Superstar brake pads

[z0mb13e]

I keep meaning to post about these Superstar brake pads I got off ebay.

I had been through 3 sets of the pads supplied by Wisper and they only seemed to last me about 800 miles a set. When I bought the last set I thought I would try these on the off chance as they are reasonably priced. I bought two sets for the price of an original set and so far they have outlasted the originals by about 800 miles (1600ish so far) and I am still on the first set!

They did take a long time to bed in, so weren't very effective for the first 50 miles or so, but now they are very quick to stop and don't fade as quickly.

I'm not 100% sure which compound they are, but if memory serves they are sintered, which might explain the long time to bed in.

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Hi Zombie

The pads we now use is of a softer compound than the ones you are now using. They bed in quickly and do the job very well indeed, unfortunately they are more expensive than the harder compound.

We used to use the harder, cheaper pads but after some complaints regarding the performance of our braking a few years ago, amongst other changes we upgraded the pads which immediately solved the problems.

All said, I know you use the bike in quite sandy conditions, so you will certainly find the harder compound will out last the Wisper pads, this may however take a toll from your rims.

All the best

David

 

[z0mb13e]

Hi David,

Yes the pads you supply are much quicker to bed in, taking only a day or two. And from your perspective I would say it makes sense to fit the softer compound as the long bed in time of the Superstar pads would likely be seen as a fault and result in lots of complaints. I have to admit I thought they were duff when after 30 miles they were still not very effective. But I persevered and they work a treat now and suit the conditions I ride in very well.

When you say they may take their toll on the rims, do you mean the brake disk rotor? Or does the harder compound put more stress on the rim via the spokes/disk? I try not to use the rear brake when its very sandy as the horrible grinding noise just reminds me that I will have to do another rear wheel rebuild that much sooner!

 

[Wisper Bikes]

Sorry, I did mean the rottor and not the rim!

All the best

David

 

[BLACKPANTHER]

As a rule, the longer a pad lasts, the more it's wearing out your rotor. The most important thing though, is how well the pad/rotor combo actually stops you, and if the set up feels right in all conditions. It's not so much of an issue on bicycles though as new rotors are cheap.
Motorbike replacement discs are horrendously expensive though, so I tend to go for a softer compound rather than have to replace them!

 

[Streethawk]

I know what you're saying about motorcycle brakes (My ZX12r is on its third set of front discs), but bicycle discs seem to last forever, i've been using them since 1998 and never worn out a disc rotor.

 

[z0mb13e]

I would rather wear out a rotor than a rim and would fit a rear disc to the Whisper if it was possible. After all it doesn't take long to change a rotor and as BLACKPANTHER points out, rotors are cheap enough.

 

[Wisper Bikes]

As a rule, the longer a pad lasts, the more it's wearing out your rotor. The most important thing though, is how well the pad/rotor combo actually stops you, and if the set up feels right in all conditions. It's not so much of an issue on bicycles though as new rotors are cheap.
Motorbike replacement discs are horrendously expensive though, so I tend to go for a softer compound rather than have to replace them!

I agree, it very much depends on individual choice, however when we send bikes out to new customers we need to have the brakes working effectively, especially in the first few hours when customers are getting used to the extra power.

All the best

David