What kind of disc brake pads (do you/should I) use?

[blackjackel]

Today my disk breaks started squealing that familiar squeal that happens when my car breaks are on their last legs, sounds like I need need new disc brakes. I googled and found my breaks to be DSK-400's and i found the site that sells them. My dilemma arose when I found three separate types of brakes for sale:

Semi-metallic

Sintered

Kevlar

I did some googling around and found some descriptions of each material and recommendations on when to get each type but these descriptions are based on regular bicycling and don't take into account electric bicycle systems (higher than average speed and wear than regular bicycling). For example, I noticed that my rotors get really hot when I brake currently because I stop at 25mph which is something I think should be taken into account. I wanted to ask your opinions on this....

Which of these types of brakes suit the electric bicycle user better? Taking into consideration speed (I usually stop at 25mph) and the extra wear and tear that us electric bike users put on the brakes?

 

[blackjackel]

I thought I'd post my findings. I did some more googling and these results do NOT take into account electric bike use (faster braking speeds..etc.) but I thought I'd mention them anyways.

I found these links:
http://stores.ebay.com/International-Bike-Disc-Brake-Pads/About-Compounds.html
http://www.discobrakes.com/?s=0&t=8&q=compounds&

It looks like sintered pads are the best all-around. They last the longest and can take the most amount of abuse, they are quieter than semi-metallic, and brake better. They seem to deal with heat similar to semi-metallic pads so you can't really go wrong with it (semi-metallic is usually standard).

Kevlar pads have the best braking power but that comes at the cost of not lasting as long.

Ceramic pads come somewhere between semi-metallic and Sintered in terms of how long they last. They deal with heat better but aren't as quiet as sintered. Ceramics are about as loud as semi-metallic.


My own personal conclusion for when I change my brake pads: I'm going with Sintered. They perform better than semi-metallic and last much much longer. Same heat.

My ebike does 25MPH, but if I had a kit that went 35+ MPH i'd start taking Ceramic pads into account because they are better at dealing with heat and with faster speeds you're dealing with a lot more heat generated when breaking.

I don't think I'd look at kevlar unless your kit goes 20mph or less and you want the best performance and don't care about changing your pads more often.

I may be wrong on this one, but it looks like everything is better Semi-Metallic in every way. The only advantage of Semi metallic is that they're cheap, but only by a couple of bucks, not really worth to consider it at all.

Conclusion:
~25MPH kit, get sintered.
~35+MPH kit, get ceramic.
Don't get Semi-metallic.
Don't get kevlar unless you want the best braking power, don't care about changing pads often, and don't go too fast.

If I'm wrong in my conclusions feel free to chip in your own opinions!

 

[amberwolf]

There are several threads (and posts within build threads, etc) discussing various brakes and pads that should help you.

 

[nicobie]

Yep...

Do the google.

 

[motomech]

Cool Stop offers Ebike brake pads. They are thicker.

 

[DAND214]

Cool Stop offers Ebike brake pads. They are thicker.

Thicker? How do you get them in the caliper?

Dan

 

[amberwolf]

Cool Stop offers Ebike brake pads. They are thicker.

http://www.koolstop.com/english/disc_pads.html

Our E-Bike disc pads are produced with a ceramic barrier between the organic friction material and the steel backing plate to reduce heat transfer into the brake caliper causing brake fade. With the heavier design and quick speeds of Electric bikes, they require a compound that will hold up and provide consistant braking power.

It doesn't mention them being thicker, though.

 

[cwah]

Aren't sintered better if more silent?

 

[Drunkskunk]

Aren't sintered better if more silent?

Define "Better" ?

Sintered are the loudest, most prone to squealing compound there is. They bite hard which can make fine modulation tricky at the edge of traction. The also generate a lot of heat and eat up your rotors quicker than other compounds. They clear mud well, but suck in the wet. They last a long time, but your rotor may not.

Semi-metalic are not as long lasting as sintered, but much longer lasting than organic. They are much easier on your rotor. They don't bite as hard, but are more progressive and easier to modulate. They are low noise and cause less heat into the caliper. They clear mud ok, and do well in the wet as well.

Organic/Kevlar don't last long. The are the quietest pat of all. They suck it hard in mud but do great in the wet. They don't bite hard and can take a bit more pressure to achieve the same braking force as Semi-metalics, but they are the easiest to modulate at the limit of your traction. They also don't heat up your caliper much.

There is no over-all "Better", just different tools for different jobs.

 

[cwah]

If I want the longest lasting for my disc pad as well as my rotor, which one is the best between sintered and semi metallic then?

 

[amberwolf]

If you read his post, he already answered you.

 

[cwah]

If you read his post, he already answered you.

No, he said that:
- Sintered pads last longer but does wear the rotor quicker.
- Semi-metallic pads does not last as long but are easier on the rotor.

What I want to know is which one would be better if I want to preserve for long time my disc pad AND my rotor. For now maybe semi-metallic is the best of the 2 worlds? But I'm not sure

 

[Punx0r]

You're asking to have your cake and eat it, too

 

[cwah]

Just looking to make the right decision

 

[Lurkin]

Which is cheaper? Rotor or pad?
Which is more of a pain in the neck to change?
Which is more available?

Either the pad or rotor cops it, or degrees of both. Based on the thread - Semi-metallic pads.