Right, I'm off to the Alps for a long weekend riding and I am slowly gettng all the gear together. Spre pads would be sensible but the choice seems contradictory. Sintered sound great and last for ages so why would anyone buy anything other than them????? Organic on the other hand bite nicely but don't last….I think???
Running stroker carbons on a FS Cannondale with 200mm rotor up front and std 160 on the back. HELP!!!!! 😯

Depends on riding conditions/event.

I use organic up front and sintered rear.

why the variety?

i prefer organic as they offer better braking performance.

As you mentioned sintered last longer so would be better suited to the longer descents of the alps.

go to superstar website and read about it (they even have Kevlar)

http://superstar.tibolts.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=21&products_id=225

Sintered last longer, but are not the best choice for long descents, as they aren't so good for heat build up. Organic don't last as long, although I've used the Discobrakes organic & they seem to last a while. The advantage with organic for long downhills is that they don't suffer as much from heat build up, so they don't fade as quick. If you can get a ceramic option for your brakes they seem to be the best of both, and often give better power as well. However, the 'race' ceramic pads have much shorter life.

Sintered for wet weather, will last longer. Downsides; can squeal, and 'power' not as good. Organic for normal conditions, better braking, won't squeal, will wear down quicker if it's wet.

….still confused…."organic don't last sas long"????…does that mean days or hours or weeks?
lets have a apoll to keep it simple…vote for O or S (or C or K) for pads for the alps..i'll tot it up at the end.
Ta

Organic can go in a couple of hours in seriously wet and gritty rides, that's what sintered are for. I'd stick organic in for the Alps in summer, only change if the weather's really bad. If you're taking spare pads, it's worth sticking them in the calipers to bed them all in. IME they last longer once you've done that.

http://www.support-english.magura.com/index.php?showtopic=182&hl=organic

so, according to magura, sintere = poss no brakes….mmmmmm…think i'l give them a wide berth.

i used superstar kevlar for my dh alps trip last year. good power. wore fine although it was dry all week. oh sweet jesus did they give out a high pitched squeal though!!! brakes are hope V2.

another vote for organic
your going for a long weekend,
not a month!!

As you mentioned sintered last longer so would be better suited to the longer descents of the alps.

Are you on crack.

sounds like organic are the ones to go for…v surprised that sintered could kill me…at least i know.

as the time to order looms I wonder if there are any more views out there????

YOu can buy pads with S.O.S in them (Sintered Organic Sintered) I have some installed on my bike and they are bloody brilliant compared with the sintered I installed before.

The idea is the Sintered are at the edges with the organic in the middle over the piston to stop brake fade and to disapate the heat build build up.

Not cheap though, £18 per pair but the wear seems OK especially for the Chilterns.

per pair…as in each pair of pads..ie one caliper?

YEP!

£36 in pads – i could do my car for that

eeeeeeeesssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhh 😕

Best pads for alpine use IMO are the A2Z Blue compound… Like these…

(that price is for 2 brakes worth by the way)

They're not sintered (I guess they're organic then!) but they tend to last longer than other organic pads I've tried, but also their power is second to none in my experience. I've tried quite a few different pads now, and would buy the A2Z blue compound over and above everything else I've tried for all conditions except a British winter (when a sintered pad is preferable cos it will just last longer).

The fact they're half the price of many of their competitors is just a bonus!

they don't do SOS for elixir yet though 🙁

you're right trickdisco, sorry.

"A2Z brake pad are mades out of asbestos-free organic material and special compound in order to supply high temperature resistance up to 500 C and minimize the brake fade"..from the link…looks like another vote for organic material

just remember to bed them in, or you be replacing them again very shortly 😉

looks like another vote for organic material

That's cos only an idiot, or an uneducated person would run sintered pads out of choice in the alps!

Have seen someone's holiday ruined by running sintered pads and smaller rotors than ideal in the alps, he kept boiling his brakes because of this combination, and ended up having to walk down a lot of the trails that he wanted to be riding down!

just remember to bed them in, or you be replacing them again very shortly

One Alpine descent will do that for you, no need to worry there really… 😉

just recapping here and wonder if anyone has tried the A2Z pads and what they thought.

I use EBC sintered all year round, but I live in the flattest possible place in the UK. They are powerful enough and last ages.

just buy the grippiest F—-ng pads you can find. them hills is bigger than anything you can find here. this is not the time or place to be squinty and saving a few quid.

+1 above.

Organics.

Superstar Kevlar pads – the business

We were advised by many to take loads of spare pads on our first Alps trip last year. How many did we get through?…..None!…and we used are brakes plenty i can assure you. It didn't rain though which would have made a big difference i'm sure.

We were using standard (Organic) pads in our Hope brakes and i only suffered significant brake fade on one occasion.

superstar red (kevlars) 😉

Good to see some recommendations for the Superstar Red pads. Just bought 4 pairs for our new brakes.

same experience as nickegg…took three pairs and the stock ones continued to perform…must remember that the a2z blue organic may not last come winter.

Another vote for Superstar Kevlars (in Juicys) – used them at 24/12 and were perfect

Been loving the superstar reds myself but not tested them against an alp. But the same set did a very muddy 10 Under The Ben then a month later went back to fort william and did the downhill, and that's about as much a test as I ever want to give a brake because I think I had the back one on the entire way down They did not melt or explode.

Most people seem to agree they're a happy halfway between organic and sintered, which sounds fine to me.