[Closed] Superstar Kevlar pads - opinions....

It's been a while, hasn't it?

😉

sarcasm aside ;), I have them on all my MTB's 🙂

Thought as much Flashy! 😆 My search-fu is weak this morning, clearly.....

I like them, used them for a couple of years. Does what it says on the tin.

Very good IMO, last ages.

Don't get the organic ones, superstar sintered are great! Buy a set, if you don't like em don't get em again. Not like its gonna bankrupt you!

Got the kevlar pads, been in bike for a year and only about half worn. Good stopping power. I like them.

The Superstar Kevlar pads seem to offer the [s]almost[/s] unbelivable combination of long life, good stopping power and they cost buttons

Have given them more than a fair chance over the years but their quality and performance is simply too erratic to recommend them

I personally won't be buying them again - mine were slightly thicker than other pads and took me ages to get them to fit and I'm still not really happy with them.

Superstar sintered for me. Tried the kevlar ones but the life was very poor and the stopping power wasn't noticably higher than the sintered pads.

Been using the kevlar pads for 2 summer now. Very happy with the wear and power. Take them out for the winter and put SS sintered in for added wear resistance.
No issues with M775 XT brakes here. Recommended.

Been using them for a while now, burnt through them in the wet Alps last year but survived winter in the Peaks

No problems at all with the Kevlars, using them for over 2 years now (Not the same set of course!)

Superstar sintered for me. Tried the kevlar ones but the life was very poor and the stopping power wasn't noticably higher than the sintered pads.

^this

Finished off my first set last month, had been on the bike for over a year (on the rear) so not too bad going for me, good stopping power too.

I'm not anticipating life to be a big problem, being on the road - genuine Avid sintered pads will last 2 years+, but are getting quite pricey, so if I can get more power for the same life with the Kevlar pads then I'll be happy.

To be fair, I tried some SS sintered pads many moons ago and of the four pads on the bike, two delaminated in pretty short order which a) was a 'fun' experience and b) was a 'rogue batch', but that put me off until now.....

I've got 'em. OK, and the price is right

APF

genuine Avid sintered pads...but are getting quite pricey

Would rather spend that extra £5 and get something that works tbh

Would rather spend that extra £5 and get something that works tbh

Pack of 4 sets is £25 - that's ~£6 a set, so getting on for 1/3 price of OE. With two bikes running the same brakes thats £25 to replace the whole lot or £60.

Had the Superstar Kevlars, pad material came away from the backing on several pairs of them, nearly ended up badly hurt on one occasion as a result. Not for me.

Had the Superstar Kevlars, pad material came away from the backing on several pairs of them, nearly ended up badly hurt on one occasion as a result. Not for me.

Ah, t!ts - may main concern that they still randomly do this..... back to dithering.....

bristolbiker - Member

Ah, t!ts - may main concern that they still randomly do this..... back to dithering.....

It was a year or two ago, to be fair - dunno what they're like nowadays, but I haven't been back

With two bikes running the same brakes thats £25 to replace the whole lot with something that doesn't work or £60 with something that does

With two bikes running the same brakes thats £25 to replace the whole lot with something that doesn't work or £60 with something that does, IMHO

You are Dave from Superstar and I claim my £5

Got kevlars on my BB7s, front gives a very slight 'whistle' on every application, other than that they have been ok.

😆

I'm canvassing opinions - which seems to be split down the middle in this case. I'm happy to take any comments on board and make a decision from there. I realise it isn't the STW way, but stating an opinion as a carved-in-stone-and-passed-down-the-mountain fact is not particularly helpful - that's all I was pointing out by, er, "correcting", your "re-imagining" of my original post

Mine have been faultless.

I had nothing but good experience using these in Garda [b][u]in the dry[/b][/u]. Two pairs lasted the week, with 50% of the second set still remaining after 25000 metres of uplift-assisted riding.
But, that remaining 50% was gone within the first hour of riding around Calderdale in the wet.

Great product, would buy again - just not suitable for locations blessed with grinding-paste mud.

Didn't really see the benefit of Kevlar over sintered, but I've used all three compounds and been perfectly happy with them. Organic for the Alps, sintered for everyday use, Kevlar 'cos they were on offer. They were on borked brakes though, so possibly not the fairest comparison.

