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I'm just shopping for some replacement pads for the Gravel bike and I've noticed some recent wisdom given out both here on STW and elsewhere suggesting that people should generally go for sintered pads in the back to improve wear as it's the more regularly used (dragged?) brake, and organic on the front to give better bite and feel when really trying to slow/stop...
Is anyone practising this mantra and does it really make that much difference (On Road, MTB or Gravel bikes)?
Discuss...
I use organic.
Tried sintered a number of times over the years. General impressions are reduced power, much noisier, overheat easier and more expensive. Yet to see a benefit.
Maybe they last a bit longer but not for me - less than a week normally sees them into the bin!
Maybe for a winter in the peak district with all the grit ?
I've been running organic front, kevlar rear. Mostly road, occasional gravel.
Still go through the rear a bit faster than I'd like (Peak District, so a fair number of hills to brake down). I'd like to try a semi-metallic pad in it next.
Wouldn't you be better with sintered in the front due to weight transfer?
Wouldn’t you be better with sintered in the front due to weight transfer
Explain your thinking?
What characteristics of sintered/organic do you think would make them better front/rear?
Haven’t you seen that brake testing thread started by the shit stirrer DrP? What you want is a rear disc bigger than the front. I’d link to it but don’t want to kick it off again😀
Oh no, not again...
🤣
Its sound advice, but mostly not that relevant for riding on a wet cold island with limited elevation.
I've always used sintered on the front (because they stop well and last longer) and organic on the rear because they're (generally) cheaper.
When I had organic on the front, they didn't last very long at all. (Mountain bike).
I did that combo for the Alps last year. Worked really well until the last day doing the big free ride descent from Pila where I cooked the rear pads & disc.
I planned to swap to sintered on the front if it rained, but it didn’t.
Don’t really know how that translates to gravel though.
Wouldn’t you be better with sintered in the front due to weight transfer?
Well isn't that the question?
Is it higher coefficient of friction for organic(?) Vs reduced wear rate for sintered. The assumption being you use the front less frequently than the rear, and also expect less effect from the rear partly due to the effects of weight transfer?
So is the logic that you'll stagger that difference in braking effect further, the Rear brake becoming even less effective? which by contrast makes the front seem relatively awesome? But your pads last proportionately longer... Meh, this is for a "gravel bike" a tow path/bridleway/tarmac and occasionally singletrack pootling machine, not some kind of Gnarr monster machine.
TBH given the price differential and the application, I'm thinking it's easier to just buy three or four sets of organic pads, rather than one pair of sintered to run in the rear calliper, I can easily put up with the minute or two it will take to change a pair of worn out pads, whichever end happens to need doing first...
I mean I was going to buy some extra organic pads as spares anyway, I may as well just sack off Sintered for on the gravel bike, I don't reckon I really need the improved wear rate on the back as much as I just need a working set of brakes
Is it higher coefficient of friction for organic(?) Vs reduced wear rate for sintered.
As I understand it, organic pads have better cold bite, sintered are better when up to temperature.
I understand the thinking, but I buy bulk packs off eBay and find they last as long and work as well as the expensive brands. I click the semi-metallic box, but no idea what they actually are. Pretty much all my riding is on sandy, gritty surfaces so wear is definitely an issue.
This article recommends sintered rear and organic front.
This article may cause controversy but makes sense to me.
Sintered left & organic right, or is it the other way around... it is a thang.
Yes. Been practicing this for a while and I thought I was on my own.
Sintered left & organic right, or is it the other way around… it is a thang
I've been sort of curious about running different compounds left/right.
Doesn't that cause more braking effect on one side compared to the other and induce a turn? 😉
Doesn’t that cause more braking effect on one side compared to the other and induce a turn?
Obviously you have to do the opposite front & back to balance it out
I just run sintered front and rear because they last longer. An 8" rotor up front gives enough stopping power to put me over the bars, don't need any more than that.
Kevlar both ends for me, genuinely is a "best of both worlds" EXCEPT for the fact that they tend to be noisy.
I've just put organic in the rear of my Hope V4's, but that's mainly because my sintered pads are glazed as hell, sticky piston and 4 days of decent descents meant the rear got hot and started howling like a banshee!
Liking the quietness and the cold bite 😀
Need to order some silicone lube and give the pistons some love.
Greg minnar uses one of each in each calliper because he heard that’s what I do.