Are Expensive Brake Pads Worth It?

[@gcntech]

Have you tried expensive or cheap brake pads? What was your experience?👀

[@hope2someday691]

What pads are the pros using ? What about the wear to the rotor ? Why not try some other materials ? I use what my LBS has in stock.

[@rickybarker4023]

Mtb - no. Road - yes. Road disc are strong enough you can afford to give up a little performance

[@Pionirish]

I've used cheap pads and expensive pads. They all came in resin and sintered versions and the biggest differences are between pad materials rather than cost of pads. It would have been better to compare cheap vs expensive pads of the same material.

[@tiagojsag]

I feel like this would have been a lot more informative if they had thrown in, say, a standard Ultegra/105 brake pad into the mix, representing the "middle of the road, what you typically get out of the box when you buy a new bike" category

[@chrisfanning5842]

The genuine Shimano pads for my trail bike are £32.95 per wheel so they're very nearly the most expensive pads I can find at 5x the price of the cheaper options. My road bike's genuine 105 pads are officially £23.95 so they're at least 4x the price of affordable offerings. "Middle of the road" is something like Gorilla brand where I'm looking at £10-15 per pair for either the MTB or road bike.

[@antaholics]

Were they sponsored by the more expensive brake pad manufacturer? Maybe it didn't offer enough of an edge over OEM brake pads so they decided to only test against the really cheap ones 😂😂

[@BuckleyJonathan-nr1wu]

Trace Velo did a really good test of his own on the different compounds. It’s well worth a watch to fill in the missing information. Cheap doesn’t always mean shite.

[@markalderdice2288]

I like what you were trying to do, but the emergency braking test was biased and therefore invalid. It needs to be blinded (ie the rider doesn’t know which pads have been installed). Otherwise there is quite likely s difference to how the braking was performed based on a preconception of which pad will perform better. It is a really relevant topic to explore, so thanks for that.

[@derektakeno2192]

He also should have alternated between the two. He got better as he practiced.

[@jimsmith9419]

I agree. GCN does science, but GCN needs better experimental design!

[@markalderdice2288]

@ Oh well, even experienced researchers get stuff like that wrong. Like I said, it is a very relevant topic and I think they did shed some good light on the topic. Good to know that some experts think that the cooling fins are ineffective

[@ebikescrapper3925]

They should have used a non GCN presenter as well to perform the test.

[@-Gothicgirl-]

The biggest problem is the compound! The expensive are ceramic and the cheap nuts are resin. That is crap

[@ampbrakingcomponents]

Thanks Alex for the great review. Just to clarify, the Carbone SL brake pads featured in this video were purchased and not provided as part of a sponsorship. By the way, while the Carbone SL is our top-of-the-line model, we also offer the Podium and Carbone ranges, which are more budget-friendly but still great upgrades over OEM pads for managing heat and vibration.

[@geryon]

Since the brake pads are of different compounds then I don't think you can draw any conclusions whether the price made any difference at all. This really should have been a comparison between cheap and expensive option of the same type of compound.

[@jel10ukkite]

Exactly my thoughts

[@-Gothicgirl-]

Yeah that test is crap. Ceramic vs resin. And ceramic brakes better then resin

[@kidShibuya]

Oh I didn't know resin and ceramic pads were the same price. Usually one is more expensive than the other but thank youtube comment experts for sorting me out on that one.

[@-Gothicgirl-]

@kidShibuya no one says its the same price. The carbon here are more expensive then the resin n&t pads. But for a real good comparison its need the same compound. Resin vs resin or ceramic vs ceramic. Resin vs ceramic is a crap test and says nothing

[@joystation1]

Spot on. If they do the comparison / test again they should also include the equivalent of a prolonged braking scenario like you'd get on a long descent.

[@rufflycorrect]

You should have first run a test set with OEM pads simply to stabilise your performance with that particular set of variables (front brake only/front tyre grip/etc).

[@matt_acton-varian]

Another comment mentions the lack of validity over bias in this test, as Alex knew which pads were which when he used them. However I do believe that these are the first time he has used either pads in the experiment therefore both sets were an unknown quantity. The familiarity of OEM pad performance in comparison would give an unfair advantage.

