Best Disk Brake Pads

[Jacob Ashworth]

Hi all, 

In my recent boredom of lock down I have been looking into and become slightly obsessed with disk brakes. I plan on trying to combine a magura mt7 caliper with a shimano saint lever to try and get the best braking results that money allows me to, but I realise that braking power and that 'bite' isn't just about piston power, pretty much the main factor being the pads themselves. 

After reading online reviews about mountain brake pads, they're all kind of focused on long descents and how the brake performs in that respect (makes sense if you're a mount biker), but I'm wondering what is the best brake pad for us? All we really want is that initial bite immediately, not a lot of our riding is done in muddy or wet conditions, we aren't really holding the brake on, so performance under high temperatures isn't really a priority.

I'm interested to hear everyone's inputs on what their brake pad experiences are and what their preffered pad is?

Also thought some debate on here would be nice to see again...

[Ali C]

for sheer power...Trialtech are hard to beat

[ben_travis]

Assuming this is for trials and you're looking for a trialsy non-modulating brake then you can't go wrong with trialtech pads. So damn powerful. Get a set of MT5 pads (they'll fit the MT7 caliper and have less pad rock) 

If it's for trials and you want a decent modulating pad then i found that some of the superstar organic pads are actually pretty good for trialsy stuff but also modulated much better.

I might be on my own here but i also never really had a problem with the magura standard pads. THey were always enough for me

[Swoofty]

Ah! Another brake obsessed soul! Welcome brother! I too am similarly afflicted. +1 for the trialtechs for sure. If they're in stock, get them. They are more prone to glaze if the bike sits for a while (blasphemy!) or if you use them on long downhills, but the water trick will bring them back very quickly. They are pretty long lasting as well. Like Ben said, the standard Magura MT5 pads are also really good. They last a while and hold up fine in trials use. I recently tried Galfer's MT7 pads and they were great, but only come in MT7 version so extra pad knock sadly. I gave them to a friend who does 50 meter stoppies so he's always looking for front pads! I also tried Kool Stop red pads for the MT5 and they were not quite ready for trials use and they wore quickly too. I've heard people rave about EBC pads (I have them on my GTI!), but the MT5 version only comes in their basic compound and for me in the US, they are hard to come by.  203mm rotors help too. Good luck!

NOTE: for magura brand pads you'll want the PERFORMANCE version, not the comfort or race versions.

Also, I've just seen that BBB make MT5 pads that use the MT7 retaining screw. I ordered a pair to try, $22.

Edited May 10, 2020 by Swoofty
added more info

[the judge]

Another vote for trialtech. Made such a difference to how well my brakes locked up! 

[Topsy]

On 10/05/2020 at 6:01 PM, Swoofty said:

 the water trick will bring them back very quickly. 

What's the water trick if I may ask?

[Swoofty]

10 hours ago, Topsy said:

What's the water trick if I may ask?

Pour water over the brake pads (still in the calipers) to get them nice and wet. They will swell ever so slightly. Do some high speed hard braking until they are dry/stop squealing and then you're done. When you do your high speed braking, don't come to a complete stop; release the brake before you stop. This will 'resurface' the brake pads so to speak. Not a cure all by any means, but usually takes care of pad glaze and it's easy enough to do.

[Jacob Ashworth]

I didn't actually see this post had got any responses. Cheers Chaps. Much appreciated!

[Jacob Ashworth]

Any recommendations on Zee caliper pads? For the time being, aim is to find a new mt7 caliper on the cheap and build a nice set of Shiguras then for the Arcade and move my Zees onto the Skye for spare (or friend's to ride), currently running full Zees.

I've already found myself a new Zee lever on the Ebay, although it appears a new MT7 caliper is just as cheap as a whole MT5 brake; so I'm willing to wait. I'm happy to do a brief overview of how the Shigura project goes on the forum if people are interested - I know a few are already running this combo - @Ali C could make for a good topic for those interested. 

 

[Brian Bleech]

I am using EBC Red pads with my Zees on my arcade, they are pretty good.

[ScottM]

Sorry to revive an old thread but the discussion seems relevant. Has anyone tried the Trickstuff Power pads for MT5? I can’t seem to find the Trialtech pads anymore.

[Mark W]

43 minutes ago, ScottM said:

Sorry to revive an old thread but the discussion seems relevant. Has anyone tried the Trickstuff Power pads for MT5? I can’t seem to find the Trialtech pads anymore.

The Jitsie pads are the same as the Trialtechs: https://www.tartybikes.co.uk/disc_brake_pads/jitsie_disc_pads/c83p12236.html?pos=1393&search_params=YTo4OntzOjg6ImluX3N0b2NrIjtpOjA7czoxMjoiY2F0ZWdvcnlfaWRzIjthOjE6e2k6MDtzOjI6IjgzIjt9czoxNjoiY2F0ZWdvcnlfcmVjdXJzZSI7YjoxO3M6ODoia2V5d29yZHMiO3M6MDoiIjtzOjk6ImJyYW5kX2lkcyI7TjtzOjQ6Im1vZGUiO3M6MzoiYWxsIjtzOjQ6InNvcnQiO3M6OToicHJpY2VfYXNjIjtzOjEwOiJjb3VudHJ5X2lkIjtzOjE6IjEiO30%3D

No experience with the Trickstuff ones, but if you were/are happy with the Trialtech pads then sticking with them (but getting some Jitsie stickers instead of Trialtech stickers when you buy them) wouldn't be a bad call.

