What brake pads to people use?

shimano. i'm still getting through the stock I built up when amazon were doing them for about £3 a set.

I tend wait for Swissstop to be available on a discount as they are the quietest I've ever had but not seen a sale on them for a while.

Also the Alligator ones from xcracer.com were fine with my old Formulas, so worth a try?  Good value anyway - https://www.xcracer.com/shop/index.php?action=search&search=pads

No one seems to agree with me, but I like the Shimano, non-finned, resin pads. Good value, seem to last and perform well.

I like the Alllgators too.
Not quote the out and out power of EBC Redstuff but they are nearly as good and last loads longer

I'm using the cheapest pads on the internet, Bikein ceramics from aliexpress, £1.40 a pair. Got them basically out of curiosity but they've turned out to be really excellent- tested at fort william and the mega, they last better than my old favourites and have excellent feel. I'd bet money that you can buy the same pads under UK branding for way more. Obivously not a lot of money because I'm the sort of person that buys £1.40 brake pads.

I’ve just replaced the original finned grx pads with some cheap unbranded ones from ebay. They’re absolutely fine and a quarter the price.

Shimano.

Usually buy Uberbike Race Matrix in packs of 4 when they have their 20% sale.

The cheapest I can find

Gorilla Brake Pads!

eBay jobs even for proper DH

I've only ever had good results with own brand pads - all the uber/disco/superstar etc clones I find wear out in no time at all.

So Shimano, I stick with Shimano OE sintered- but bollocks to the fins - makes no difference what so ever for UK riding; Hope, I use the standard red hope pads on the front, gold/sintered on the rear.

This way, even in deepest winter I'll get a couple of months out of a set of pads - and I'll go all summer, even trips away, on a single set with no issues. If its a proper minging wet day, I'll destroy a set of the clones in 3 or 4 hours.

Gorillas ftw, if nothing but for their excellent customer service and detailed knowledge of their products and effects. Got an actual callback within minutes of an email and great chat about the specifics of my set up.
Actual pads work geeat too of course!

I always used to just buy Superstar Sintered pads and then Widgit pads they’re owned by Velobrands who own Juice Lubes and Chapeau clothing and based in Devon.

But now I have a new bike with SRAM brakes I’m tempted to try Swisstop or one of the premium brands to see if there’s any difference.

New Hope ones, which are now made by Trick stuff, they are significantly better than the Galfer greens which were already excellent, planning on getting some for the Shimanos on the Hardtail.

Galfer. Cheap and top!!

Uberbike Race Matrix for me.
They have the 20% sale on now - use code UBER20

I've just replaced my shimano GRX pads with gorilla resin pads and working well so far. They have a great selection of pad compounds and customer service was excellent

All oem pads I’ve had on new sets last me no time in the sandy conditions I ride. But the cheapo AliExpress stuff seems to last much better and I can buy probably 20 sets for the cost of a one set of oem.

Shimano resin non Finned Do3s

Used to be Uber bike race matrix but something has changed.

who pays £20-£30 a pair

Raises hand. I use OEM exclusively, They last longer, no fit issues, no uneven wear on the disk, less noise, all the bits I need in the box... I've tried loads of alternatives, and they all have some issue or another.

Gorilla Brake Pads!

Me too. The customer service is fantastic as are the pads.

Uberbike race matrix have been awful on the alps trip. Good power but squeel! In magura's and hopes.
I find oem always best and worth the extra money. New hope green ones are superb!

Thanks all, lots of choice there. Seems like it’s buy any brand because they all do a job.

Discobrakes - 2 pairs of dual compound semi metallic for £20. A very good compound imo.

Been round the houses with originals, Superstar, Uberbike and others. Back to Superstar Kevlar pads now they've decided to stock them again and think I prefer them. They work. Least squealing. Last reasonable time and cheap. Long ago stopped using sintered or any metallic based stuff.

Uber Race Matrix I went off when then moved to thin backings. It makes the pistons come out too far when worn and on a 4 pot they get uneven or more crud gets on the exposed piston sides. Could change them earlier but kind of waste of pad.

I don't do anywhere near enough braking to justify finned pads. Less braking is good anyway 😝

I would bet most of the pads come out of a tiny handful of manufacturing facilities!

In the vehicle world Ferodo knock out pads under a myriad of brand names and specs (ATE girling etc) from the same facility in Chapel-en-le-Frith.

I mainly use original Shimano / Sram, but have had to use OEMs during lockdown as that was all I could find.

Book marked.

I would bet most of the pads come out of a tiny handful of manufacturing facilities!

I agree.
Some of the AliExpress items have videos showing the production facilities. Pretty cool, but also shows you how automated it is and suggests how cheap the material cost must be versus the equipment costs.
Shimano packaging is probably 75% of the cost of their product! Their resin pads last me about one month.

Discobrakes!

I find Superstar's are pretty good now.

And you can still mix-and-match them in the 4 packs I believe.

my GRX pads lasted about 5 weeks, the alpkit hathersage mud /gravel series ride killed them, i put on hope R4s and now use E4 hopes pads like my other bikes..

I would bet most of the pads come out of a tiny handful of manufacturing facilities!

True, but I guess it's up to the customer to specify stuff like  pad materials, thickness, backing plates design, materials, QI etc etc. I'd bet money that some expensive and cheap pads that come from the same manufacturer would vary quite a bit on the trail.

I've been using Race Matrix but have had a couple of times where I've had pretty bad brake fade - yes I do probably brake too much.

Off to the Alps on Saturday and I've got some Uberbike Kevlar to try if I need to change pads whilst I'm away.

Another shout for Uberbike race matrix - bed in almost instantly, no noise, good power - being a soft compound you’ll go through more of them but they’re cheap so it’s worth it.

I found the uberbike race matrix (haven't tried other compounds) move within the caliper making an awful noise,

The £4 for 5 AliExpress ones were fine though. I get the ZTTO ones. At least have a sort of name attached to them, though assume they're all the same

@chestercopperpot definately. it always went on in the car/light vehicle plants.

my dad worked for mintex don back in the day 80s-00s, they sold the same pads in different retail packaging, even boxed them up in the main rivals boxes.

as per nickC production runs will have slight changes to backing plates/materials size/shape etc

I really liked the racematrixes at home but took them out to the alps and they were just awful. First big descent saw them go all unpredictable- one corner would be low on power, the next grabby. Threw them in the bin and I don't throw ANYTHING in the bin til it's absolutely worn out usually, I have like 10 sets of half worn pads. Replaced with my standard superstar kevlars and they were flawless so it definitely wasn't a brake issue.

But in fairness they were lovely for the less stressful use at home.