Sintered or Organic pads and why. What’s your preference

[macr88 ✓ supporter]

I have Avid XO Trails and the fronts came with steel backed organic and the rears came with aluminum backed organic.
Needed new rear pads and went in to the bike shop and they said my brakes came with sintered pads so I picked them up. After pulling out the old ones I noticed they were organic which makes sense now.

What do you ride with and do you have a brand you are loyal to?

[2_Salukis ✓ supporter]

I have metallic, but plan on switching the rear to organic as soon as I need to replace them. The squealing bugs me, so I want to see if organic will fix it. I tend to stick with the same brand, rather than go with 3rd-party. In my case, Avid Juicy Seven.

You may want to check out this: [url:11yfpg63]http://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-gear/mountain-bike-brakes-buyers-guide/[/url:11yfpg63]

[slipfinger]

I run XO trails on both my bikes and love them. I have run both kinds of pads with equal success. Organic will wear out quicker specially in wet conditions, but are less noisy then the sintered pads. In the end, each kind as its pro’s and con’s, less noise but wear out quicker, more noise but last longer.
I have not run any of the aftermarket brakes as of yet so can’t make comment on any of them.

[blundar]

Here is an article that I just recently wrote on this subject at "TheMountainBikeLife.com":
[url:3ee5ruy4]http://www.themountainbikelife.com/2014/06/the-frugal-mountain-biker-part-6-brake.html[/url:3ee5ruy4]
Most of the time, the best thing to do is a basic service on your existing brake system, and then upgrade brake pads to aftermarket organic pads.

I find that Sintered are good for some DH, but they are often way too hard and noisy. They last a long time but they glaze over quickly. They are better for heavy, hard braking and work best when they get up to their optimum temperature range.

Organic are the opposite. For me they wear out quicker, are much quieter, and bed-in faster.

Semi-metallic are the "Goldi-locks just right" in-between compound. They often come in multiple versions. I like the XC softer ones because they are more suited to the type of riding that I do.

Semi-metallic also come in "All Mountain" and "DH" versions, each being harder and mixed with different metals (copper, aluminum, steel, and some with combinations of these).

Don’t get the cheapest Semi-metallic or organic pads. Spend a little more and it will make a big difference. I really love my new NukeProof XC Organic pads. They were a HUGE improvement over my stock pads.

[gar29]

"blundar" wrote

Don’t get the cheapest Semi-metallic pads. Spend a little more and it will make a big difference. I really love my new NukeProof XC pads. They were a HUGE improvement over my stock pads.

Ever try Alligator pads? I was eyeing a set for my Hayes brakes, but wound up not pulling the trigger. They get decent reviews, but I’m always leery of overly cheap products.

[blundar]

Alligator make organic, semi-metallic, and sintered pads. They look like a good brand with pretty good reviews. I have never tried Alligator pads.

[macr88 ✓ supporter]

Awesome, thanks for the info everyone.
I went with sintered this time and so far so good, I’ll update once I get some real rides in.

[Syd Patricio]

"macr88" wrote

Awesome, thanks for the info everyone.
I went with sintered this time and so far so good, I’ll update once I get some real rides in.

HI Marc

Do not forget to service the caliper.. Many times noise is generated due to an imbalance in the pistons extension. I highly recommend before installing new pads to thoroughly clean the caliper, then to extend the pistons out using the spacer tool provided with the brakes (those red or yellow spacers that came with your brakes). To extend them out safely I usually keep one old pad in the caliper then pump the brakes a few times..With the pistons extended, I then add a few drops of brake fluid to the pistons, then retract it again. Do this a few times to each side of the caliper. This ensures that the brake piston seals are lubed and not dry. They will extend out equally. Do remember to remove any excess fluid around the pistons. Use a cotton swab. Then instal your new pads and following manufactures recommended instructions recenter your caliper. This ensures both pads are applying pressure and the caliper is perpendicular to the rotor. This eliminates pad squeal. Ohh and do remember to burnish in the pads.

[macr88 ✓ supporter]

Thanks for the info Syd, how do you go about burnishing or bedding in your pads? In the car I normally do a few stops from 60-10 then 80-10 and 100-10 but this varies depending on the brand of pad I use. I’ve been using performance friction pads and there’s really no need for the above nonsense anymore.

My metallic pads were quiet for some time and recently started making noise, I’m going to go through the calipers and clean them up as well as bleed them. Once I’m done I might have my wife take me up the hill a few times and get the pads bed in properly.

The metallic pads might be a bit of an overkill 99% of the time lol I’ll probably switch back to organica when the sintereds wear out.

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