[@mommamooney]

Love the deep dive into the tech of these. I love seeing how things work

[@kpbmx]

The dust is always the kicker for me. Cheapos for winter when the bike is getting cleaned regularly anyway. SwissStop for summer.

[@kidShibuya]

I am a weight weenie for everything, except my pads and discs are SwissStop. Love them.

[@busterhymen6331]

Ha. Save yourselves some Money. SwissStop for 30£ are the same pads from the same Chinese factory as BBB. Funny how more expensive mean better. SwissStop is a great rubber company though.

[@kpbmx]

Have tried their highest performance version organic “BBB HP variant” and not convinced. Same price as SwissStop ~€15 but far worse quality (even to look at).

[@derx6666]

Would be nice to have a test with multiple brands: like SRAM, Shimano, Campa, Swissstop, Galfer, etc

[@myownsite]

I just buy Shimano since it doesn't take shortcuts like cheaper brands but isn't deep into diminishing returns like the pads here.

[@MediaProConcept]

I have used a lot of different pads, and I am sticking with the Shimano ones. The L03, 05 are among the most quiet and smooth.

[@cruachan1191]

I have a cheap bike with mechanical disk brakes, when the stock pads were worn I chose the Shimano ones rather than the cheap ones and noticed a big difference in performance. Plus the Shimano ones were only £2 more and came with 3 replacement split pins, there were no pins with the cheaper pads.

[@DanTuber]

@@MediaProConcept quiet until it rains

[@eXTreemator]

​@@cruachan1191whybthe fuck do you need those pins 😐

[@spence12334]

loving the yellow calipers!

[@andrewnickischer6895]

Same, they look killer on that bike. Cool contrast

[@asicdathens]

For regular rim brakes SwissStop are the kings of braking for me.

[@grobbosixtyone]

Swissstop are fantastic for my disk brake pads too. So smooth

[@jessemaciver8856]

Agreed

[@oranjid]

one of the few manufacturers that rate their disc brakes not only by power but also by noise. I am very happy with them in particular when it´s wet, they are the least noisy pads I have been riding so far. For disc that means 20-30€ buying them online. I would not say they brake a lot better than other pads, but not needing to enjoy screeching noises from hell in wet conditions is certainly worth it. For the rim brake pads, the Swiss Stop BXP race pads outperformed everything else I have used, in particular when it is wet when other rim brake pads feel like braking with a sponge. The price point is reasonable and the rotors are also not bad and you can get them even slightly cheaper than original shimpan....shimano rotors I mean :P

[@petersouthernboy6327]

I use the yellow Swiss Stop disc pads

[@janblubber2450]

Thanks for the video, enjoyed it quite a lot! However, why are you not also covering the middle ground? By comparing very cheap vs expensive you are just confirming what nearly everybody expects already. Also you are driving people into buying the expesive ones. The real value of the vid would have been to learn if the expesive pads are really worth their money in comparison to the standard brake pads.

[@-Gothicgirl-]

Yeah you think it is a good test to test ceramic vs resi

[@peterliljebladh]

High performance upgrade without breaking the bank. Very useful & informative for the masses. Thank you!

[@Ok_Rouleur]

Thanks Alex and I hope that you don’t look at the negative comments :-( I found the test interesting and complementing my own experience. I ride a lot in various conditions and I find that break pads are an issue.

[@chrisridesbicycles]

I‘m not surprised. I rode „We ride Flanders“ in spring, 7.5 hours in the rain and mud with a pair of Swissstops in the front and a pair of cheap Shimano (without cooling fins) in the back. The cheap ones were completely gone after the race, the front ones lasted well into summer. Would be interesting if you talked to Owen from GMBN tech. I guess he has a bit to say about the topic from his days as a DH race mechanic.

[@andrewzach1921]

Thanks for the video

[@lazzaboyman8003]

I would also like to see the standard Shimano/brand pads

[@FliskerX]

I would want to see "standard" what most of the people have the resin shimano vs the super expensive stuff. I'm not sure many ppl care about absolute low end. The low-end in most situation is significantly worse than top-end, but quite often mid range stuff vs top-end is not really big difference.

