Bicycle Disc Brake Pads: Varieties and Selection Tips

Brakes are, without a doubt, an essential part of a bicycle. A well-tuned brake system is the key to a safe ride and a prerequisite for driving at high speed. And brake pads are the most important part of the brake system, since it is they who determine the effectiveness of its work, and this especially affects in wet weather.

Disc brakes first gained popularity by appearing on mountain bikes, as This type of brake has excellent braking power in all weather conditions. But now they can be seen on bicycles of all types - from racing, designed for hard training, to walking urban.

Disc bicycle brakes can be mechanical (they use cables) and hydraulic, in which the cables are replaced by hydraulic fluid. The braking quality of hydraulic and mechanical disc brakes is almost the same. Both the first and second do their job well. Two factors have a much greater impact on braking power:

• brake pads (material and dimensions);
• rotor diameter.

Before choosing disc brake pads, you should familiarize yourself with a number of factors. There are many different options for both road and mountain bikes.

Pads can be round, rectangular and square. It depends on the design of the caliper. Different calipers have different shapes and different ways to hold the pads in place. It goes without saying that the shape of the pads must match the shape of the caliper. The easiest way to see what the brakes are called (usually written on a caliper) and pick up the pads of the same model. If the exact same model could not be found, you need to remove the original pads and compare their shape with the shape of the proposed replacement.

All pads are made by mixing various powder components with a binder and then pressing this mixture at high temperatures and pressure. The greatest influence on the properties is exerted by the composition of the powder components. It can be organic fibers or metal particles. Therefore, all pads are divided into three categories:

• organic
• metal
• semi-metal.

Organic pads are made of fibers of rubber, carbon or Kevlar, and resin is used as a binder. Metal (they are also called sintered) consist of metal particles (most often copper chips are used), sintered under high pressure. Semi-metallic ones have an organic base to which metal components are added.

The difference in composition determines various properties. Organic pads are softer, slow down efficiently and fairly quietly. According to the results of comparative tests, they have a higher braking torque (about 10% higher) than metal ones, while the braking time is less by about 9%.

Nonetheless on long slopes, organic pads show themselves much worse than metal ones, since at high temperature the binder melts and all the material wears out quickly. In addition, they brake poorly on wet roads. Metal pads cope with heat much better than organic ones, they work steadily in the wet state, but they are noisy.

In appearance, it is impossible to determine what the block is made of. You must study the product description or information on the package.

Pros:

• the most durable;
• can withstand very high temperatures;
• the working surface is not subject to melting;
• very effective when driving at high speeds, which is important, for example, on steep descents.

Minuses:

• the grinding process can take a very long time;
• high temperatures can lead to a change in the working properties of mineral oils of the hydraulic system;
• weak initial bite;
• can be quite noisy.

Pros:

• quick lapping;
• good initial bite and modulation;
• less noisy;
• transfer less heat to mineral oil systems.

Minuses:

• the service life is less than that of metal, especially when used in wet weather;
• less effective at high speeds;
• work surface can be sintered.

Pros:

• combine the advantages of metal and organic pads;
• good efficiency at high speeds;
• good initial bite and modulation;
• quite durable.

Minuses:

• the working surface may be sintered;
• different brands may have different ratios of metal and organic components;
• higher price.

It all depends on where and how cycling takes place. If this is a flat area without steep descents, then organic pads are quite suitable. They are silent, often cheaper than others, provide powerful braking immediately after pressing the lever.

If you often have to ride on long slopes with full braking, then a reasonable choice is metal pads. They provide very powerful braking and serve for a very long time. Of course, in this case you have to put up with the noise.

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Nothing prevents the use of different types of brake pads on the same bike in the rear and front brakes. The rear brakes are usually heavier loaded, on the other hand, having a good initial bite is more necessary in the front, so a combination of a metal pad on the rear brake and a semi-metallic on the front can provide excellent performance. The combination of a semi-metallic rear and an organic front can also give a good result.

Some manufacturers recommend replacing the rotor when replacing metal pads with organic ones. therefore, before such a replacement, you must read the user manual.

Separately, it is worth mentioning the Shimano ribbed brake pads. They have a base plate with a finned radiator that protrudes from the top of the caliper. It is argued that this provides improved brake performance because the heat generated during braking is removed from the surface of the shoe to the plate and dissipated by the air flow.

Initially, they stood only on Shimano brakes, but subsequently some manufacturers used this idea for their brands, and now such pads can be seen in the brakes:

• Superstar Components;
• Uberbike Components
• Swiss Stop;
• and some other firms.

See below for instructions on how to replace the bicycle disc brake pads.