Pads – Shimano or Superstar?

Sorry, I know it’s been done to death, but I’m tempted to go Shimano as the ones I have noe have lasted ages and performed very well

Are the SS ones the same for ~£10 less?

Cheers

Ive never heard anyone complain about shimano pads other than the price.

Uberbike race matrix have been a great alternative here.

+1 for Uberbike race matrix. Very good indeed in my experience.

I’d stick with Shimano. A bit more expensive but they work well and last for ages .

Shimano, Halfords is usually cheap for XTR finned

You get what you pay for, why have some of the best brakes & fit budget pads?

Uberbike, just switched from shimano/Rwd and superstar , the white ones are brilliant.

Never heard of Uberbike stuff

What’s their race matrix?? Organic, metalic?

I must say though the Shimano’s have been faultless

I’m also on the race matrix, its kinda a bit of both.

I must say though the Shimano’s have been faultless

Just about sums it up.
I tried superstar kevlar. They weren’t much cop and seemed to wear the rotors down too.
I’ve gone back to shimano.

My experience is that Superstar organic are decent enough, not quite as good as Shimano but close enough that I always end up buying them instead.

Didn’t like the Kevlar or Sintered ones so much.

About 4 months ago I would have said superstar kevlar are great. Latest batch have me absolutely useless and as I installed them after the 45 day “no quibble return policy” superstar won’t take them back. So poo them.

However, I am running sintered and they are OK.

I ordered 4 sets of the race matrix pads after reviews on here…. They were absolutely terrible. Improved in the wet but, squeeled like a pig and so inconsistent. Nothing…. Nothing…. Nothing…. Oh balls….. Bite, skid wallop. Stuck a new pair in my cx with rs685 hyros…. Awful. On the 69er….awful….. On the bouncer… Awful (slx, XT and rs685s)

I have never had an issue with oem pads so for now, I am back to using sintered shimano pads on all my bikes.

http://www.rahoxbrakes.com

As recommended by Doug at Basque MTB. Very impressed with them.

Get 15% off in our high performance mtb brake pads during October.

Coupon Code: OCTOBER15%OFF

Thanks all – just ordered up some more Shimano’s

Always used SS sintered pads on my bikes(shimano deore/xt/zee)..never had any issues…never had squealing…their kevlar pads on the other hand were terrible(although that could have been the elixirs that they were fitted to)

I tend to stick with Shimano and Formula pads. Had issues with the Superstars
I tried being thicker than standard on my Formula brakes.

After having 3 sets of superstar pads fall off the backing plates I swore never to buy any of their rubbish ever again.

I ditched the stock finned pads for non-finned race matrix pads from Uberbike. I’ve been really impressed. I just looked at when I ordered the pair that are on the front of my bike – February this year! They still look like they have plenty of life left. They do squeal a little when cold/wet, but once they’ve got some heat in them they are nice and quiet. Not had any issues with feel/consistency.

With aftermarket, it seems to vary from brake to brake. My Race Matrixes (for Formula The One) went in the bin, they were fine for UK pootling and terrifying on a decent alps descent. I never thrown ANYTHING in the bin unless it’s worn out.

The SS kevlars are my favourite pads, in various formulas and my old XTs. I’d still buy ’em if they were teh same price as Shimano, I think. They’re a little picky about breaking in but otherwise, great imo.

SS sintered for me……

Running Uberbike Sintered on 2 bikes at the mo. Great pads, reasonable price and quiet too!

I’ve never had any issues with SS sintered pads, been using then for 5 or 6 years.

I’ve used Superstar Organic and Sintered with no issues but I gave up on the Kevlars as they kept glazing over.

Shimano for under £6 a pair. What’s not to like?

That 15% off rahox still doesn’t make them cheap.

I bought a set for my Hope brakes (M4 / X2). I replaced both sets of pads at the same time. Hope pads in the front and the Rahox in the rear. Now I’m not the most sensitive guy (we know a song about that) but I can feel the different (seems to brake better and with more control).

I like them. They are not Superstar cheap (which I have also used).

If there’s any one component on the bike I want working well, with high reliability, it’s the brakes. Few quid on pads is cheaper than a trip to the dentists.
I used to say Superstar were good, but in reality, my Formula organic had better stopping power than Superstar sintered, and lasted much longer. And the stock pads that shipped my XT’s even better still.
Half the material fell/wore off my Superstars, in about 3 days of XC in the Alps.

That 15% off rahox still doesn’t make them cheap.

They are not cheap like superstar but then they are much much higher quality, they are better than the stock pads never mind the bargain bucket suppliers.

my Formula organic had better stopping power than Superstar sintered

Funny that! Not comparing like for like are you? Organic pads generally have better stopping power at the expense of wear resistance. Sintered offer better wear resistance for >90% of the stopping power.

The Superstar pads that I’ve had have been pretty pants – teh stock Shimano resin ones seem to be the best for me. Good bite, quiet and last ages too.

I tried Uberbikes pads on my XT’s and thought they were useless and honked awfully in the wet.

Funny that! Not comparing like for like are you? Organic pads generally have better stopping power at the expense of wear resistance. Sintered offer better wear resistance for >90% of the stopping power.

Not an attack on the fella you’re quoting, but I think some people don’t really get that sintered and other newfangled types of pad are not likely to perform as well as plain old organic.

Uberbike’s Racematrix here too, they put up with my brake dragging down Antur on my HT with no fade!…had them in everything from Deores to Saints so far, great pads.

Double post.

Bugger it, the pads are so good it’s worth posting about them twice…i believe that the Racematrix compound is a mix of organic and ‘other’….nice compromise and in theory should be worse than plain organic/soft but I’ve never had a problem with power on them…easily as good as Shimano OEM stuff I’ve had and better than Superstar’s…which aren’t bad either to be honest.

Thanks Leku, just ordered some Superspeed Rahox pads with 15% off. If they work well and don’t make too much noise I will be very happy, not tried the organic Shimano yet but the sintered can be noisy when wet. For me it’s performance before price.

I must say the Rahox ones are excellent. I went for a spin this morning and really impressed. Going to take out the Hope ones in the front and replace them with the Rahox ones.

Life is too short for cheap tyres and pads (with poor ones having the possibility of making it even shorter).

+1 for Shimano finned sintered on IceTech rotors. I’m on 900+ miles on a finned metal set front and rear and they still have plenty of life left. They have next to no bed in time. Fit and forget through all weathers if you don’t contaminate them accidentally.

I have run Superstar metal and organic too and won’t buy them again. Kept as emergency spares. Nasty noisy things and the bed in time is noticeable.

I’ve also tried Shimano finned organic and in the dry the stopping power and control was absolutely awesome (better than the genuine metal ones). In wet/grit they got destroyed very quickly.

Friend had some Superstar kevlar in the alps. He changed his pads 4 times in one week and the pads wore deep grooves into his rotors. False economy in however much he saved on the formula originals.

Any recommendations where to buy the finned Shimano F03C metalic?

Struggling to find them

(CRC sold out)

I normal buy a few sets at a time from one of the German sites.
Edit.
CRC are showing finned xt metal pads as in stock.
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-xtr-xt-slx-alfine-j-type-disc-brake-pads/rp-prod130823