brake pads

Robina

Finding my (electric) wheels
Jun 11, 2019
16
9
using organic AZTEC pads for Shimano BR-M315, Hydr. Disc Brake (180/180 they don't last long
in hilly Devon ,on a Cube Reaction.
Which pads last best please?
 

soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
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The heavier you are on brakes, the more heat is generated. Sintered brake pads will not fade as much as organic brake pads on those long steep descents. The few negatives to running sintered brake pads is that they can make some noise. Depending if they are wet or have been really hot, sintered brake pads can be loud.
 

Andy-Mat

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Oct 26, 2018
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using organic AZTEC pads for Shimano BR-M315, Hydr. Disc Brake (180/180 they don't last long
in hilly Devon ,on a Cube Reaction.
Which pads last best please?
I have different pads, but I always buy well in advance from the far east on ebay, and they are so cheap, I simply don't care.....
Also,the ones I buy are environmentally safe...
Mine are called BB5 if I remember correctly. Once I had found that out, it was easy to find them on ebay.
I hope this helps.
Andy
 

cyclebuddy

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Nov 2, 2016
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Beds & Norfolk
...Shimano BR-M315...
I'm sure the Shimano rotors that go with the M315 have "Use Resin Pads Only" stamped into them. Sintered pads may be too hard/high wear? I just use the standard Shimano B01S pads that came as new - they're cheap enough if you shop around.
 

Nealh

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Check you brake rotors they probably have resin stamped or etched on them, in which case you can only use organic/resin pads.
You need Shiamno B01S pads or copy B01S pads, like Andy I but bulk via ebay /china at about £1 - £1.50 a pair. They last me about 1k miles may be a bit more, soon as performance goes I swap for new
 

Andy-Mat

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Oct 26, 2018
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The heavier you are on brakes, the more heat is generated. Sintered brake pads will not fade as much as organic brake pads on those long steep descents. The few negatives to running sintered brake pads is that they can make some noise. Depending if they are wet or have been really hot, sintered brake pads can be loud.
Look here!
Andy
 

MarcusT

Pedelecer
May 5, 2019
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I get the original B01S. Not too expensive online, but yes, they do not last long. I do mountain trails and I've replaced both sets this season. Expect to replace them again before season is over. It's the cost of having fun.
I would not risk using metal, sintered or that lot. You'll just have to replace your discs much sooner. Unless you replace your discs with sintered compatible...
 

Andy-Mat

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Oct 26, 2018
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I get the original B01S. Not too expensive online, but yes, they do not last long. I do mountain trails and I've replaced both sets this season. Expect to replace them again before season is over. It's the cost of having fun.
I would not risk using metal, sintered or that lot. You'll just have to replace your discs much sooner. Unless you replace your discs with sintered compatible...
In the link I posted, there were RESIN versions included for less than 5 UK Pounds a set. What do you pay normally?
I always keep two things at home with regard to my bike brakes (also resin), at least one new set of new pads (but when I buy, I always order at least 2 sets, so I may occasionally have 2 sets available) and a spare tested replacement caliper WITH pads - just in case!
regards
Andy
 

Nealh

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I carry spare pads with me as on the South Downs pads can be mashed in 20- 30 miles if ground conditions are wet.
 

Andy-Mat

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Oct 26, 2018
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I carry spare pads with me as on the South Downs pads can be mashed in 20- 30 miles if ground conditions are wet.
I certainly have never had that problem with my brakes!
Not on any bike that I have owned in over 60 years of biking! Including two different e-bikes!
Has anyone else here?
And my present disk brakes are by far not the most expensive ones around, even though I ride roads and forest tracks over very large hills in all weathers, taking the dog out up to 6 times a day......
They work as well in wet as in dry conditions, probably with a tad more pressure in the wet, I could not say for sure, but always totally reliable.
Maybe you should first consider changing your bike's brake system for something more reliable for such incredibly short distances that you mention?
Why does wet "mash" your resin pads in 20-30 miles? That would be horrifically dangerous for me where I ride!! Unacceptably so.
Plus, I understood that the resin used is impervious? Which is possibly a strong factor in its usage!
I checked here and their opinion does not match up to your experiences, but it does match up to mine:-
Andy
 
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Slartibartfast

Pedelecer
Jan 4, 2019
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Thanks for the article link. I have done 700 miles on my Haibike Trekking, mostly roads and tracks, and my pads seem fine so far, but will need replacing in a few months I suspect. They are noisy on the drilled discs I notice, is that normal?
 

