MTX Red Label brake pads – noisy brakes vs SCIENCE!!

I can’t tell you how excited this video makes me.

I think I’ve now spent well over £150 swapping rotors and pads trying to find something marginally less horrific sounding under gentle/wet/cold braking conditions. As of yesterday I had one more set of pads to try (EBC gold) before I went back to rim brakes.

However, the write up on this page seem too good to be true, they even specifically market the pads as being low noise in the wet.

The video test might be slightly less than scientific but even that had me salivating, I would give anything for that little noise braking from cold on soaking wet rotors.

Red Label RACE Brake Pads

Anyone tried these? Think they’re worth the punt? Probably £80 once shipped from the US…

Probably £80 once shipped from the US

Bargain! is that per wheel or for the pair?

Hang on a minute £80 for pads?

R U MENTLE M8!!!!

I dunno, in comparison to the joy that silent, or even relatively quiet braking would give me, it would probably be worthwhile.

Ever gone for a ride on a bike after finally getting rid of that creaking BB/pedal/seatpost/whatever, and the whole bike actually feels a bit faster just because it’s not creaking any more? That’s probably how good my bike would feel if I could go thrashing through the muddiest trails and slidiest corners without giving pensioners heart attacks when I try to slow down.

Anyway, I have a sucky job which pays plenty so gives me plenty of time to overthink expensive upgrades instead of overthinking tedious and confused client briefs…

I’d be minded to just fit OEM resin pads, accept any noise or performance limitations and move on with my life.

Sod spunking £80 on brake pads.

I think you need to spend £80 on some really good noise cancelling headphones and just use all the pads and rotors you have around your garage which will probably last you a few years!

A friend runs Trickstuff pads in all his non-Trickstuff brakes and really rates them

I’m not sure where the SCIENCE came from but their marketing is dialled up to 11. At that price most normal humans would not allow themselves to hear any noise any more

If that is your level of spare cash then go for it, why not.  They claim you can send them back for a refund if they don’t work for you so only postage lost.

The claims

Our Red Label RACE Ceramic produces next-to-zero noise output under any condition.

Our Red Label RACE brake pads recover incredibly fast in wet conditions, bringing them back to silence very quickly.

My bold

Yeah… I emailed them and they admitted that so long as the system is cold and wet, they’ll make noise. Sounds like at best they just heat up quicker than other pads.

Funnily enough, this was the effect I noticed with my cheaply Noah and Theo ceramic pads, e.g. loud noise but quickly quiet, so perhaps that’s the best I can hope for. £80 saved at least!

I’d also be worried that the testing didn’t involve a cold, wet, Scottish winter ride 🙂

Might as well go and buy a set of those £50 tubeless valves too while you’re at it 😀

I’d also be worried that the testing didn’t involve a cold, wet, Scottish winter ride

Well they sprayed it the rotors down with a hose before each test so absolutely unimpeachable scientific method was employed 😁

Why do you want silent brakes in the wet? The noise gives you information about wheel grip as you know the wheels are turning not locking…

If they’re loud and warbly you’re contaminated.

Sorry if I’ve missed a previous thread, but which brand and model are your noisy brakes?

If you’re looking at spending that much on pads, I’d consider swapping the brakes instead.

Why do you want silent brakes in the wet?

Is that a trick question? Surely EVERYONE wants quiet brakes in the wet, or at least, not screecheningly loud brakes.

Remember that scene in jaws when Quint gets everyone’s attention by dragging his fingernails down the blackboard? Yeah, that works because it’s such an unpleasant noise. I don’t need that when I’m supposed to be out riding for fun.

And it sure as hell doesn’t give me any feedback on what the brakes are actually doing because it’s so unpleasant it actually dictates how hard I pull the lever, I almost crashed once because the choice was not brake, or give two little old ladies a heart attack as I tried to slow down as I approached them. I’ve been riding quiet rim brakes from long enough without having to rely upon audible feedback as to when they’re gripping and when they’re not.

If they’re loud and warbly you’re contaminated.

They’re not contaminated, and if they were they have become so in an unbelievably short space of time and in the absence of any obvious source of contamination (I lube my chain with Putoline so there’s little chance of accidentally spraying that all over my pads! 😁).

Anyway, my personal issues with brakes have been done to death as Scotroutes will no doubt be along to roll his eyes about soon, I was just curious in people’s experiences with this brand in particular (more feedback from the owner @ MTX Brakes: “I’m the same; I can’t ride a bike with a single rattle, creak or brake squeal. Just can’t.”).

but which brand and model are your noisy brakes?