[@robbijay]

Surely the test needs to be ‘cheapest resin vs most expensive resin’ and ‘cheapest metallic vs most expensive metallic’??? Else it’s not a fair comparison

[@owenanstey436]

Interesting test, would also like to see a long hard descent in wet conditions where brakes usually end up screaming.

[@mickchaganis6607]

Could you do an apple for apple comparison, Noah and Theo do a ceramic pad. I've tried N&T ceramic pads on a MTB, seemed better than standard metallic pads. I'm still into rimming on my road bikes so can't say.

[@tippy35075]

I tried those ceramic pads on my road bike, they overheated on a long steep descent and started smoking badly, swapped them for a semi metallic compound and problem solved, ceramics for the back brake thou

[@jel10ukkite]

@@tippy35075 never overheated mine.

[@tomkunich9401]

I am not one for disk brakes which were only designed so that you could use superlight carbon wheels. The dynamic loads are all in the wrong spots. That testing does make me wonder what the slightly better stopping power doesn't make them marginally better for pros who optimize every component.

[@Slazmoservicing4209]

Ive been having a good run with the ceramic and metal sintered pads on my MTB bikes, no fade or faults to date and these are AliExpress sourced for about $16 for a set of 4 (2x front & back).

[@wuzihuzi]

Calipers are looking fresh Alex 🔥

[@djrlloyd]

The expensive brake pads may have lasted twice as long but looking at costs you could buy 6 cheap pads for every expensive one. The maths favours the cheap pad.

[@josephtibold1804]

The math does not add the additional costs putting on several sets of brakes.

[@daveplatten5380]

I think manufacturers produce an honest product, but I have been riding disc since 1995. In my limited experience, pads can make a difference to performance both in feel and performance. I find especially in the more basic products the systems can be a bit on or off for feedback. In the past an easy fix is change over the pads. Swiss stop have been very good in this area.

[@karstenmeinders4844]

Good video! Maybe make a follow-up one comparing cheap, stock and expensive as well as resin and metallic based pads. This is much more effort (3 x 2 = 6 pad types) but will give a very comprehensive overview. For my own choices, I have stayed with OEM pads so far (Shimano in my case) using the cooling fins which are the ones that my bike came with.

[@-Gothicgirl-]

This test is crap! They test ceramic pads vs resin .

[@tri-seeker2753]

Wow, Carbon fiber! So much weight saved 😀 Guys, get real in this regard, saying that saving is negigable is an understatement...

[@TimO-fx5hf]

new here so please be nice. Is 60 grit actually a good way to test expected lifespan? feels like the abbrasion qualities are very different than those of a brake disc...

[@GassTron]

My brakes failed once, using cheap brakepads, when the plate got separated from the compound. SLX brakes

[@romeandcurry6915]

Good test, my main takeaway is - I want red brake callipers and I also would like to see you ceracoat all the aluminium parts on a group-set.

[@VictorElGreco]

Usage matters, too. I had sintered pads (obnoxiously squeaky when wet but extremely durable) when I commuted to work, come what may weather-wise. Each case has its own conditions.

[@MrTheMrLol]

The cooling fins are essential in my opinion. Cooling fins on the carbon fiber pads wouldnt work since fiber reinforced plastic does not transfer heat well. If you have aluminium backing plates the heat transfer is significantly improved. I never had problems with brakes overheating using the original shimano brake pads or the Swissstop Exotherm pads with the fins but had constant issues with the Swissstop RS pads. If you ever plan to ride a downhill longer than 15-20 min you need a metal backing plate with fins or your brakes will fade and the pads glaze over.

[@mattjhann]

The only time I felt like I was limited by my brake pads and not by possibility of going over the handlebars or losing traction, was when on my mountain bike going down a steep and grippy hill VERY fast and doing an emergency stop because I missed a turning. I could smell burning. I wonder what the difference between the expensive/cheap ones would be on prolonged descents? That was a big talking point when disc brakes first came to road, and would be interesting to test.

