@Gary – Like I said again above, the pads were very good in terms of performace/feel, until they failed.

I have just had two sets of pads rust so badly that they jammed in the calipers front and back and also one set of pads where the material came of the back plate after 3 months of light use.

I am not buying them again, for now I’ve applied a small amount of grease to the back and sides and will see how it goes.

Any suggestions on a suitable replacement brand?

Been using them for 3-4 years now. I think i came across them just after the ‘pad fail epidemic’ that gave SSC notoriety.

I’ve done 3 trips to Spain with them, used them in various races, through dry dusty conditions, wet Thetford grinding paste & never had a problem.

Last April I put a set in & they lasted me up to July when I went to Spain for a week with Ciclo Montana. They survived that week & only needed replacing for the D2D in October!

Yeah, probably because they were not bonded on properly, or something!

or maybe they were put away wet in winter, the water froze and the gap opened, allowing more water to get in and so on. over a few months theres not enough pad gripping the material and blam, it pulls off.

I’ve had Hope pads fail in the same way, but no problems so far with SS – just seems some batches are better than others.

I thought the bad batches were recalled or an offer was made to exchange them?

The other cheap brakepad company I have used is discobrakes although If I’ve been ordering other stuff like grips at the sametime I’ve gone back to superstar as there’s nothing in the price.

Been using them for a while now with no problems, the grips also seem to be good.

The lowdown on pads is that for a start there are only 3 manufacturers of pads worldwide, one being Shimano, the other two being taiwanese companies, one of which superstar use.

The wrond formula of glue was used about 4 yrs back and where possible they were recalled, but not all had batch numbers on so all the companies affected did the good thing and offered free replacements.

Winter wet weather kills all pads if they get rusty which is only to be expected.

If you want your pads to last there is one simple rule to follow and a couple of things that you can do to make them last longer.

Firstly never put a new set in in mid winter on a cold wet ride and expect them to last, they wont.

If you want them to last get them glowing (alpine descents) in the summer and then swap them for another set and repeat. The heat generated causes them to bond and harden, so do this to stock up pads for winter use and they will last longer.

Alternatively, bake them in the oven before use!

It all boils down to the heat they are initially baked at, cheaper ones get less heat for less time, fibrax being the worst culprit for being tight.

Lastly, always carry a spare set as you never know when you need them!

Hope that helps

My main issue with SS pads is the sizing of the backing plates-the damn things are a right pain the rear as they seem to be very inconsistent, one set will fit, the next will not and you always have to bleed of some brake fluid from a new system to fit them in too (again think its the thickness of the bqacking plate more than the depth of the braking material. Had at least one set fail big time on first ride out having been properly bedded in and other sets just disintergrate in one ride.
Other cheap suppiers of pad have had similar problems (cannot think of the company that was selling them but they were red backed ceramic pads, similar quality and price.
I now always stick to the premiuim or OEM pads, they last longer are more consistent in size and fit and in value for money terms in my opinion are better value per set to say three sets of cheap ones.
As for baking them in the oven, one company cures them fully (cant remember wich one but if you spend ten minutes doing it properly on the bike with discs cleaned with meths before hand there is no need to wsste your gas/electric.
I must say that I also had some magura julie pads (OEM) that got trashed by those rotors-dont rate them at all as they also induce a lot of fork vibration and think that the wave edge is partly what damages the pads.

bland – Member

The lowdown on pads is that for a start there are only 3 manufacturers of pads worldwide, one being Shimano, the other two being taiwanese companies, one of which superstar use.

I think EBC, Fibrax, Carbon Lorraine and several others may disagree with you…….

Just to clarify, the pads that I have had issues with have been since the new year, so not the older faulty batch!

There seems to be a suggestion in some of these posts that disc brake pads need to be kept away from water, cold and muck and generally smothered with heaps of (impractial) TLC or they’ll fail miserably.

It’s a good job then that car disc brake pads, which are left out 365 days a year in all classes of cold, wet & dirty conditions seem to manage all right, which is just as well considering the complications that might arise from a couple of tonnes of fast moving metal suddenly losing the ability to be brought to a halt.

I have to conclude then, that unless you only ride your bike on a Sunday morning in the dry and then totaly strip, clean and rebuild it afterwards, disc brakes should be avoided ‘cos they’re not fit for purpose 😉

I have to conclude then, that unless you only ride your bike on a Sunday morning in the dry and then totaly strip, clean and rebuild it afterwards, disc brakes should be avoided ‘cos they’re not fit for purpose

you go by that and the rest of us will carry on as before then!

Similar problems in car pads resulted in trading standards investigating…
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-10846035

3 manufacturers and all in Japan and Tiawan?

There’s at least one major one in the Peak Pistrict!

And your average garrage used to be capable of sticking new linings on without them failing.

And your average garrage used to be capable of sticking new linings on without them failing.

on a car the wheel isn’t regularly removed and refitted by shoving the rotor back in and waggling it about until it finds the gap between the pads.

I’ve been running Superstar pads for years. Never a problem. Their kevlar pads are ace

I think you need to bear in mind just how popular the things are, that exagerrates the failure rate- talk of a recall doesn’t make much sense if the reported failures are at all representative.

Never had it myself… OTOH I did have the entire friction material drop off an OEM Shimano pad, also had a Disco one tear up and lose big chunks of its surface. I’ve seen pics of a Hope OEM and an Avid one that did the same. As far as I can tell it’s just something that happens sometimes to pads.

(though, they definately do have a fitting issue with some Avids, due to the thickness of the paint, very easy to sort but still needless and annoying. Some of my XT ones were tight as well, though that’s easier to deal with. Still, in my experience the kevlars are the best allround pads out there.)