[ScottM]

5 hours ago, Mark W said:

The Jitsie pads are the same as the Trialtechs:

Got it, thanks Mark. Don’t know why I didn’t think to look at the Jitsie brand. I actually have not tried this caliper yet but I’ll go with these pads first.

[Swoofty]

If you're using an MT5/7 caliper, the trickstuff 170s are great pads, but I still prefer the BBB BBS-371S pads over everything else. The BBBs last a little longer than the trickstuff, but it's the connected pads with the retaining pin hole that's the key. I use retaining screws to hold the pads and not the split pins the pads come with, but this setup basically eliminates any pad movement.  The trialtechs are great pads too.

[La Bourde]

I use trickstuff Power brake pads on my Zee and they are amazing.

They are different from the non power ones.

I never tried Trialtech or jitsie one, but a lot of mountain bikers recommend Trickstuff brake pads once they tried them.

Maybe I will get some for my BB7.

 

The Trickstuff power brake pads wear faster than standard pads, the rotor wear faster too, at least in Enduro or DH use. For our discipline, there might be a difference, but not a huge one.

[ScottM]

One detail is that this will be for a mountain bike I’m setting up to be capable of some small trials maneuvers.
Anyone know if the Jitsie trial pads would glaze under mtb trail use? Edit- I see right on Tartybikes that trials performance might decline after using at high speed which might cause me problems.

I know pads like the EBC reds would do the job but I only see them in the 4 separate pad style.

It’s looking like Trickstuff or those BBB pads might be the best choices for the MTB and maybe sometime switch my Hex to the MT5 with Jitsie pads.

 

Edited March 18, 2023 by ScottM

[ScottM]

16 hours ago, Swoofty said:

 

Edited March 18, 2023 by ScottM
Found answers I needed

[Swoofty]

49 minutes ago, ScottM said:

Swoofty you may not have used them this way but do you know if the BBB pads are subject to a loss of power or bite after a little higher speed riding? 

I have only used them for trials. On my Mojo 3 I still use Magura 9.P pads. I don't do any trials on the big bike and it's pretty much always dry conditions here in Southern California.

[Mark W]

On 3/18/2023 at 11:48 AM, ScottM said:

One detail is that this will be for a mountain bike I’m setting up to be capable of some small trials maneuvers.
Anyone know if the Jitsie trial pads would glaze under mtb trail use? Edit- I see right on Tartybikes that trials performance might decline after using at high speed which might cause me problems.

Yeah, for MTB use I'd give them a swerve. They glaze fairly easily if you're slowing down a lot from high speed. They scrub in again really quickly, but I would probably skew pad choice more to suit what you're doing most of the time (i.e. MTB stuff) than a little of the time (trials stuff).

For what it's worth, I've got the MT7-style Magura Race pads on my MT5s and they've been really good. They've lasted me a surprisingly long time considering they're the top end pad, and now they've bedded in there's not really much in the way of pad knock that I can tell. I don't tend to do all that much trials stuff on my MTB as it's basically a one-way street to removing your rear disc mount from your frame, but when I do they hold fine. It does take a while for them to settle in like that though - the MT5 pads don't really have that issue, but I found that the MT7-style pads have less issues with heat than my MT5-style pads did, for some reason.

I was underwhelmed with the Magura Performance pads, but the Race have been sweet.

[ScottM]

On 3/20/2023 at 3:36 AM, Mark W said:

Yeah, for MTB use I'd give them a swerve. They glaze fairly easily if you're slowing down a lot from high speed. They scrub in again really quickly, but I would probably skew pad choice more to suit what you're doing most of the time (i.e. MTB stuff) than a little of the time (trials stuff).

For what it's worth, I've got the MT7-style Magura Race pads on my MT5s and they've been really good. They've lasted me a surprisingly long time considering they're the top end pad, and now they've bedded in there's not really much in the way of pad knock that I can tell. I don't tend to do all that much trials stuff on my MTB as it's basically a one-way street to removing your rear disc mount from your frame, but when I do they hold fine. It does take a while for them to settle in like that though - the MT5 pads don't really have that issue, but I found that the MT7-style pads have less issues with heat than my MT5-style pads did, for some reason.

I was underwhelmed with the Magura Performance pads, but the Race have been sweet.

I use the EBC red pads on my MTB as well as my Hex but I see they only come in the MT7 style so I skipped those for now. Nice to know the seperate pads might not be a problem if I need to go that route. For now I ordered up some of the BBB pads Swoofty mentioned so I'll give those a go.

I do have Trialtech pads on the front BB7 on my old comp style bike and they do seem to lack power sometimes. I tried the trick of re-bedding them with water and that does seem to help.

[Swoofty]

6 hours ago, ScottM said:

I use the EBC red pads on my MTB as well as my Hex but I see they only come in the MT7 style so I skipped those for now. Nice to know the seperate pads might not be a problem if I need to go that route. For now I ordered up some of the BBB pads Swoofty mentioned so I'll give those a go.

I do have Trialtech pads on the front BB7 on my old comp style bike and they do seem to lack power sometimes. I tried the trick of re-bedding them with water and that does seem to help.

Let us know how the BBB pads hold up to MTB use.