Anyone use these / have any comments re their quality ?
Also, sintered v's organic. I have no experience with organic, how do they differ compared to sintered ?
Sintered last much longer in crud than organic
Sintered generate more heat than organic and can be more noisy.
If its wet and muddy sintered.
If its dry and dusty then organic.
Seems straightforward re compounds then.
Clarks, EBC, any others recommended
got a load of clarks ones very cheap from halfords a while back
sintered and organic, both work well sintered last for ages
I use Clarkes sintered. Great longevity in sandy/gritty/wet conditions. Can make a racket though, but i'm not fussed about that.
I started using them after the infamous mega-wet Kielder of a few years ago. I'd been through 3 pairs of hayes sintered that day (all pre-bedded-in too), and didn't even make the full distance. At the finish I bumped into Twinklydave who had been on the same set of part-worn Clarkes sintered for the duration of the race. No-one else's pads seemed to have managed that.
Use clarks on my XT (Organic) following always purchasing Shimano. I'm pleased, not noticed any problems, no noticeable drop in stopping, at the price just go for it, can always keep them in your bag as a spare.
Tried clarks but have found DIsco brakes to last longer and at £21.00 for 4 sets thier great value for money.
I took some organic Clarkes pads out to the Alps a few years ago and they made my crap Avid brakes even worse (all noise and no power), others (with different brakes) were happy with Clarkes pads, so I think it may depend on what brakes you have!
EDIT: sorry this isn't very useful!
I've used Clarkes recently and they have been quiet with good stopping power. Not really had them long enough to test longevity.
i found they are a bit deeper than the XT's which meant the lever travel wasn't that great until they had worn down a bit.
I like the über bike pads myself. Cheap and they work.
Wooley hatshop az2 / aztec ones are superb imho.