Andy-Mat

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Thanks for the article link. I have done 700 miles on my Haibike Trekking, mostly roads and tracks, and my pads seem fine so far, but will need replacing in a few months I suspect. They are noisy on the drilled discs I notice, is that normal?
I believe that certain types of perforation on bike disks, although apparently still a tiny bit better at braking in the wet, can be noisy and severely reduce Pad life, at least according to a friend of mine, who changed them out PDQ after purchase.......
"You pays your money and you makes your choice!".
My disks are perforated "slits", at an angle going to the outside, which can be put on the bike, either way round.
Sometimes reversing the disk helps, as my bike had BOTH disks on the "wrong way round", when I received the bike, so I swapped them around myself, I never rode with them as the factory installed and mine are both quiet and have a long pad life.
Another way to go to reduce heating and to improve braking, (though I have not tried it myself), is to go through the (tiny) hassle of fitting larger disks, using an adapter to place the original caliper correctly for the larger disk. There are many sizes and going directly for the larger one is probably the best idea as I have never heard anyone complain that their disks are "TOO GOOD!"
It also reduces brakes over heating and possible glazing of the pad surface:-
Also, some bikes have a smaller disk at the back, changing that to a bigger one may improve the brakes overall, just on its own!
I hear hydraulic brake levers are good too, though no personal experience at all....
If I was interested in improving my brakes, I would stay with the cables, but switch to a 203mm disk size......cheap and not too difficult to do it for one's self!
I hope this helps.
Andy
PS. Further YouTube videos that might be of interest if you want to increase the disk size, check here:-
and:-
 

soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
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DSC_0290.JPG

DSC_0185.JPG

not set fire to the hope rotors yet ;)
 

Andy-Mat

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 26, 2018
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View attachment 31384

View attachment 31385

not set fire to the hope rotors yet ;)
All the rotors shown are actually directional, though many do not understand why.
The upper hot one is being shown (if correctly mounted) of the left hand side of the disk, out to the left of the bike...
The two from Hope, we are being shown both from the right hand or opposite side.
I am sure this comment of mine will cause an argument here!
With people saying it does not matter,when it really does, and not mounting the disk correctly, WILL cause problems, often deformation leading to over heating.
I have bought new disks and almost always I have had to change around the middle part for correct rotation!! As it is sent invariably always wrong in my limited experience!
Even Halfords website shows a picture of a front disk wrong mounted.....
Can anyone else here see why they are directional?
Some disks are not directional, and it does not matter which way round they are attached.....
Andy
 
Last edited:

soundwave

Esteemed Pedelecer
May 23, 2015
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you cant put the hope rotors on the wrong way round as they wont fit unless you use a spacer to fill the gap.

i dumped the original rotors long ago as kept overheating and warping and eating brake pads.
 

Slartibartfast

Pedelecer
Jan 4, 2019
107
45
My brakes work exceedingly well as it happens, they are just noisy where the discs have been drilled. Not heard any one else mention it so wondered if it was the material of the brake pads themselves. If it was my car that had drilled discs and made this noiseI would say there is something amiss.
 

Nealh

Esteemed Pedelecer
Aug 7, 2014
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The South Downs is chalk bed and when wet it acts as a grinding paste mixed with soil and other detritus, Organic /resin don't last very long.
I'm not the only one on the forum to experience this .
Also had this once occur on the North Downs.

Also the clag formed also builds up on the tyres/ wheels and then frame clearance becomes nil and wheels will lock up until the detritus is removed.
 

MarcusT

Pedelecer
May 5, 2019
83
39
NE Italy
In the link I posted, there were RESIN versions included for less than 5 UK Pounds a set. What do you pay normally?
I always keep two things at home with regard to my bike brakes (also resin), at least one new set of new pads (but when I buy, I always order at least 2 sets, so I may occasionally have 2 sets available) and a spare tested replacement caliper WITH pads - just in case!
regards
Andy
The last set I purchased through Amazon were 13 euro for 2 sets, free delivery.
I am sure I can find cheaper, but was about to leave for a week in the mountains and needed them asap.
I will also start to check out the after market brands
 

Andy-Mat

Esteemed Pedelecer
Oct 26, 2018
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you cant put the hope rotors on the wrong way round as they wont fit unless you use a spacer to fill the gap.

i dumped the original rotors long ago as kept overheating and warping and eating brake pads.
You do need to reverse the middles, that is true of a few disks that I have had. All without any over heating or glazing. I do not myself know enough to say whether that is always true, always....I am not a bike shop owner....
It is eminently possible that even the designers do not understand engineering and metal fatigue when "designing" a part.....
But when a disk is running reversed, it starts to "snake" in a tiny way, as it warms up, and can be permanently damaged!
I myself have put the problem down to a lack of training of factory floor workers, and the build documents not being fully detailed in a factory, plus low quality don't care/don't know, workers!
My opinion was made after receiving two new identical disks, maybe 2 years ago, for a friend's bike, 1 one way and 1 the other way....DUUHHH
A further example, my e-bike that I bought new 19 months ago, came with completely locked up steering, simply because the wrong bearing was used in the upper position in the headset.
It was only a millimeter difference in thickness between the upper and the lower bearing and the assembling person had used two lower bearings!
If the bearings had BOTH been uppers, there would have been no problems whatsoever....The extra millimeter would have made no difference!
In such cases, the person writing the assembly documents, should specify same components whenever possible, to prevent such errors!
When I was still working, I used to go to our US factories, picking holes in the assembly documents...
There were some very surprised floor managers in my visits!!
regards
Andy