OK…I don’t work for Uberbike or have any relations with them other than ordering some of their parts.

Was running Centerline rotors and Uberbikes own Sintered pads to good effect on the Jeffsy 29er but fancied a change.

This “review” is based upon rides on the North Downs in mainly dry weather so please take that into account. Im also not a hooligan or have tried them in the Alps! 😀

The rotors are branded Uberbike but are also sold by Superstar and a couple of others. I have a 203 at the front and a 180 on the rear.
The aluminum (black) inserts to dissipate the heat actually move slightly but this hasn’t caused any noise or ill effects. Note, I don’t mean the actual spider to rotor interface, just the thin black inserts around the inner radius of the rotor.

The width of the rotor (outer radius to inner) is slightly bigger than the centerlines. So the tolerance is bigger as far as pad alignment goes. That said, I was using a brake adapter for a 200 rotor on the front so just added 2 Hope washer spacers to move the pads out a little to nearer the outer edge. They came with nice quality rotor bolts too, better than the Hope ones they replaced actually.

The “radiator” part of the rotor does indeed get hot so it is helping to disperse heat from extended braking. I cant be more scientific than that im afraid. In theory at least the heat dispersal should aid brake cooling.

Note that there is a “ticking” noise as the pads go over the rotors cut out sections. Loud at first but has calmed down now, Its still there but I don’t find it annoying. Some might.

NOTE: all pictures were taken a while back after the first couple of rides hence the rotors look very clean/ new.

OK, the pads.

I went from sintered Uber pads to finned Race Matrix ones. For the hell of it! You can only get the finned pads with the RM compound at the moment. Though as the fins are separate from the pads you can mix and match other pad compounds as long as they are Ubers own “finned compatible” ones. Good to know.

Ive generally heard good things about the RM compound so was eager to try them. Installation was no more fiddly than with normal pads. I did think about adding some copper grease on the fin to pad interface to help dissipate the heat but decided not to bother in the end. That said it might well help the heat transfer to the finned heat-sink rather than just having a dry interface…

I bedded the pads in as normal (for me anyway) which invol3ed some heavy braking down a steepish hill to an almost stop then build up speed again and repeat 10 or so times. This is subjective and Im sure others have slightly different methods.

Summary.[u]

Im no expert with bikes or profess to be. I can only comment on what I experienced using this pad/ rotor combo.

After a long extended use of the brakes you can definitely feel the heat is dissipated to the rotor “radiator” inserts and the alloy spider. The same with the fins on the pads. They get pretty damned hot. That can only be a good thing in theory.

In actual use (on the North Downs, no Alpine epic descents…) the new brake combo has proven really good. The noise from the pad going over the rotor cutouts has decreased and they are very predictable. Modulation is excellent in my opinion though that is a feature of the Guides anyway.

The actual braking power is greater than with the OEM pads or Ubers own sintered. Its demonstrable actually. On one road section I ride back on from the natural trails there is a steep decline that bottoms out just before a busy T junction. Ive over run this a few times (stupidly) as I like to see just how late I can brake. How is a road section relevant? Well, its repeatable. As long as its dry and I descend at a similar speed its a fairly good indicator of a brakes pure power to bite. I can honestly say that I can hit the bottom of this descent and brake later than I have ever before. 😀
Its noticeable, I can now brake around 5 to 7 meters later than I used to. I was pretty shocked to be honest as I really only upgraded to these parts as I just fancied a change and wanted to do a little pimping to the bike. Importantly I also find it easier to feel when Im getting to the point where a tyre is going to break away and skid. Modulation is really excellent and entirely predictable.

As I said, Im just a normal rider and don’t do much extreme riding. I am 16 stone kitted up though and NEED good anchors for the downs! I can only recommend this set up. In reality I’m really recommending the pad compound. My hills aren’t going to replicate the huge/ long descents of the Alps so the radiator on the rotors and fins on the pads are a little academic for my riding. Though they look good. It might not be for academic for your location though! The Race Matrix compound is excellent. Its lasting well (in mostly dry conditions) its predictable and has massively good bite.

Hope the above is of some interest. The current discount code posted by Tracey here for 25% off everything makes these pads even better value. Though I will be buying again even at the usual price.

Happy riding (and braking) guys! 😀

Tl:Dr

Rorschach – Member
Tl:Dr

Sorry bud, had to Google what that meant!

Perhaps I got a bit carried away but as you say, it’s upto anyone if they can be bothers to read it. 🙂

I’ve been happy with my setup that’s the same but 180/160 and Xt brakes. I did find over last winter I went through a few RM pads, so I’m going to try sintered this winter.

Good try
I’m looking forward to the road version.
Just what we need i’m sure.

How about some pedals that are equally as good for flats, spd and spd sl that would move cycling on a bit. x

1timmy1 – Member
I’ve been happy with my setup that’s the same but 180/160 and Xt brakes. I did find over last winter I went through a few RM pads, so I’m going to try sintered this winter.

Hmmm… Good to know, I’ll get some next time they are on offer! Lol

We run the race matrix all year round Not had a problem with the Peak winters

I can’t comment on the brakes other than to say that they look pretty cool.

Oh and full marks OP for correct tyre logo / valve placement.

PJM1974 – Member
Oh and full marks OP for correct tyre logo / valve placement.

Would genuinely be a bit scared to post a pic on here without such measures being taken. 😉

Thanks for update Tracey, will see how the RM compound gets on during the Winter!

Is it just me who doesn’t see the point on guides? Pads are a tenner a pair, you can’t tell me uberbike have the resources to put out a pad and disk system better than sram. I’ve tried all of them against shimano as there is nearly a 4x price difference but with the guides I just don’t see it. Uber are well noisy too. N.b. Never used their discs though.

Used Uber’s race matrix & superstar Kevlar 2 years ago in the alps, think I went through about 8 pairs of pads in a few weeks and ended up just getting Oem ones. Now only use proper ones, fresh pads went on day 2 this trip and 10 riding days later I hadn’t changed them.

Pads are a tenner a pair

Bargain. Where do you buy them from?

I used a pair of the Uberbike finned race matrix compound pads on the front in the alps a couple of weeks back. Easy to fit like the OP said. Neat-looking. They’d been on the bike for a few UK rides beforehand. They stopped and slowed the bike. My tentative descents in the alps had them all done by the end of day 2. The next set of pads on were some Sram sintered ones. I think those were about £20 😥