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Hey, I'm thinking about getting some pads for the old stoppers. I'm in the South East so the mud is clay/chalk not gritty and I rarely get out to the sandier locations.
I've read evenly divided opinions on the 2, sintered being harder wearing especially for abrasive conditions. Kevlar being like resin but longer lasting.
Then there's squeal. I hate squeal and have heard the Kevlar pads do in the wet (and the sintered do when not bedded in).
I think I'll be going with sintered as the opinions seem more consistent, but is bit sacrificed for durability? If the sintered are bitey AND durable then they sound perfect to me.
I'm on SLX with stock pads. They're good but I don't think I'd like any less braking than the stock resin pads give me. The Airotors I'm running appear a little less stoppy than the Shimano.
my kevlars have a very slight squeal even in the dry, like a little whistle
My kevlars don't squeal, but the stock XT pads I had in used to squeal like a piggy, wet or dry! I just use Kevlars as default pads for everything now - they're cheap enough not to worry about durability (which is pretty darn good anyway).
Been running kevlars for a couple of years without any squeal - I now wouldn't think of using anything else
All my brakes squeal regardless of pads, I've got the bad touch. Superstar kevlars for me though, for everything- best allround pad I've used by quite a long way, and cheap to boot. Better with long brakey descents than sintered, and better with mud than organic, just a nice sensible middle ground.
Any opinions from the sintered users?
Kevlar pads in Avid BB7s. Silent in the dry, squeel in the wet. The pukka Avid sintered pads used to squeel in the wet as well but the Avid organics were silent wet or dry and lasted quite well. I might go back to them when the Superstar kevlars wear out.
Recent convert to SS sintered ahving been a Shimano user of both organic and sintered.
Too early to compare to Shimano sintered which were exceptionally long lasting for durability,but they do provide lots of
"bite".Very happy so far.
Just to throw in some balance... Superstar Kevlar pads are the worst I've ever used! Fortunately I got given them, so I won't complain too much, but I've got 2 bikes both with identical brakes, both bled properly etc. The one bike has Superstar Kevlar pads in both ends, and they squeal like a pig unless bone dry, and they barely stop me. I'm running A2X blue compound on the other bike (as I have run almost exclusively for years) and the bike stops quickly and controllably, without noise, come rain or shine. They're not even any more expensive (woollyhatshop on eBay), I'd recommend them to anyone...
mboy - Member
Just to throw in some balance... Superstar Kevlar pads are the worst I've ever used! Fortunately I got given them, so I won't complain too much, but I've got 2 bikes both with identical brakes, both bled properly etc. The one bike has Superstar Kevlar pads in both ends, and they squeal like a pig unless bone dry, and they barely stop me.
Oil or something on them? In terms of stopping power the ss ones are at least equal to OE shimano on my bike.
Aye, definately something not right- though could be the pads themselves are just faulty though with it being both ends that's surprising. The blues are organic I think so you'd expect a wee bit more power than the kevlars but not massively...
Just got back from Torridon where I managed to wear my kevlar pads to the metal backing (whoops) in two rides, admittedly one of them being the Coulin Annat loop. I was a bit disappointed as my son had used one pair in the Alps for two weeks and was really impressed with them. With hindsight I guess sintered would have been better for wet sandstone.
I wasn't too impressed with the kevlar pads, they didn't seem to last any longer than organic pads. I was thinking of giving them another go but had the pad fall of the backing plate of a ss pad, and problems with the size of the pads too, so currently not too enamoured with SS pads.
SS red kevlars are ok but not as good as blue a2z's don't exactly last a long time but they do stop well
Been using them for about a year...very good but seriously noisy in the wet...the first 2 or 3 pulls when wet are awful then they go good. Seem to be wearing very well so far. I think as long lasting as sintered and just as good as organic but pads tend to last me ages anyway so durability is never something I worry about, I just want them to stop me quickly...and they do.
I've been using them for a couple of years but they are too damn thick, at least the ones for Formula Oros's and Formula Mega's are. Have to file the back and braking surface down slightly to fit them in which is a PITA and don't trail side change friendly.
I've also come across this with my elixir ones. A2Z's drop straight in
2nd set Northwind, I got given 2 full sets, same with both sets. No contamination. They're just poo in comparison to A2Z blue compound! Think A2Z blue are a Kevlar compound too, they used to do a cheaper green which was definitely their organic anyway...