[@lawrencekelly5038]

I've had a good play around with pads. Near me is a hill where I regularly hit 65kmh+, and to make it much more exciting, and by that I'm referring to brown adrenaline, there's a hairpin bend at the bottom. Combine this with me being about 105kg, then my pads get a work-out. I've gone from using standard pads as new with my TRP spyre calipers (OK, nice progressive feel), to cheap ebay pads (near death, would have to wait for a sheep to call an ambulance for me), to pretty decent ceramic disco-brakes pads (nice!). I've come to the conclusion that pads are not a place to scrimp on.

[@ashleyhouse9690]

I use those cheap, blue pads. They're brilliant and don't squeel.

[@S9H9-r8u]

Would love to see this using rotors!

[@FreddyEnergizer]

Perhaps a idea to make a follow-up on this one. Testing in wet conditions

[@mkenyon7429]

Next is testing different rotors. On my motorcycle I found matching rotors with the pads was most important. Unfortunately for the pads you tested they do not offer center lock rotors. Most likely since AMP does not make rotors they optimized their compound for the Shimano rotors. N&T only makes 5 bolt so theirs amy work better with their rotors.

[@desbarbos19]

they tested it on the different rotors, so GCNs tests are not agnostic anyway

[@diveguernsey6521]

I have those cheap pads on my MTB and love them. Chosen as the company had lots of info lacking with others.

[@Aragorn.Strider]

Great video, thanks!

[@gcntech]

We're glad you liked it!

[@JustJacco]

thanks for the informational video, I love all your great content! Great production value. What is up with the camera setup in the studio (chapter 2) about though. It is a very strange fish eye like effect. Love your content, maybe this was a little experiment with your studio setup. But it looks blurry in a sloppy low quality way. Maybe just a single persons opinion, but it felt right to point it out, hopefully it can be helpfull :)

[@jbarner13]

The original pads with their fins are designed to shed of some of the heat before it gets to the caliper. The cheap pads are designed (like most) to transmit the heat to the caliper and let its features dissipate it. The CF-backed pads are designed to keep the heat in the pad itself. Since the amount of heat generated is the same with either style, I am not at all convinced that letting it build up in the pad is a wise alternative. Is the pad material designed to withstand higher temperatures? Might a hotter pad lead to hotter rotors, with warping becoming an issue? How will these hold up, say, on a tandem on a very long descent?

[@thecrow3461]

Squeaking brakes can also be a real pain with cheap brake pads and usually dont occur with more expensive pads.

[@manoz6194]

I used to buy the cheap ones but then found myself sticking to stock pads. The life is longer and performance better. Sometimes they are sold from a bulk pack so below retail pricing and no packaging.

[@Thomas-fy9yc]

What I’d like to see is a comparo between those Absolute Black and other premium pads like Swiss Stop.

[@petersouthernboy6327]

Galfer and Swiss Stop are very good, mid level pads that make a difference

[@teddysaur]

Regular contamination of the pads causing squeaking noise and vibration is making me crazy. I like to see what brake pad makes the least noise.

[@Tibike]

Brake pads dont make noise when the brakes are working correctly

[@larryt.atcycleitalia5786]

Resin is generally quieter but if you've been using sintered, good luck unless you change the rotors at the same time.

[@PsyKeks]

I am happy to see that they made an effort to make the test actually meaningful! I still see a potential problem, with the tester getting more dialed in during the test period, performing better in the later tests. So another partial run of tests of the cheap pads after the expensive tests could have made that visible. Also of course would have been interesting to see how the original pads would perform in the same tests as presumably a medium price point and a long descent temperature test, but that's a lot more effort. I wonder how meaningful the belt sander test was. Clearly the abrasion wasn't even on both pads, but was it equally uneven or can one of them have a more pronounced concentration of wear and one have a more even wear? The coarse sandpaper surely isn't realistic and different materials might react to that differently, I am not sure. With both pads being the same type (organic / metal) I wouldn't have any issues, so I am unsure. I'd really appreciate it, if you refined your testing methods and made them reliable. Or I am sure, there are already some kind of resources on many topics, that can be quoted and you can make research videos instead of testing videos. Both are fine in their own way.

[@r.davies2702]

This was actually a good test, I've often wondered whether or not it's worth spending more. But considering I can get a set of pads (4) for the car for £30 I think I'll stick with the cheaper ones I've been buying.

