Anyone successfully found any? The oem ones, even with a rotor change have always squealed like a banshee whereas my spyres have been silent.
alignment? typically what causes discs to shout, hydro or cable.
generally stay away from sintered which the originals are in BB7.
So go resin/semi metallic or Kevlar etc... resin will be the quietest.
EDIT - also try to make sure that the calliper is parallel to the disc.
Alignment is as good as it can be (not a huge fan of tri-align) so will try to find some non-sintered...
Anyone any real world experience of good brands?
Cable fwiw
Superstar organic. They'll put a smile on your face! Silent in the dry, bit of moan in the wet. A sight better than yowling in the dry and screaming in the wet. They wear a bit quicker, but they're 19 for 4 pairs rather than 17 for one, so it's win all the way round.
I always use Avid sintered pads.
The only squeal I ever get is when the rotors get contaminated. This was a problem commuting in traffic so I'd simply "cook" them down a steep hill every couple of weeks and that sorted them out.
^^ What he said. Mine can howl with the best of them, but a getting them nice & hot periodically seems to quieten then down a lot.
i've used discobrakes quite a few times. their user admin is shockingingly implemented on their website but the pads are good and cheap.
+1 for Superstar organic. I had the aforementioned squealing with the stock pads. Superstar sintered were ok, but still a bit noisy. The organics have been quiet thus far.
Cheers folks
I reckon the squeal from BB7s has more to do with the way the brake works.
It has a fixed pad, so to work the moving pad has to bend the disk over until it touches the other pad. This is bound to eventually warp/corrugate the rotor so you get harmonics.
Changing the pad will temporarily fix it, but my opinion is that it is mechanically induced rather than pad material.
[quote=epicyclo ]
It has a fixed pad, so to work the moving pad has to bend the disk over until it touches the other pad. This is bound to eventually warp/corrugate Not if you are adjusting the inner pad frequently enough - the amount of "bend" should be minimal.
scotroutes - Member
Not if you are adjusting the inner pad frequently enough - the amount of "bend" should be minimal.
True, the counsel of perfection.
But as you know, I am imperfect and like to leave a slightly larger gap for mud clearance... 🙂
I agree the design is a bit pants Epicyclo, which is why I'm trying to get some spyres on ebay but most seem to be going for nearly new prices, with just a few £ saved
I have BB7s on two bikes (full-sus and rigid SS) and use Superstar kevlar pads which don't squeel wet or dry. They last a long time as well but I only ride XC so am not a particularly heavy braker.
I'm kinda tempted to try the ss kevlar pads.. But the ss organics are so cheap with discount codes.. And I like the feeling of them..
oxym0r0n - Member
I agree the design is a bit pants Epicyclo...
However they work quite well.
I have a set of Spyres on another bike. Very nice action. Avid are going to have to lift their game. 🙂
New organic pads are much less squeakier - hooray + less to no rub now I have set them up properly again using the thirds rule 😀
I'm reassured by how easily available spares are for Avid BB7 brakes, and you can still buy the ferrules and the 'plastic loop' Avid supplied with their Full Metal Jacket outers, which they don't make anymore.
With the Full Metal Jacket tubing, or tubing of the same diameter bought online, I've had close to one finger braking from my front BB7 on my MTB. By close I mean two fingers is easily enough.
For some reason my back brake has always been better, but it's not a bad quirk when the front one is good enough.
I know this says it's for hydraulics but I've seen it make a difference on mechanical ones too
http://www.cxmagazine.com/mechanical-monday-quiet-howling-disc-brakes-with-zip-tie