Blows the cobwebs off the old account.... it's been a while!!
Looking for your MTB disk brake pad recommendations for Shimano 8100 single piston. My pad of choice for a good few years has been Uber race matrix, but my stock is down to zero so I need to buy more and thought I'd seek your opinion. Thank you 🙂
Never had any issues with Shimano personally. J04c on my 8100s work beautifully with Ice Tech discs. They bite well, don't squeal and last for ages. OK, they're not cheap but they work and they last so they're worth the money for me.
Noah & Theo ceramic
Shimano are my choice, tried some Nukeproof once but they squealed like a banshee so never use anything other than Shimano now.
Should have specified - mostly dry to damp cross country, nothing dangerous or dirty.
I found a load of genuine Shimano two pot pads in the garage the other day.
Drop us a PM if you're interested in them for a good price.
I'd take stu up on that offer if I were you, but for the riding you describe you can probably get away with any cheap organic pads.
Clarks seem to pop up for £4 or £5 a lot these days. They're decent enough.
I recently took a punt on these. Seem very good so far on my gravel bike. Can't comment on longevity yet.
https://www.vandorm.co.uk/collections/brake-pads
Uberbike race matrix again, or e-matrix.
Running Galfer "Ebike" pads in my 2pot XTs for the last two or three months in the alps.
One set lasted about six weeks of park riding.
Cheaper than Shimano, too.
I'm always a bit twitchy about actually recommending these to people, but, I use Bikein ceramic from alixpress. For my formulas, they come out at £8.53 for 4 pairs, but that's not why I use 'em, they're also just really good- decently longlived, very consistent, work in all conditions whether it's a big mountain or a big swamp, on my dh bike and my enduro bike and my fatbike and my hybrid. I've run them through a few scottish winters, but also did the megavalanche and a week in the alps with them, and they've been as good as anything else I've ever used. Plus, an unexpected benefit is that I actually change them on time, rather than trying to get every last mile out of them like I usually do.
I guess I'd have to say they're not especially strong, but that's fine, I have good brakes 😉 IMO needing aggressive pads on a pushbike is just a symptom of crap brakes, milder pads generally mean everything works better for longer with more consistency. But if you do want to get that bit more initial bite or that bit of emergency stop that your brakes struggle to give you, they probably aren't right for you.
(presumably you can get the exact same pads under about 50 different chinese non-brands but I've stuck with the Bikein branded ones just because they've always worked out, and because the packaging assures me that they're "ideal for all wether conditions" and "ideal for across country" maybe I could save 10p a pad by experimenting 😉 But equally I'd bet money you can buy the exact same pads with a UK "brand" attached for more)
I’ve been pretty impressed by Nukeproof sintered on my Guides.
Apparently 8100's use the same pads as 785's, and it turns out I had 4 pairs of race matrix in an envelope in my old spares box with 785 written on it....
Gorilla brakes multi compound and ceramic have been really good for me, they've added more compounds since I last bought some, I might give their Enduro pro series a try next.
Gorilla for me too, Enduro Pro have been really good. I'm using Noah & Theo for rear pads as they are really good & cheap.
Gorilla pads are bringing me to a stop at the moment.
This
Gorilla for me too, Enduro Pro have been really good.
This.
I got some gorilla pads before Alps trip this year after years of using Uberbike Racematrix. They lasted the whole trip, and a full Styniog day, gobsmacked. Guessing about 40km of descent.
The Racematrix ones I'd be swapping out Avery few days.
And to top of all, I just got a 40% off email from gorilla...
GORILLA BRAKES
40% Off all SHIMANO BRAKES
use code
(MADNESS)
Unfortunately that 40% off Gorilla code (MADNESS) is only for brakes ( NOT pads)
You can use STRAVA20 though for 20% off pads 👍
After some recent disappointment with Uberbike I’ve gone back to sticking to genuine SRAM pads. If I had Shimano I’d get genuine Shimano.
I’ve decided it’s a false economy to use anything else.
I’m another AliExpress brake pad buyer. Have used for Shimano, Magura and Formula and can’t tell any difference from the originals. Only caveat would be I’m not riding Alps descents, but then neither is the OP by the sounds of it.