[@imprezaaudi]

You can get 5 sets of cheap pads for cost of one expensive. The savings are obvious. Means you also are forced to check your brakes more often for general maintenance

[@steveyankou4144]

Alex just wanted an excuse to show off his yellow calipers. (They do look sick.)

[@KelvinSuddith]

I think this missed the point that many of us would’ve like to have seen; I think we’d all like a comparison to some mid tier brake pad, something like 105 or Apex

[@hadesmcc]

If you want an idea of how much the tyres impact braking, you can watch the Engineering Explained video with title Horsepower vs Tires - What Actually Matters?!. He compares 2 different generation Golf GTI (2 generations apart) and the older car with the older braking system, performs better on the newest generation tyre, than the newer car performs on a 2 generations older tyre form the same brand.

[@ebikescrapper3925]

One advantage of more expensive pads is that the pad surface is smooth and even. On cheaper pads the pad surface can be rough and uneven making them a pain to get in. I would go for the manufacturers version if you can still get them, I can't so have to use aftermarket ones. Don't go cheap, don't go expensive, go middle of the road.

[@-Gothicgirl-]

The testbis ceramic vs resin and thsts crap

[@oranjid]

you are absolutely right..... the diference between mid range and expensive is usually that you get fancy "cooling fins" that make absolutely no sense and have zero effect asides of making the manufacturers lots of extra money. The marketing though is brilliant, add a useless heatsink with the surface smaller than a penny and sell it for twice the price. Good job ;-) In the mid price range you get nice compounds that last long and are less noisy than cheap pads and that´s all that matters.

[@oranjid]

Swapping only the pads will lead to wrong results. To get a proper result you would have to use each pad with an individula brake disc that has been "braked in" with this pad. Any cheap pads including original Shimano pads have not been serving me well, in particular if it gets wet. The performance is usually resonable but in my experience they all get very noisy as soon as a little bit of moisture is around. For around 15-20 bucks there is enough reasonable choices that will last long and make little or no noise in wet conditions and performance is pretty good. SwissStop and Jagwire pads worked very well for me.

[@kevinarmstrongyoutube]

2:46 disc swap occurred.

[@-Gothicgirl-]

They test ceramic test vs resin where ceramic brakes better then resin. Thats a crap test

[@kevvjj2629]

which is what they did... did you watch the video? my most expensive pads were the noisiest in the wet - go figure.

[@oranjid]

@@kevvjj2629 actually really missed that short shot where he swapped it. Would have at least to ride both sets in though, he does not state? For me the "factory" shimano pads had good stopping power, but made more noise in the wet the erruption of Krakatau. I doubt there is a big relation between price of the pad and noise, though usually those that are less noisy cost slightly more than the stock option..

[@micko5664]

What about noise? I appreciate other factors have an effect, but with other things being on par I like to know which is quieter.

[@skasterenvan3480]

please add also the default Shimano Ultegra pads to the test please.

[@charliecook6909]

Been using the amp ceramic compound carbon pad for long time now , there pretty incredible , miles above the stock sram pads, if you shop around you can get them at the same price as stock pads rather than £75 🤯

[@rtotheizzo]

Would love to see more comprehensive testing - especially on wear. Actual rotor instead of a belt sander. Also finned vs non-finned. Also including more middle of the road products ($20-$40)

[@larryt.atcycleitalia5786]

That's not GCN...too much work, not enough fun and certainly not much click-bait.

[@wobbly_jelly]

also what about water / muck? it's easy to burn through a set on a mountain bike in bad conditions in a single ride. You mentioned car pads - much more surface area for same or less money.

[@KurtisPape]

Many years ago I got a bunch of aliexpress Sram Guide brake pads for $2aud a set (about 1 pound), they were actually better than the $40 sram brakes. I got 10 sets and it feels like I have a lifetime supply of them because they last a long time as well. I have only used them as a rear brake because I still don't trust them on the front, I have never really tested them under extreme overheating conditions.

[@hazza106]

The n and t brand are best in value and performance the gold ones are perfect for all year mountain biking

[@AlasdairLDuncan]

Just to note that N&T make brake pads in a huge range of materials at the same or very little more money than the resin pads tested. It's a bit frustrating as a test purporting to be about cheap vs expensive, that you may only be testing the functionality of ceramic vs resin pads the price difference of which could be £2.30 (as per N&T's website).