SRAM Levels (on my MTB which was used as a commuter then gravel bike)
Shimano Deore (to replace the Levels)
TRP Spyres on the gravel bike (to replace Avid Shorty Cantis).

I feel I should try a modern hydraulic like GRX or similar, but I’ve ridden with buddies who’s SRAM/GRX hydraulics were frankly embarrassing to listen to on even moderately wet boggy descents. I also wondered if brakes with longer pads might help, 4 pots on a gravel bike anyone? 😁

Anyway, I’m guilty of starting yet another aimless disc brake moaning thread, sorry, I can’t help myself. Original question sort of answered – by their own admission ordering the MTX red label pads from the US at great expense would probably be a waste of money, will just wait for them to distribute to the UK 😉

Tried a bit of dynamat on the forks and caliper body and copper slip on every single bolt / metal interface on the bike? Might be worth a try if a bit extreme to use dynamat.   I recall a CyclingTips interview with a Swissstop engineer who pointed out that frame resonance squealing was something no brake pad / disc combination could really overcome

The swisstop / copper slip combo has largely done the trick for me on Formula, XTR and GRX brakes but perhaps just lucky not to have forks that make it worse.

Are you sure your extreme sensitivity to sound isn’t a symptom of something? Have you ever been to a world cup DH race in the wet? Its loud brakes everywhere.

Maybe a pair of comfortable ear plugs would help keep you a happier person.

Unless you’re getting abnormal resonant vibration from somewhere (you’ve ruled out contamination), the sound will help you judge traction. Appropriate pads for the wet are noisy. That’s just a fact of life.

Are you sure your extreme sensitivity to sound isn’t a symptom of something?

Quite possibly to be honest, maybe even just ‘being an engineer’ and being unwilling to accept something mechanically ‘wrong’ that I can’t fix. Hence this thread, a company is claiming to have addressed my precise complaint.

Who knows, my job is driving me towards anti-depressant use anyway so give it a month or two and I’ll probably have stopped caring 😎

Have you ever been to a world cup DH race in the wet?

Massively different scenario, DH Race use is not the same as fat plodder negotiating flat muddy corners on his CX bike at 5mph 😉

Appropriate pads for the wet are noisy. That’s just a fact of life.

NOpe – unless contaminated my brakes are all silent in the wet. But then I do regular hard stops which I think is the monks issue.

But then I do regular hard stops which I think is the monks issue.

Yeah, stopping regularly and hard enough to keep pads warm and rotors dry is entirely NOT my idea of fun 😂

Anyway, if I could be bothered I’d ask the mods to close this thread, it’s going the same way as all my other disc brake threads, was only posting specifically about the MTX pads but by the owners own admission they wouldn’t be worth paying extra to ship across the pond, so case closed.

edit: actually from a research point of view TJ – what weight are you and what size rotors? You run Hope brakes and pads yes?

80kg ish, 160 rotors mainly. the smaller the better to keep them in their working heat range more Old hope minis i’d have 140s if I could fit them

I firmly believe that you need to get the pad / disc interface properly hot regularly to keep the brakes working well. otherwise you get cold polishing of the disc and that leads to squeel

What I tend to do is do a crash stop at traffic lights every now and then

I think this is also why my old hope minis are one finger brakes – the pad / disc interface is in optimum condition.

A squeeling brake is not working to its full efficiency

I was a very gentle braker on my motorcycles. I lent one to a pal who is a hard braker – it came back with blue discs and 50% stronger brakes – I believe I had cold polished them and he burnt it off

I firmly believe that you need to get the pad / disc interface properly hot regularly to keep the brakes working well. otherwise you get cold polishing of the disc and that leads to squeel

Yeah, I’ve taken your advice on board previously, I try my best to stop hard and fast when bedding brakes in but perhaps they just need bigger and longer hills. Again, not ideal when trying to spend winter training on flat sloppy singletrack though! I guess I could start every training ride with a quick plummet down a local road, not sure the mud tyres would thank me for that though.

What’s a mechanical home remedy to avoiding cold polishing, scrubbing rotors with wet and dry?

Ride faster, brake firmer and resist the urge to drag.

@13thfloormonk I saw this video for snake oil, sorry, I mean squeeling brake cleaner and thought you were daft/desperate enough to try it and let us all know if it’s worth buying. 🤣

Got to be cheaper than new pads

Good luck

Surely EVERYONE wants quiet brakes in the wet, or at least, not screecheningly loud brakes.