According to A2Z they're organic... I've used a set and tbh I suspect they're exactly the same pad as the superstar organics. (not going to judge them on performance as I didn't use them from new)
But there's no way your kevlars should be failing to stop you. TBH there's no way [i]any[/i] pad should be failing to stop you! They're a wee bit more precious about bedding in than some pads but nothing particularily difficult.
Superstar pads suck balls.
If you go the sintered route, check out Uberbikecomponents pads, good pads and great service
They don't fail to stop me, they just don't have any bite or any real power. They weren't always as bad to be fair, as always I took the time to bed them in properly and they performed ok for the first couple of rides. Then I did a wet ride on them, and power disappeared straight after. They seemed to need bedding in again. So a few dry rides later and power starts to come back a little, and then what... More rain!
Given how much rain we have in the UK, and the SS Kevlar pad performance for ages from the point they get wet (and the horrid noise they make!), I guarantee I won't be buying any in future... I'll keep buying A2Z blue for sure as their performance has been nothing but phenomenal for me, and they seem to last ages for some reason even though they're not sintered.
See, that experience is so different from the others in here that you've got to wonder why. I mean, here:
[url= http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5134/5506731219_f994e9e3b3_z.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/53860438@N06/5506731219/ ]Mini DH[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/53860438@N06/ ]Northwindlowlander[/url], on Flickr
That's a pretty standard ride for my kevlars, as wet as it gets (except for the parts where it was snowing) but they performed flawlessly.
I'm running SS [b]sintered[/b] on the rear with Formula RX brakes.
I'm happy with the stopping power, but do get a lot of squeal with them. They seem particularly offensive when cold, but when they're warm, or it the weather is dry and warm, they're not so bad.
Been running them since January, in all conditions, 40-50 miles a week, and they've hardly worn at all.
SS Kevlars piss all over anything else I've used in terms of stopping power AND pad life (and price - £25 for 4 packs....).
I know what you're saying Northwind, maybe the pads I got given are from a bad batch or something, who knows. What I will say is that I'm not the first person I know of to have poor performance from Superstar brake pads, I know a few others who have had similar (or worse experiences), so maybe there is still some quality control issues, as seemingly plenty of other people are doing ok with them...
Superstar pads suck balls.
+1
Kevlar lasted only a quarter of formula original sintered, had less stopping power and faded faster. Maybe I was lucky getting some from wierd batch, but now I'm sold on original/SwissTop ones (at least for formula).
For more balance...
Just found some new Shimano Sintered pads I'd forgot I had, must've bought them back in 2003/4, ended up in a box and I totally forgot about them. Anyway... Just whipped the Superstar Kevlar pads out of the brakes on my bike, put the new Sintered Shimano pads in, rode the bike up and down the road, dragged the brakes a few hundred yards, did a few hard stops, and already they've got FAR more bite than the SS Kevlar ones have ever had!
Half worn SS kevlar pads now consigned to the camelbak as a "get me home in an emergency" set of pads.
Had 4xSS organic pads turn up in the post yesterday. They seem fine + great price.
Gave the Haribo to friend's three year old. She couldn't open the packet so I told her to get her elder sister to help, then they could share the sweets.
Three year old looks up at me, horrified. "But there's only not many in there!"
Herman Shake,
Just buy both sets there is a deal on a pack of 4 sets (you can mix and match) and see how you personally get on.
I have the SS Kevlar on two sets of bikes, no problems at all (Avid Elixir 5).
Its amazing how brake pads can split opinions.
I'm firmly in the Superstar are balls camp. I swapped my OE Shimano front pads for Kevlar red on my Saint M810's. I've got through four sets of them and they never had same bite and consistensy as the Shimano pads. I just swapped to Aztec Sintered they are much better than the Superstar pads on a par with the Shimono ones I would have said.
They only thing the Superstar pads had going for them was they were cheap
Superstar pads to sum up ... DONT BUY THEM!!!
They might seem super cheap and first impressions when using them is yeah they arnt too Shit.
if you ride your bike daily ( mainly the alps) you will get a happy 2-3 days riding out of them before they have worn out.. after 2 weeks and youve been through 5 sets of pads on the rear (front still being original shimano pads as they last longer) yourl notice you have to buy a new rotors as the compound in the kevlar pads eat the rotor away.
Answer if you want to buy cheap pads and spend money on rotors then buy superstar!
If you want pads that last, Dont wreck your rotors and actually perform better then buy original pads or of a high quality brand.
Either way I found out the hard way and turns out cheaper to buy good pads and keep your rotors in good shape than buying new rotors at £31 ago (shimano xt ice tech rotors)
I've been to the alps 2/3 times on superstar pads and they haven't worn any different to any other brand
My experience of the Kevlars...
