sure, but price and performance aren’t really all that linked. I love the superstar kevlars- they last decently, they’re unfussy about breaking in etc, they work in all conditions, and they just happen to be cheap. But now they’re out of stock.

Agreed. Superstar Kevlars last for ages, great modulation, far less squeal than original brand sintered but longer lasting than original brand organic, and are a quarter of the price.

Been using them for years, but Superstar seem to have discontinued them. They have no desire to restock and already have said they’re discontinuing their grips. They seem to be shifting to UK made products now.

A shame as I bet the majority bought from Superstar were grips and pads.