I like the Kevlar pads, the last 3 lots of pads (I.e. 12 pairs of pads for various bikes) have been Kevlar ones. I've not done a comparison with the Sintered ones, but I'm happy with them. Good power, great wear rate, my only complaint is that they squeal a bit in the wet. Never had a problem with the pads coming off the backing, haven't heard about those issues for a few years now.

I didn't have a problem with their performance them but found them a bit noisy. I seem to never wear out pads so went back to the organic ones as they are quieter and perhaps have a bit more bite.

I've been using them on oro k24s for the past year and they've been fine, lasted for a decent amount of time, although I burnt through a couple of pairs at a soaking wet relentless 24, though what pad wouldn't? Have yet to put a pair in my new shimano xts, but I've never had any horrendous problems with them.

Don't like them, wont be buying them again.

I used kevlar pads in my Saint M810's they lasted about a quarter as long as the original Shimano sintered pads and never had the consistent initial bite the OEM pads had. I since moved onto Aztec Sintered pads and they are as good as the OEM pads.

Been using Superstar pads on all my bikes for over a year now and they are great for the price. No concerns, but i have learnt some things about them.

Kevlar = Great summer pad. works great in the wet. Rubbish on the road if wet. Once any wet commuting grime off the road touches the pads say goodby to them.

Sintered = Great all pad in all seasons. no concerns with commuting.

Using on Shimano XT M775 and Hope V2

Ran them for a week in the (dry) Alps and after a week of Verbier related abuse, 1 set were shot. Banged in another set the day we left and they lasted over a year and gave me stopping power like nothing I'd ever had before with OEM pads.

Then switched brakes and had the interesting experience of wondering whether whatever biscuits they put in as standard with SLX brakes were going to stop me or not.

Swapped out for more SS Kevlars and instantly transformed the brakes.

£25 for 4 pairs? Superb.

As an aside, the pad came off the backing on some of mine too. After I'd been for a wet ride, washed the bike down afterwards and left the brakes wet, leaving the pad backing to corrode and fall apart. I'm not putting that down to being SS's fault 😉

After I'd been for a wet ride, washed the bike down afterwards and left the brakes wet, leaving the pad backing to corrode and fall apart. I'm not putting that down to being SS's fault

Happened to me too. To be fair a 'proper' pad manufacturer like EBC use stainless backing plates. Also I thought the process of sintering involved a thin copper layer melting the material onto the backing, so water getting underneath it makes me think SS are bonding their sintered pads rather than sintering them.

I'm swithering whether to buy SS pads again, the backing came off mine at good speed, luckily it was the back, pretty bad though. Currently trying a set of Clarks pads which are also cheap and they seem good so far.

DaveyBoyWonder - Member

As an aside, the pad came off the backing on some of mine too. After I'd been for a wet ride, washed the bike down afterwards and left the brakes wet, leaving the pad backing to corrode and fall apart. I'm not putting that down to being SS's fault

Are you suggesting that we should be drying the inside of the brake caliper in wet conditons?

I like superstar brake pads, I really do.

But I think neil/fruit/tango and their "warrenty depatrment" are thieving twunt-wits(tm) so buy elswhere if I can.

Had them for a while in both my bikes but they're a pig to fit due to being too think.

Stopping power was fine, but wear resistance in wet/gritty conditions was toss.

now on A2Z Super Sintered and they're miles better, fit first time and have atleast as much power and they're wearing far better, granted they're more expensive but you gets what you pays for.

Their kevlars are the best pads I've used- not just cheap. That's Shimano XT and Formula Oro fitment. Life is good, performance is excellent, they outperformed Formula OEM on both grounds and Shimano on performance (but not life).

Breaking them in properly's absolutely essential though- I ruined a set by thinking they were good to go after a couple of hard stops, since they were producing good power- I just thought they'd bedded in faster than most, but as it turned out they weren't bedded in at all, it just so happens that unlike most pads they were stopping me hard when barely used. One muddy ride later and I knew better! Never recurred though, I just break them in the same as any other pad even though they don't feel like they need it.

As far as pads falling apart, I've had that from other brands, including Shimano. They're small, highly stressed components so I suppose it's not too surprising. Never had it with Superstar, wouldn't be too shocked if I did though.

OTOH, Fruit can be a right knobber.