Disc pads with the most stopping power?

[Dr Luxurious]

Any thoughts on which brand/compound disc pads have the most grab?

I have TRP Spyres (mechanical) on my CX. Time for new pads, hoping for a little better performance.

I have shimano pads on there now, I seem to remember that the TRP OEM worked a little better... Maybe....

[Lewis Moon]

Any thoughts on which brand/compound disc pads have the most grab?

I have TRP Spyres (mechanical) on my CX. Time for new pads, hoping for a little better performance.

I have shimano pads on there now, I seem to remember that the TRP OEM worked a little better... Maybe....

OK, I know this will be completely unhelpful, but.... I went through two sets of mechanical disc calipers and several sets of pads each, and still could not get braking that I thought I could trust on a CX bike. I finally sold the frame and went back to cantis.
Then, I bought a Salsa El Mariachi with XTR hydro brakes and...I now see the allure of discs. Best. Brakes. Ever. Changing out to a hydro model is expensive, but if you can...

[Jaybee]

So there are two kinds of pads: resin and metal/sintered. Speaking generally, the resin pads will typically be a little grabbier at the cost of reduced pad life and susceptibility to contamination. They should also be quieter in the wet. Metal pads will shriek like a banshee if they get wet, last forever, and maybe have a little less initial bite, though if bedded in correctly offer muchmore stopping power than you ever need.

If you switch a brake between pad types (or even if your changing pads of the same type), it is a good idea to gently sand the rotor with fine grit sandpaper followed by isopropanol to get everything off. Then re-bed with your new pads. Speaking from experience, resin pads on a dirty rotor that's been run with metal pads for several thousand miles is an underwhelming experience. Take the time to do it right.

[fmradio516]

Theres a set of XTR brakes for sale on the forum.

And I also have a set of Sram Guide T brakes. They dont have as much stopping power as the XTR but they are GREAT for modulation. So depending on your needs, these might be a good, cheap($80) option. I used them on my mountain bike last season and they were great. I just upgraded to XT because i plan on doing some downhilling with my bike.

[Clancy]

Mechanical disc brakes, to me, are like a conversion kit for turning non-tubeless rims into tubeless ready rims. They come close to the real thing but can be fussy to set-up and never quite as effective.

With that said, the number one thing I want from my disc brakes is actually the one thing I don’t want which is noise so I’ve always picked organic pads and personally found SwissStop an improvement over factory pads.

[robt57]

Green organic Swiss stops go on the front of everything I have that is disc.

[sfo1]

Swiss stop disc RS - its organic but I like the modulation and progressive bite better than SRAM pads.

Green organic Swiss stops go on the front of everything I have that is disc.

[charliedid]

So there are two kinds of pads: resin and metal/sintered. Speaking generally, the resin pads will typically be a little grabbier at the cost of reduced pad life and susceptibility to contamination. They should also be quieter in the wet. Metal pads will shriek like a banshee if they get wet, last forever, and maybe have a little less initial bite, though if bedded in correctly offer muchmore stopping power than you ever need.

If you switch a brake between pad types (or even if your changing pads of the same type), it is a good idea to gently sand the rotor with fine grit sandpaper followed by isopropanol to get everything off. Then re-bed with your new pads. Speaking from experience, resin pads on a dirty rotor that's been run with metal pads for several thousand miles is an underwhelming experience. Take the time to do it right.

I'm no expert but I approve this message.

[benb]

The higher the duty cycle/harder the braking it seems the less likely you are to see resin in use.

I'm definitely partial to sintered & semi-metallic.

We have bikes with both... I'd much rather put up with the noise of the sintered/semi-metallic for their higher overall sustained power. (Resin only "grabs" more on initial application.)

The idea that resin is ever better seems to be a roadie thing where brakes barely get used and most people probably don't even need discs.

The only time disc brakes actually matter are when you need a lot of power.

[Jaybee]

The higher the duty cycle/harder the braking it seems the less likely you are to see resin in use.

I'm definitely partial to sintered & semi-metallic.

We have bikes with both... I'd much rather put up with the noise of the sintered/semi-metallic for their higher overall sustained power. (Resin only "grabs" more on initial application.)

The idea that resin is ever better seems to be a roadie thing where brakes barely get used and most people probably don't even need discs.

The only time disc brakes actually matter are when you need a lot of power.

That's true. Especially if you're doing a long sustained descent, the metal will resist fade a lot longer.

All my bikes are metal pads (even the gravel bike) except for the fattie. The resin/organic is quieter when the pads are constantly getting wet and the traction is so low and surface so soft that I won't ever need huge sustained braking power.

[benb]

Yah I mean from my perspective there is pretty much no sustained hard braking in my road riding/gravel riding.

MTB I am much more likely to be on some ridiculous 20+ % downhill grade where I'm using a ton of brake and the discs matter. And you can't just let the bike run on the straight parts like you can on a road mountain descent. 1) Cause the straights aren't long enough 2) Because the trail is too rough to let the bike run

I remember many many times back when I rode V-brakes where my forearms were screaming and I couldn't squeeze the brakes hard enough and/or I had the brakes at maximum power and they didn't have enough power to keep the bike from accelerating out of control. That's what discs are good for.