nek0

These pads won't let me grind after four weeks of honking and squealing I think the grinder is feeling a bit lonely these days. My rim is officially dull going to smooth! haha The black backings would look awesome with a little "Hazard Waste" logo etched

But I'm not in the UK and hurting rocks aren't crime here!!! But yes I did take a chunk off of this one wall... I should take a pic of the ti bash.

My grind is dead...completely. Err still bites and squeaking. I'm not exactly light either @ 90kg.

wow. Very impressed. I'd love to see the bike trials segment on there.

Good luck

My friend broke his GU but he does quite a bit of wedging, tapping and hooking so that'll destroy any fork over time, loved the GU fork when I had one though. Very stiff. I'm running the META right now, I believe they are made in the same factory as the KOXX or you can always go with Trialtech...they are so stiff it's unbelievable.

I'm very impressed with Trialtech's bash ring, it's VERY strong. It looks fancy out of the bag and thinking, how much difference can it be being titanium. Was I wrong...I ended up taking a hammer to thing because I couldn't get the bash to settle in the right place. I barely dented the edge by wacking it five or so times. And landing on it wrong, it destroys the object more than anything. The bash itself is just scratched unlike with aluminum bash you get a big dent after awhile. The Trialtech ti bash ring is definitely worth it

you, plenty of people are breaking them, but you can't expect competition oriented components to last long. Stick with KOXX, META, or Trialtech if weight is not a concern.

So running the Czar with no booster, Magura with original fluid in it, it's been almost four weeks running the pads and seems like the Trialtech rim is as good as smooth and with yesterday's ride for couple hours I'm more than ever convinced these CNC backed Phat pads are awesome investment. I did adjust the brake a tad bit, slight wear but nothing like other pads I've had experienced. I remember with Rock blue's or any harder compound pads for that matter I'd have to grind every other week...and it's been good four weeks since I even thought of throwing one in. I have yet to experience that backwards slip when the tire barely catches onto a vertical wall. Still nice and squeaky

I love my Plazmatic stainless crossover

It wouldn't be fair to compare with a CNC backings vs. CRM's, not saying plastic backings suck because the CRM's I used few years ago were quite amazing. When the TNN/Plaz CRM's come out it will be more interesting

Koxx should just change their name...I don't think world domination will be possible trying to promote bunch of cocks

I thought I'd give some detailed review on these pads as they are truly quality pads. Anyone can claim certain pads 'are the best' after few rides or 'they work immensely well under tropical thunderstorm' etc and having the usual doubts about such claims, I was completely blown away at how well these pads work. I'm not exactly light rider either, 90kg or so running a frame without a booster with sharp ground rims. The first night I popped the Phat Pads onto my newly bled Magura's it was a chilly 2°C weather outside. The rim was ground fresh few days prior but figured the pads will embed within first few rides. If you rub the Phat Pads together out of the bag it's grabby unlike Rock blue's or other pads that need some time to embed (or in my case I just grind a thin layer). Of course being so grabby out of the bag made me skeptical thinking 'these pads will wear down fast'. Onto riding, couple squeaks braking lightly and I can feel the brakes slip at the very end as expected. It only took few minutes before the pads started to grab even under the cold weather. My Magura's felt sluggish at the lever but the Phat Pads seemed to work better with time. Rolling gap to rear held very well and the brakes became louder. The sound that it makes, at least with my setup, is a tad bit higher pitched than the Rock blue's. Few things I noticed with the Phat Pads CNC backings. They fit really well into the slave cylinders unlike traditional pads with plastic backings that have a bit of play. That may not sound like a big deal but as the Phat Pads locked completely, unlike with the plastic backings, I didn't feel the vibration from the brakes traveling through the frame. It's a very clean & efficient braking but with an aggressive bite (a phrase everyone seems to love using). This was the first night, it was probably 30 minutes of riding but thoroughly enjoyed the way the pads handled. Over the next couple weeks I rode both urban and natural, from the pads being able to hold my weight with missed taps and pedal up's. I get this strong feeling that I won't need a brake booster as there have been no change with the performance. Few things did change however. After about eight hours of pure awesomeness (from Kung Fu Panda, I love that movie) in brake performance, I noticed my rim surface is now dull. And the brake pads still squeaked like a loud hog. This is where Rock blue's would start to disappoint and needed a fresh grind. With Phat Pads, it seems to work well with dull ground rims, almost convinced that it will work really well out of the bag on a smooth rim. The pads did wear off somewhat after eight hours. Whopping 0.5mm total according to my digital caliper. Nothing you'd notice with a naked eye. Whereas with Rock blue's and other pads I'd have to worry about braking performance after few rides, needing to throw in a fresh grind or having thought of bringing tar, I kind of forgot about all that with Phat Pads which is very nice. For some, even though the initial purchase may seem higher priced, it's actually much more economical in the long run with the performance that outweighs everything. I highly recommend Phat Pads, definitely a perfect 5-star pads in the market today PS: I didn't have a chance to ride in any wet condition so if that happens I'll post up any updates.

Echo and quality does not go together

Really, ENO fw is a golden fw IMO. Never had any issue. Echo brake has and always a leaky little son of a gun. Echo disc hubs...soft aluminum, disc bolts always stripped, ended up with longer bolts on most of them. What a garbage.

XTR brake lever Avid '07 BB7 Trialtech anything

I wonder how much it would cost to anodize...much more durable (depending on the finish type) and of course you can save a bit of weight......can't be much but have to say it.

Paint basically goes on dry instead of wet...and yes there are kits out there you can buy if you're willing to take the time to do it.

Did KOT MS2 have a lot of problems cracking in a short span or just didn't last as long as say Deng frames? I only ask since I've always loved the look of the frame and was interested in possibly purchasing one but wasn't sure how long it will last. Any info would be appreciated

You can always put three slits across to shed the water. I did that with Blue rock's and tested in pouring rain. I'm about 90kg but held rolling gaps. I won't say it will stop like a fresh grind on a warm day but held enough where I enjoyed 30 minutes of drenched riding before I was soaked from head to toe

Love the pads! Quite loud like the Rock blue's, similar feel and the price is good! I'm running a sharp grind. Got mine from Trialspads.com!

They will be new, just want to make sure I have the correct adaptors Thanks!

What size adaptors do I need for Czar free trials frame with hifi fork? Hope trials 200mm front and back.

To me, I think we need to introduce trials to people who are already into biking; just like UK is spreading the trials through streets and not specifically 'this is trials' attitude. I don't think people would understand in few sentence what this sport is about nor they would show interest. To me, it takes years to really understand how & why riders do what they do in the sport.

Wow great stuff! It's very interesting to see how it evolved! Internet is a great weapon in spreading the sport. It's definitely hard in a country (here) where the land is so massive and to find a local rider is sometimes not easy. With more local bike shop's support as well as some media/publication coverage on the sport I'm sure things can change in this country. I think for now, local & regional comps as well as demo's and trying to get involved with the bike industry like expo's is a great way to start. Mike Steidley is actually going to be at one of the major bike expo next weekend so I'm hoping to check it out, meet with him and have a chat as he's definitely one of well known rider's in the US as well as in the biking industry.