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Who makes good brake pads these days? And where do you get them from?
I've just run out my stock of spare pads and looking to replenish them. I used to get them from Nukeproof, but that's not an option any more, so I'm looking into alternatives. I'm willing to pay a bit more for improved performance and life.
Brakes I need pads for are:
- Magura mt5 (on a cargo bike)
- Sram Code
- Sram Rival
Who should I give my money to?
Uberbike e matrix pads are great and last ages from my experience and they regularly have discount codes to reduce the price
+ lots for Galfer, but with a slight twist. On his RSCs we ran Green, they were massively better than anything else. But it seems the green are less important on the Mavens and the black are perfectly good. So we'll keep running black (especially as they're 50% of the price)
Trickstuff Power ( Orange) in my codes, nice and strong, my lbs sells them, same price as Sram pads
Uberbike race matrix or the E version +1, I also have a lot of stock I bought of the Superstar Kevlar pads which were similarly "organic with a bit extra" .
I came across Gorilla brake's the other day, and they have 7 different pad options! It's a bit like tyres at this point. Yes for the racers it might be worth swapping tyres (and pads) between weekends to get the optimal performance, but do normal people need more than one option? I don't think I could define 7 different riding conditions.
It's a massive compromise regardless.
Organic -
Good for insulating your brakes form high heat, bad because that heat will glaze them
Good for working consistently at low temperatures, bad because that's just describing wet muddy trails that wear them rapidly
Sintered -
Good for high temperatures as they won't glaze, but will boil your brakes as they conduct heat.
Great for pad life in the winter slop, but also noisy and will never get to their optimal temperature.
Semi-metalic -
Semi-good
I tend to stick with the organic/resin pads with added carbon/kevlar/metals/ceramics as they're not-bad at anything, then take some sintered pads on summer holidays. And at 4x for £25 type prices it doesn't really matter that they're not as long lasting as sintered in winter. With the exception that whichever my 'winter' off road bike turns out to be (single speed, gravel bike, whatever I happen to feel like that winter) also gets sintered pads just to minimize faff.
wet muddy trails that wear them rapidly
I tend to think that if you're not wearing your pads, you're probably wearing your rotors.
Organics or the "kevlar" type pads you're talking about suit me well enough most of the time.
Another vote for Galfer black - did try the Purple on the ebike but it wasn't that much of a difference compared to the price.
I've also been pretty impressed with the Superstar Organic through the winter
I use Hope's own pads in my E4s and they're made by Galfer. Having used them, I'd be putting them in other brakes as well.
I tend to think that if you're not wearing your pads, you're probably wearing your rotors.
There is that too. I swapped from the expensive ice-tech rotors to cheaper ones on my singlespeed when i was regularly riding in filthy conditions.
Another vote for Galfer black - did try the Purple on the ebike but it wasn't that much of a difference compared to the price.
I've also been pretty impressed with the Superstar Organic through the winter
I think part of the problem with expensive brake pads is that frankly any new pad is going to feel good. So objectively reviewing them is really difficult.
That and resin pads should have the highest coefficient of friction, but only at low temperatures. So you get this slightly odd scenario where the best pads are actually pretty cheap. And 'better' is largely a case of working at high temperatures (either because you're a riding god shredding the gnarliest trails, or because you're mincing down the trails dragging the brakes, we're not judging).
What it really needs is someone to do a ZFC style lab test on pads. Anyone want to start a Pateron for MaximumFrictionCycling?
I've been using aliexpress Bikein ceramic pads for a few years now and they don't do anything amazing, but they're consistent, they work decently in all conditions, they last ok (not great, just ok), they don't destroy rotors and they cost bugger all. £7.20 delivered for 4 pairs for utter everyday competence and invisibility. Now I wouldn't use a pad just because it's cheap, but these are good and cheap (and being cheap means I'm never tempted to scrimp on maintenance or eke out the last miles,if in doubt I fit new pads). Did the mega with them, a bunch of UK uplifts, endless tweed valley #enduroslop, they just work. Never had a failure, never had a ride spoiled or felt like I should have bought anything else. Just boggo cheap rotors too.
No they don't add any power, it's 2025, unless you're super fast, doing trials or absolutely massive why do your brakes need pads that add power? I mean sure manufacturers somehow still manage to make £1000 12-pots with watercooling and 400mm rotors made out of unobtanium that still ****ing suck but the solution isn't better pads.
I've settled on Swissstop Yellow in my quest for non-squealy-in-the-wet disc brakes. They still squealed initially but once I'd used them hard a couple of times they've been perfect ever since, even when riding through half melted snowy slush.
I don't brake hard though so I couldn't comment on performance really, I just know they're consistent and quiet which is all I care about 😎
No they don't add any power, it's 2025, unless you're super fast, doing trials or absolutely massive why do your brakes need pads that add power?
Mostly I'd sort of agree, but the SRAM brakes on my heritage Levo struggled with initial bite, exacerbated by the whale-like weight of the thing. In an ideal world I'd have swapped them for Saints or something with similar oomph, but purple Galfers were a noticeable improvement.
I've run those Bikein pads on other bikes - based on your recommendation - and they're kind of 'faithful Labrador, does nothing wrong' pads, but I think the original seller has shut down and there are just a few remnant options being sold there, unless I've missed something.
Anyway, Galfer black work for me for trail riding also cheapo EBC from Merlin, but generally the pads I find best in my mostly Shimano brakes are OE Shimano from reliable retailers - ie not some eBay random who may be flogging counterfeits.
