[Sandwich]

Since my new Magura's have been so fussy, I set up my hope non-mono M4s back on my bike with a fresh bleed and 8" rotors. They worked pretty well, the feel was spot on and the setup was mint, but on extended brake-dragging runs at plattekill, they would fade something awful at the end of the run. They are considerably lighter than the maggies, so I'm wondering if there's anything I can do to make them fade less. My rear was freshly bled, the front has been mint so I didn't do anything to it. Pads are old and rotors are as well. Would new pads fix it? Would fresh DOT oil reduce fade? The stuff I used is slightly old but is 5.1. Should I just swap on the gustavs and forget this noise?


Please don't tell me to change my braking style; it would be great if you rode the same trail and could get away with only braking before the turns, but then you'd be greg minaar or something.

 

[Rob K]

You can try the EBC "Red". On my FR/DH rig I run them up front and the stock pads in the rear. If I'm going to hit a trail where I will be doing a lot of front and rear braking then I run the EBC "Red" at both ends.

A few years ago I use to be pretty active in the local SCCA SOLO-II circuit (aka: Auto-Cross) and would also be a regular at Button Willows. We use to run EBC "Red" on our cars because we needed the braking performance.

When EBC made it into the MTB scene I immediately purchased a set (I keep the stock pads in my pack just in case...). I've even run them in my XC bike (using the "Green").

I can only speak to my Hayes, Shimano and Avid brakes when it comes to the use of EBC pads. The stock pads for the aforementioned brakes work pretty well but I've found for my style of riding that the EBC works for me (braking techniques, rotor materials, riding skill/experience also plays a role).

Most of the fading that I've experienced has always been the pad which is usually because I've either been dragging them or I'm on a ride where there's just a lot of braking.

The EBC "Red" is not the ultimate answer and they too can fade - it just seems that the fading I experience with the EBC is not as often as when I run the stock pads.

HTH.