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Disc Brakes - Which Do You Prefer?


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...as a braking surface?

And what kind of durability are you seeing?

Metal versus Resin

Resin brake pads - also referred to as organic or semi-metallic pads - are made from a mix of fibers held together by resin. Typically, those materials are softer than their metal counterparts, which usually means they are quieter when braking. 

Metal brake pads, meanwhile, are sometimes called metallic or sintered, and you guessed it, are made from metallic particles fused together. Metal brake pads are often used for OEM spec, meaning that’s what you’ll go home with if you buy a new bike from a bike shop. This is due to metal brake pads' versatility and their ability to perform in a wide variety of conditions. This is also why you’ll find metal brake pads on most cars and motorcycles.

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I prefer the non-metallic or resin pads, for sure. I find the grinding sound and feel from metallic intolerable. There may be lower braking performance with the resin pads but for an every day bike on the roads, they are good enough.

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I often heard that discs were more maintenance than rim brakes.  Maybe to an extent they are but both systems have been set it & forget it for me.  My Anthem had a warranty replacement so they changed the lever & re bled them.  Other than than checking the pads for wear I haven’t messed with them.

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32 minutes ago, ChrisL said:

I often heard that discs were more maintenance than rim brakes.  Maybe to an extent they are but both systems have been set it & forget it for me.  My Anthem had a warranty replacement so they changed the lever & re bled them.  Other than than checking the pads for wear I haven’t messed with them.

I find I have to clean the rotors more than I anticipated.

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34 minutes ago, donkpow said:

I find I have to clean the rotors more than I anticipated.

Is that due to road grime or some other reason?  I don’t clean mine unless they are getting some over spray from a wash down.   If they get wet I get a little squealing at first but it goes away.

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2 hours ago, ChrisL said:

Is that due to road grime or some other reason?  I don’t clean mine unless they are getting some over spray from a wash down.   If they get wet I get a little squealing at first but it goes away.

Yeah, road grime. The front starts to make too much noise, so I clean it.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Shimano stated that resin pads should be used on the centerloc rotors I chose but since Avid Roaddisc units come with metallic pads that's what I use.  I keep waiting for some cat a strophic failure but they just keep on stopping me.  Now, the Shimano rotors did have a shinier finish than I'm used to so perhaps that's something they know about that I don't.

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