Bought a load to go to the Alps with a couple of years ago and they were superb. Loads of power, long lasting with no glaze/fade etc. Great pads. Took a while to get through the sets I bought at that time so at the start of this year, I ordered some more. Why change when what you had was so good?
How wrong. The new sets I've had squeal whatever the conditions and take ages to warm up but when they have done, they are good. In my eyes though, they shouldn't need to warm up. No good having brakes that can't even lock a wheel until the bottom of the first descent of the day (although its guaranteed to make the first descent of the day a bit quicker!).
Problem is, I've never used anything better. Next pads I get I need to have a look for something mega soft and stoppy. Not too bothered about shelling out £20/£30 every 3 or 4 months for decent pads...
Oh and just realised, holy thread resurrection!
Interesting to read my comment from 4 months ago (when I'd just got the new Kevlars) and how I feel about them 4 months down the line...
I've had very diff experiences of kevlar based on two very different bikes. In the alps, as above, they wore out quick and seriously took some life off my rotors. Deff bedded in propperly, but quite possibly over braked by me to begin with while I got used to the alpineness of it all.
Would go straight organic/sintered there if I went again and change as per conditions.
However, on my XC HT here, sintered pads seem to last indefinitely. Fit forget, go, keep going. think you must need to change your pads by now. find that No you don't.
Both shimano brakes.
I know old thread but the comparative difference I thought worth posting.
I've tried some Kevlars again and they're still pretty cr@p. The OEM Shimano ones were awesome. They were quiet, really powerful, bite well and alsted 3 weeks riding, including a whole lift assisted week in the Alps but these Kevlars are pretty poor. I might try some of those A2Z Blue or just some more OEM pads next time.
no idea what pads are on my XTs (previous style) but they are lasting ages. Also the OEM ones in my LX (same shape pad) have lasted ages.
I was just about to buy some in ready as i've been riding in a lot of grit so this thread is quite useful.
My priorities are performance (from cold and hot) and disc life. I don't care if the pad life is lower as I use centrelock rotors on both bikes which are not cheap! Although I do have a spare set of XTR ones should I need them.
Cant be arsed reading the whole thread but they are as cheap as chips. Just buy some of each and see what works best for you / on your terrain.
Another view just to balance things up...
Have used SS kevlars in Garda last year and at Mega this year.
M785 XT brakes and SS 180 floating rotors.
In these (dry) conditions, they were great. In both cases I went through a set and a half on the back and 50% of one on the front in each week of riding. (Yes I know I must be dragging the back)
However, after returning to Calderdale rain/grinding paste, the remaining 50% of both ends was completely eaten within half an hour!!!
Bottom line: SS sintered have been as good as any for me for UK riding but I'm very happy with the kevlars for dry Alps stuff.
Having previoulsy slagged off the SS kevlars, I am giving the sintereds a go. They seem okay, too soon to know what the wear is like but they are powerful enough.
Kevlars are a halfway house between resin and sintered, therefore you would expect them to have similar halfway wear characteristics.
Oddly enough they bite similar to resin, but dont wear out as quickly.
In grot I tend to swap them out for sintered, in the dry in go the kevlars. My kevlars are on their second summer now.
If kevlars are wearing out your discs, then surely sintered would be worse?
It's not possible to mix and match different materials is it? I was just going to order a couple Kevlar and a couple of sintered when it is really gritty. You can mix different shapes though. Both my bikes have the same shape (older XT and LX) which keeps things simple.
Just to add another option or two into the mix, has anyone got an opinions of the Discobrakes compounds? http://www.discobrakes.com/?s=0&t=8&q=compounds&
Have to say I've noticed a difference between a batch of kevlars I bought last year and the last couple of sets I've bought recently. Old ones lasted well, quiet and good stopping power. The newer ones... Hmmmm, none of the above!!
Just found this thread as I have a question about SS sintered.
I've just fitted a full set on my Elixir 3's but after a couple of days doing the coast to coast this weekend, they got very noisy on long descents on road. The noise was so bad and vibration was as if the brakes were metal on metal.
These are new pads fitted for the ride, but as this is my first bike with discs and the first time I've had to replace any pads I had no experience to base pad choice on, so went with sintered as a "good all-rounder"
Reading through this thread it looks like I've either not bedded the pads in correctly (I followed the SS instruction on the pack) or should have gone for Kevlar instead.
What do you think?