[@BadByte]

Good link up with the tyre pressure video "a cheap tyre at right psi is better than an expensive tyre at wrong psi"

[@Przemo-c]

As for heat transfer sure if you're right for heavy constant braking. But on descents when you alternate fins do remove heat more. Also carbon fiber is conductive it's the reason that is not and keeping the heat on the pad and disc is actually very detrimental to longevity of both. Ideally you'd isolate the piston but conduct from the pad to fins. So that carbon brake claim seems like a test chosen specifically to back the marketing claim not the real world utility.

[@kevinpower5880]

I have used the N&T pads but found their performance a little lacking and prone to contamination issues. I went back to Shimano OEM and the difference was night and day. Bearing in mind the need to brake effectively especially when a car stops suddenly in front of you I am prepared to pay a little more. I dont think I could justify the ceramic brakes though.i do like these GCN tests. They may not be truly scientific but they are real world and probably more relevant to ordinary riders.

[@marekkozub8957]

I'm glad I still use rim brakes. 33 000 km and the same brake pads. They are still good enough for another many thousand km.

[@mikegordon6870]

Do a wet and dry test.

[@jonathanzappala]

Should have chosen absolute black,itching Pogacar has used those. $50

[@AlexWatson-t1f]

You should do this double blind.

[@coreyallert1482]

Would be good to see Cheap vs OEM vs Expensive

[@PiotrRorot]

do you always brake front only, especially in situations when you actually have to break, coz stuff on the road happens and you gotta turn as well?

[@gavin18787]

Zero issues with using Decathalon own brand pads here on my Sram setups. Last just as long, feel roughly the same as Sram OEM. Much cheaper and still from a well know company to remove the unknown ebay / temu lottery!

[@theoceansswitch]

Have you thought of testing these with different riders? E.g. large rider Vs small rider to see if cheaper, higher bite pads actually suit smaller riders better?

[@dariuszj7813]

That Orbea looks so cool 😂

[@kidsafe]

Noah & Theo ceramic pads would have been a fairer comparison. It looks like they cost the same as the resin pads. I tend to buy MTX Red ceramics just because I like supporting my local bike shop.

[@stuartdryer1352]

As usual you don't include an intermediate option. The implication that you suggest is that only the most expensive stuff is worth having. You literally do this every single time you make a comparison whether it's about brake pads or frames or tires or whatever. Every. Single. Time.

[@b9eda9ad]

Exactly and no information on disc types suitable for different brakes and also on sound effects. I have wire pads on hardened steel disc and sometimes when I do not want to ring the bell just gently brake and it sounds like a much bigger vehicle is behind them ;-)

[@jonm7272]

Yeh, it's almost like they are completely in the pocket of their sponsors.

[@Irnbruist]

For alloy rims there is nothing better than SwissStop BXP, worth every penny!

[@Raymond-Farts]

I only use pads that are made by companies that specialize in brakes. I run Shimano Dura-Ace calipers but I don't use Shimano pads because they aren't very good. I use MTX Red Label pads which are number one pad for strongest and quietest performance braking I've gotten from any other pad I've tried.

[@johndef5075]

Shimano works fine on my mountain bike.

[@jed1mstr]

Curious how these tests would have been with the Absolute Black GRAPHENpads that Pogi uses.

[@gmivisualsjason3729]

Do we have a link of where to buy these expensive pads?

[@EmmetFardy]

Should have included a standard Shimano break pad. We need to know what the baseline is.

[@larryt.atcycleitalia5786]

The "science" here reminds me of that Friction Fiction guy's testing. Sanding the pads down tells how long they'll last IF your brake rotors are covered with abrasive particles..otherwise? Cheap pads are usually resin, expensive ones usually a sintered metal. Comparing them strictly on performance is not really fair. For me the lack of that gawdawful noise is key..so resin wins here. Before someone tells me how quiet their sintered pads are, I'll just point you to any WT race soundtrack where you can hear the gawdawful squawking. Not for me! Resin pads stop just fine...I'm an old-fart who never had stopping issues on the toughest descents in France/Italy with old-time Campagnolo dual-pivot calipers with the standard brake pads. Same for rotors, I ended up fixing a squawking Shimano Ultegra setup with the cheapest, one-piece Shimano rotors and Swisstop resin pads. Don't think you're gonna find a lot of difference in tires under braking. A super hard rubber compound might break away (skid) a bit sooner than a softer one and possibly a bit more abruptly, but it'll be hard to quantify.