I bought some "Noa and Theo" which sounds more like a trust fund baby podcast than a brake pad manufacturer ceramic pads off amazon once when I just wanted some cheap-ish pads as emergency spares for a weekend away. I guess they're probably a white label product from the same factory. I agree they're not bad.
No they don't add any power, it's 2025, unless you're super fast, doing trials or absolutely massive why do your brakes need pads that add power? I mean sure manufacturers somehow still manage to make £1000 12-pots with watercooling and 400mm rotors made out of unobtanium that still ****ing suck but the solution isn't better pads.
I think pads, like rotors, make a difference. But like most things you learn to ride around any shortcomings pretty quickly. Brake a little earlier, drag them a little more, squeeze a little harder.
There's also definitely a bit of marketing bias. Objectively Hope brakes have always been a bit rubbish, rebuildable, reliable, bling, but underpowered. Yet there was this collective belief that they were the dogs bolocks because they cost £200 an end. Then things moved on and they had to make the Tech4 to catch up and all of a sudden we're looking at quantitative magazine tests showing huge power increases, making them as powerful as some shimano brakes over a decade old.......
I'm sure the same happens with pads. There are definitely bad pads out there (TRP OEM are awful for example). How much better a 'great' £30 pad is Vs a 'good' Sram, Shimano, or other decent aftermarket options costing less than 1/4 the price I'm less sure.
I'm another Ali express brake pad buyer. I buy in 4 or even 10 pairs sintered from whichever seller I happen to notice. OEM resin pads last me a matter of weeks and cost so much more. I don't ride much long steep descents but I have no braking issues.
As a habitual brake dragger I'd only use SRAM OEM sintered in my Guides R's. However, they would last season before needing changing.
Several years ago I booked a trip to Morzine which showed up how crap I was crap at braking. Prior to that, a trip to the golfie made me realise that my technique and pads would not be up to the conditions in Morzine. So I swapped to Superstar Kevlar pads, these gave me greater additional bite allowing be to get off the brakes sooner. While I could get them, I'd use the Kevlar pads, however Superstar have been out of stock since before last December.
Since then I now have guide RSC brakes and have been using Uberbike E matrix pads. To me they have similar characterises to the Kevlar pads. I'll be swapping the callipers for Codes in the coming weeks and will use E matrix pads too.
Thanks everyone for the tips.
Looks like it's a toss up between uberbike blues and galfer blacks.
For the e-cargo is there any value from going for galfer e-bike pads or am I better with blacks and replacing them more often?
I'm assuming that there's no point going for galfer road compound pads on the gravel/commute bike?
For the e-cargo is there any value from going for galfer e-bike pads or am I better with blacks and replacing them more often?
I would have thought the E pads were designed to work with the heavier bikes? Depends where you live though, a cargo bike in Holland would have very different braking requirements to a cargo bike in Sheffield. Maybe consider a sintered pad in the rear brake to allow you to drag it and scrub off speed downhill and something else upfront to give more immediate stopping power.
After years of buying cheap pads, I decided to put my hand in my pocket and buy Galfer which have been fine. Again, whether worth twice as much as my normal cheapos, I don’t know. So much is down to your bike , your riding area, your braking style. At least one of the makes recommended above were taken off my bike long before they were worn out because I found them rubbish.
I know this kind of comparison is a bit lame, but I found it amusing that I've just been quoted less for two pairs of brake pads and two discs for my car (both rear wheels) than I would be paying for two wheels on my bike (for Shimano OE or similar).
The replacement caliper is more expensive though, TBF.
I know this kind of comparison is a bit lame, but I found it amusing that I've just been quoted less for two pairs of brake pads and two discs for my car (both rear wheels) than I would be paying for two wheels on my bike (for Shimano OE or similar).
Car OE spec is probably closer to AliExpress Organic than anything though. I swapped to EBC Greenstuff on the normal car and yellowstuff on the Midget and it was a huge increase in braking power. Greenstuff was IIRC about £40 and yellow about £60, and those are normal road pads that work from cold, before you get into the track day specific compounds.
I knew someone would come and tell me that you can spend much more on car brake pads 😀
Luckily I'm not driving on steep and technical trails, so the standard pads are perfectly adequate on my Octavia.
haha, I'd say having tried them that greenstuff pads are about as valuable/useful as good tyres. Not something that's useful day to day, but every so often you go "ohhh ****" and are glad they're there.
Non-scientific but I did give them a test on a quiet bypass late at night and the time between slamming on the pedal and the ABS kicking in was much shorter from 70. On the OE pads there was a delay until the speed dropped low enough to lock up.
They did wear quicker though. But that was partially offset by the disks not wearing.
Galfer black, even I can tell the improvement over Uber bike.
As above, Uberbike blue for me, or the white ones are good too but wear a bit quicker. Decent balance of price and performance and have never given me any problems so I just carry on with them.
I know this kind of comparison is a bit lame, but I found it amusing that I've just been quoted less for two pairs of brake pads and two discs for my car (both rear wheels) than I would be paying for two wheels on my bike (for Shimano OE or similar).
Road car pads have a much easier time of it, not least because they're massive and don't have to deal with mud . But also most car pads are fundamentally the cheapest and most basic pads available, and really aren't very good. They're adequate, because of the size and because road use doesn't work them very hard.
I spent £250 for a full set for my mx5, for a comparison, and what a difference that made.