Most effective way there is to warn OAPs that you’re behind them. Seriously, it just never bothers me. The only thing that I care about with brakes is if they stop me.

A squealing brake is not working properly and will not be as effective.  I will not tolerate squealing brakes

There’s a certain set of conditions which will make brakes howl in my experience, and no amount of hard stops will fix it.

One regular ride from my door involves riding to the top of the hill behind my house, 300M climb partially road then fireroad.
At the top, the brakes are stone cold.

Temperature is hovering just above zero, there’s some wet snow patches and a hint of crusty ice here and there.

From the top, there’s some traversey ST through heather and peat, which then starts to drop into steeper sloppy peaty ST embedded with plenty rocks.
It’s techy and relatively slow, but there are a few braking points.
My brakes will tend to howl horribly here.

Then, onto an old track, fairly fast but always very wet with running water.
Expect more howling brakes for a bit, then as speed increases, all becomes quiet.
Then, a short flat road link, no braking required. Brakes will cool off again.
Next singletrack section is much less wet normally, perhaps a squawk on the first bit, but it is quite fast and open, so brakes should now be quiet.
Finally, a steep plummet back down the road, with a few corners needing to be taken slow (ST road) Here, expect lovely big dollops of endless power in perfect silence, with pad and disc working together in perfect…er, harmony 🤣

The disc/ pad interface is as good as it gets at this point. Now, ride back to the top and that sloppy peaty ST at the top of the hill will include some horrid howling braking. Every. Single. Time.

I’ve considered putting on teeny rotors for winter use, but there’s plenty times even in sloppy conditions where you still want big power.
I’d take the claims of the OP pads with a pinch of salt.
The run I describe above is one I enjoy on all my bikes.
That’s a combo of Hope, XT, SRAM Guide, using Kevlar, organic, sintered, race, fairy dust pads and rotors from 160 to 203.
Some will be less bad than others, no doubt, but none fix it.

A squealing brake is not working properly and will not be as effective. I will not tolerate squealing brakes

I used to run Hayes HFXs BITD. They always howled like banshees but they were brutally powerful.

I think noisy brakes is a complex thing, you get a resonance set up but it’s often impossible to tell exactly where and why. There are interactions between the pads, rotors, hubs, spokes, frame, and fork. Changing any one of those might cause or cure the brake howl.

I was prepared to order some MTX pads from the US but they were honest enough to admit that in the sort of conditions I seem to ride in (cold/wet + low braking) they would probably still squeal.

Randomly when I went for a recent bike fit the mechanic in the shop swore by EBC gold pads, so I thought why not and bought a set, but they’re just as bad.

I did read a Canyon blog post about how no brake system can be considered properly bedded in until after 300km use. For me that’s a bit of a non-starter as it would take me about three months to accumulate that sort of mileage! (it’s not my only bike…).

Anyway, I’ve since put my money where my mouth is and fitted some cheap mini-V brakes. Plenty power for muddy winter CX and gravel riding, no squeal, no rubbing or grinding after puddles or muddy bits. Going on previous years running canti brakes I’ll probably get at least 12-18 months out of a front rim so I’ll take that hit 😎

Have only skim read the thread, but I’d put money on the Deore calipers having weeping seals causing contamination.

I bet they are find if you fit new pads, then ride straight away, park the bike for a couple of days, and next ride they howl.
I think it’s usually the ‘O’ ring seal between the caliper halves, a friend has had some success machining the calliper faces & replacing the seals, but had to order them from the US to get the correct material.

Last summer I switched to Noah & Theo ceramics and these pads are silent, so quiet that you get little feedback when braking and has lead to a couple of overbraking OTB moments. They are cheap as chips. Only draw back is when they get wet they squeal like a pig, probably not a winter option. No experience of durability on big down downhills since most of my use has been dry and undulating XC.

If you get fed up with the V brakes you could try replacing the whole lot in one go with a new set of MT200s and SM-RT56 discs. Bottom of the range stuff I know, but I got a set of them with my bike and I’ve not heard a peep from them even when it’s been completely filthy out. I reckon it’d cost about the same as those pads, and if you’re running all mechanical discs like the Spyres they’ll also feel loads better.

But before that I’d try going to the top of the biggest hill you can find, going as fast as you can, and then do several big but not quite full stops (ie don’t completely stop, but get very close to it). Repeat at least 10 times.