[@kakarot2430]

Most of decent roadbikes would use $3.7 brake shoes , and then I bought $0.01 a pair and it feels good. So I am changed to that, and you can calculate how many pair I could get with $3.7

[@oplkfdhgk]

i prefer higher end metallic pads. i just really like the strong bite that they have and also i like that i don't have to worry about melting the brake pads on descents. :D

[@turbo_nerd86]

of course you do

[@oranjid]

the metallic compounds also just contain small pieces of metal. I think it should be hard to impossible to melt the compound of any pads, the rotor itself will rather overheat as it carries most of the heat away. look at pictures of bike disc brake with IR cameras and you will see that very well. I think before you get there you will rather damage the rotor. Unless riding in Alpine regions no reason to even worry about any of this at all.

[@oplkfdhgk]

@@oranjid yes it's not a huge issue but why risk it? i don't see much benefit to using some other type of brake pad except ceramic maybe.

[@oranjid]

@@oplkfdhgk they will not melt. You can point a 400° hot air gun onto them and they don´t give a damn. They are made to resist intense heat, only would not buy unknown brands from china marketplaces. You can bake in the upper layer of the surface when braking too much/too hard but overheating is rather not an issue. Even GCN has tried to overheat disc brakes and proofed that "hot glowing brakes" will just not happen not even if your braking style is terrible. They could hardly exceed 180°C on the rotors. Temperatures will exceed this for seconds on the pads, but they are designed to work when they are very hot. You can ruin the surface of the pads as said, with about any compound, usually nothing sandpaper can´t fix.

[@ChrisLoew]

15% improvement is solid

[@littlemrdrummer]

I'll tell you why not one part of this video is useful: If we're really stopping as hard as we can as stated in the video, you're skidding every time. Otherwise it's all perceptive feel to what's the hardest you squeeze levers before you skid. That's just not reliable. But GCN knows that, because it's a way to promote the most expensive brake pads without having to "Promote" label it.

[@Alan_Hans__]

Would have been interesting to the the difference that a wet rotor made to the difference.

[@brianridley1102]

Would have been great to see on a steep long hill to see what brake fade there is

[@del4189]

I've been using EBC pads from amazon for years now, work well with no problems, about £7 a pair. EBC make pads for cars and trucks so I guess they know what they are doing.

[@larryt.atcycleitalia5786]

I used to LOVE EBC back in my moto daze! Didn't know they were in the bike game too, Thanks!

[@albertdee1139]

Would have been nice to have both types of pads tested under wet conditions, would the difference have been as close as they were under the dry conditions? If s, that would have clinched it!

[@spootnik00]

You did not mention what material is the cheapo pads

[@zygmuntthecacaokakistocrat6589]

I doubt the backing plate of the cheap pads would be aluminium: it's much more likely to be steel. Aluminium brake pads are usually more expensive than steel ones.

[@markusseppala6547]

Make video of 4 piston brakes on a road/gravel bike

[@chrisfanning5842]

Slow-wearing pads are just eating away your much more expensive brake rotors faster. There's no right or wrong, but I personally prefer more pad changes and fewer rotor changes. Also, you can clean a contaminated rotor very easily but a contaminated pad is almost impossible to truly decontaminate, with sanding and brake-cleaners fluids only typically offering a partial or temporary reprieve from the squealing noises.

[@Broonie719]

An immediate observation were the expensive brake pads were ceramic and the noah and theos were not (blue instead of orange)

[@matthewbaynham6286]

What's happening with Hank, I've seen his new KZbin channel about his little house, is that going to be GCN's go to test ground for gravel or CX? And can GCN build a wind tunnel in one of his barns?

[@kevvjj2629]

This should read "RESIN VS CERAMIC" price not an issue here, just a different compound. How about cheap ceramic vs expensive ceramic?