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Resin vs metalic brake pads for road bike


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I am currently using Shimano ultegra brake calipers with L03A resin pads on my roadbike.  Need to replace the pads soon, but cannot find the resin L03A pads.  Can find the metalic L04C pads. 

Have anybody used the L04C pads on their roadbike.  I am just scared that it will be very noisy in normal  conditions (dry).

 

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Resin is better for modulation and keeping noise low. Shorter life though. The combination of fine sand and wet destroys resin pads super quick (ask some Epic riders!).

Metal is better for life but worse for modulation and makes a bit of noise (especially when wet).

Check your rotors though - some are resin only (it is etched on the outside face of the rotor). Manufacturers are guilty of speccing cheaper rotors to save costs so check your rotors before adding metal pads.

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30 minutes ago, droo said:

Another thing to know is that once you've used sintered pads on a rotor, you can't go back to resin.

 

The sintered pad material that gets embedded in the rotor will trash a set of resin pads in record time.

I had never even thought of that - thank you!

No threat of that in Denmark though - resin pads last about 20 minutes here.

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16 minutes ago, Eldron said:

I had never even thought of that - thank you!

No threat of that in Denmark though - resin pads last about 20 minutes here.

Neither had I until someone pointed it out.

 

The more you know...

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18 minutes ago, droo said:

Neither had I until someone pointed it out.

 

The more you know...

Indeed! My other favourite "it's pretty obvious but nobody does it" is bedding in pads. A few minutes of bedding in when you change rotor or pad makes for a better overall braking experience.

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4 minutes ago, Eldron said:

Indeed! My other favourite "it's pretty obvious but nobody does it" is bedding in pads. A few minutes of bedding in when you change rotor or pad makes for a better overall braking experience.

You mean it actually allows you to stop...

 

If you understand how disc brake friction material transfer works it's a no brainer, but not many people are that interested in these things. Also it's the kind of thing that you don't know that you don't know, so you wouldn't even know to look for the information.

 

Most people don't know because motor mechanics do it for you when they change pads, and a decent bike mechanic should too.

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2 hours ago, droo said:

Another thing to know is that once you've used sintered pads on a rotor, you can't go back to resin.

 

The sintered pad material that gets embedded in the rotor will trash a set of resin pads in record time.

What a relief to learn that, here I thought it was because I'm dragging all the way.

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