Thanks for the conversation folks. I ordered two sets of pads from merlin plus a service kit for less than $80. Service kit has all kinds of baubles for switching levers if I choose to in the future. Cool.
Brake pads
- Thread starter Sandwich
- Start date
Let us know how they work for you.
when they arrive in July.
they've already shipped. not sure if you've had a bad experience with merlin? maybe it's because of your chechen background
anyways, I bet dollars to donuts that they arrive before I'm actually able to get on the bike again.
My chechen instincts tell me they will be here before the Memorial weekend, therefore yes.
They got my E4s from the UK to QLD, Australia in like 8 days. I've had mail take longer than that to get across the city....
arrived two days ago
lots of metal apparent but not quite a full sintered, looks like.
lots of metal apparent but not quite a full sintered, looks like.
That's definitely not a full sintered pad (or anything resembling it really).
I'm sure they're fine though, good semi pads should have more bite, they just don't last as long. If the replacement cost isn't an issue I prefer em personally because they wear fast enough that they don't just sit there and glaze into mediocrity long before wearing out, which is what most sintered pads do (except the shimano heatsink ones).
I'm sure they're fine though, good semi pads should have more bite, they just don't last as long. If the replacement cost isn't an issue I prefer em personally because they wear fast enough that they don't just sit there and glaze into mediocrity long before wearing out, which is what most sintered pads do (except the shimano heatsink ones).
For future reference, I've got about 120 miles on a set of these pads so far on the rear of my Carbine, and they're surprisingly good when it comes to braking, but noisy as shit unless conditions are just right. In the wet they're outstanding when compared to the factory Magura pads, and much quieter. If you can apply a whole lot of pressure, they're silent, if not, they seem to glaze and get all noisy. Too much braking pressure just results in skids, so I'm going to switch rotors (running Magura/Galfer circa 2005 rotors) and see if that quiets them down any. Otherwise I would say they're not worth the $10/pair just due to noise.
Next up is a set of the Origin8 pads, the compound appears to be totally different, and looks a lot like a Shimano sintered pad.
If all else fails, I'm ordering some Hopes.
Wanted to recap since people were interested:
finally got out downhilling this year but didn't end up swapping my pads. the performance compound in my mt5s are pretty good. I still think they could be better, but it's not power that's lacking, it's the fact that I'm not used to so much modulation, nor do I like it. I prefer the abrupt and immediate power that shimano brakes have, and the maguras need a lot more lever throw to get to the same point. I think I'm looking for more grab than more overall power, and honestly I just couldn't be dicked to take my bike apart in the parking lot and change something that's working pretty well (while I listen to people complain about their avids). I have the new pads and will change them at some point, but I may do the lever swap sooner than later if I ever get free time.
finally got out downhilling this year but didn't end up swapping my pads. the performance compound in my mt5s are pretty good. I still think they could be better, but it's not power that's lacking, it's the fact that I'm not used to so much modulation, nor do I like it. I prefer the abrupt and immediate power that shimano brakes have, and the maguras need a lot more lever throw to get to the same point. I think I'm looking for more grab than more overall power, and honestly I just couldn't be dicked to take my bike apart in the parking lot and change something that's working pretty well (while I listen to people complain about their avids). I have the new pads and will change them at some point, but I may do the lever swap sooner than later if I ever get free time.
I always found it interesting you said that, as the mt7s I've ridden have had pretty solid punch. I would avoid Maguras for the awful levers but not the lack of power/bite, at least from the ones I rode.
Either way, definitely agree with you on the abrupt punch that Shimano gives, I miss it too (on every brake I've used since ditching them) and am not a fan of "modulation". I wish they'd sort their stuff out because the reliability issues are a dealbreaker for me.
Sounds like the lever swap will probably sort things out for you. Maybe the old pads are a bit glazed and the new ones would breathe some bite back into them too though.
Either way, definitely agree with you on the abrupt punch that Shimano gives, I miss it too (on every brake I've used since ditching them) and am not a fan of "modulation". I wish they'd sort their stuff out because the reliability issues are a dealbreaker for me.
Sounds like the lever swap will probably sort things out for you. Maybe the old pads are a bit glazed and the new ones would breathe some bite back into them too though.
FWIW, I now have 35ish miles on the cheapie pads with Shimano ice-tec rotor and they're a huge improvement. I'm feeling pretty medium about them now, as opposed to down on them due to noise.
The old rotor with a huge amount of swept area seemed to make all the difference in the world with the Magura brand pads, the Storm SLs sucked, no bite at all, switching to the old school galfer/magura made rotor from my Louis FRs made the brakes awesome. The Shimano rotor has more cut-outs and they're either cooling better and preventing glazing, or scraping the pads better and removing the glaze, not sure which, and based on the lack of discoloration on the rotor and the excessive dust, I think a bit of both is at play.
The old rotor with a huge amount of swept area seemed to make all the difference in the world with the Magura brand pads, the Storm SLs sucked, no bite at all, switching to the old school galfer/magura made rotor from my Louis FRs made the brakes awesome. The Shimano rotor has more cut-outs and they're either cooling better and preventing glazing, or scraping the pads better and removing the glaze, not sure which, and based on the lack of discoloration on the rotor and the excessive dust, I think a bit of both is at play.
Strongly agree re: modulation, IMO people who bitch about brakes not having modulation don't understand how to pick braking points in wet conditions (I was one of those people, coming from a very dry country... but a Europe season with a bunch of Irish guys sorted me out). Give me too much power/bite over not enough anyday.Modulation is an excuse for a poorly performing brake. The first OTB you get from a decent front brake should teach you to properly use your index finger.
Just being curious here, do you also find the DOT Formula brakes lacking punch? I kinda like their on/off feeling.
As for the Formulas, I found they had good power on 26" wheels, but going to 650b I felt they were a bit lacking. This might have explained why Sandwich felt the same way about his, I think his came on a big 650b DH bike straight up. I think the bigger wheels (aside from the instant reduction in braking force) also exacerbate the small pad glazing issues on the Formula. I too like an on/off feeling, but they lost this on big wheels for me. I fitted a bigger caliper (Hayes) to get some punch back on mine.
On a trailbike (or 26" wheels) though the stock Formulas are fine, and the DOT RORs are an *incredibly* light brake - to the point where you can go up a rotor size and still have a lighter overall brake than much of the competition. Worth keeping in mind when comparing.
Good catch on the wheel size jump. I had to oversize the rotors and switch pad compound to compensate the increase in rotational inertia after upping to 650b, and finding the original pads glazed too easily.
I'm a DOT guy and found myself a bit disappointed by the release of the Curas.
I'm a DOT guy and found myself a bit disappointed by the release of the Curas.
my DH bike is 26", but A) I am overweight and B) I'm not a good rider, so I probably put more heat into my brakes than most people. I felt the formulas were good but not great. They were reliable and powerful, but not as impressive as a normal quad piston setup. I also had the T1s, not the T1, so it's possible that I was down on power slightly. I would readily run them as a trail brake, and they'd probably be fine under a rider who was lighter or rode his brakes less.