Ceramic vs Sintered pads

[Viktos]

Cold wet weather. Which out the two would you recommend, and why!?

Do all pads make that horrible squealing
Noise? Mine are ridiculous

Atb

[rareposter]

Can I post a counter-question?

What sort of riding have you done on them and have you bedded them in? Reason I'm asking is because a month ago, you posted on this thread:
viewtopic.php?p=1809194#p1809194

asking which bike you should buy and said this:
I don’t ride trails yet.. but I’m wanting to have a go at some.. also I’d like to try out some 20/30 mile rides (roads only) trails will come later once fitness/ skill improves.

You then bought an Identit AKA....



I don't know exactly what model you bought, there are several in the range but that is a full-on hardcore hardtail with the components to match, it has some hefty brakes on it. The problem is that those brakes need to be ridden hard. Firstly they need to bed in by getting some serious heat into them but secondly, they function best when being used for full on MTBing. Not pottering along a road at 10mph.

My guess is the brakes are just not even close to bedded in and are never getting any heat into them. Find the biggest road descent you can, get up to speed and really pull the brakes on HARD. Repeated stops from speed to get them hot. That should bed them in a bit and stop the squealing but my guess is that no matter what pads you're putting into it, they'll never be great if they're being used on gentle road rides.

[Cugel]

I know nowt much about the tech specifics of MTBing but can tell you that "organic" disc brake pads work best in the damp if it's squealing you want to avoid.

They have another advantage which is that you can use them on inexpensive disc rotors, whereas the sintereted, ceramic and other harder but longer lasting pads seem to demand upmarket rotors that better-resist the hard stuff of such brake pads.

I've read that ceramic or sintered pads on the upmarket Shimano pads made of sandwiched alloy and steel can be quieter but I have one such set of rotors myself and they ain't quiet in damp conditions unless I change the pads to organic - which I've done.

Organic pads wear faster. However, there are plenty that are relatively inexpensive but work just as well as Shimano and Co. Finding them is the hard part, as there's plenty of dross too.

[Nearholmer]

This seems to be a mysterious (= very complex) subject, where tiny variables seem to make make big differences.

We have four hydraulic disc braked bikes in the domestic fleet, one with top notch Shimano rotors*, one with mid-range Shimano rotors, one mid-range Tektro rotors, one with basic Tektro. The only one that is a persistent squealer (actually more of a groaner) is my son’s 29er with the mid-range Tektros, and I cannot for the life of me cure it.

As to organic pads, the only advantage that I found was that they don’t need to be bedded in; the much more significant disadvantage was that they wore out very quickly, so no more of them!

My personal theory (aka wild guess) is that lots of factors play into ‘squeal’, including some things such as resonant frequencies of rotor and wheel assembly which are nigh-on impossible to alter.

[PH]

I use Discobrakes pads, I haven't used all their compounds but those I've tried have matched their guide, so I'd trust the others:
https://www.discobrakes.com/?s=0&t=10&q=compounds&

I use their Kevlar (Organic) ones on the front, quieter, nicer feel (IMO), don't need bedding in, they're the only pads I've tried where the wet performance really is as good as the dry, they do wear faster but not unacceptably so for my mostly on road riding. I use sintered on the back, just for the longevity.

[Eyebrox]

As to organic pads, the only advantage that I found was that they don’t need to be bedded in; the much more significant disadvantage was that they wore out very quickly, so no more of them!

I work in a bike shop and have experimented with all brands of brake pad on road and mountain bikes. The responses here are spot on. Sintered pads are tough and wear well but with a lot of noise when wet. Organic are cheaper, softer and are more effective, especially after a brief bedding in session, but don't last. Noises are minimal in dry and wet. Semi-sintered offer something in between the two versions.
The decision I've made is to go for organic and enjoy the peace of silent braking. I think the cost balances out. Organic are half or a third the price but you use two or three times as many as sintered. As some have said, sintered may be the answer if you're knocking hell out the brakes on a mountain descent.

[Viktos]

Strange because I’m getting the complete opposite results atm with ceramic pads!

The noises coming out of them are horrendous!
I’m going to take them out and give them a clean and the rotars as they are not biting at all

[yostumpy]

As to organic pads, the only advantage that I found was that they don’t need to be bedded in; the much more significant disadvantage was that they wore out very quickly, so no more of them!

I work in a bike shop and have experimented with all brands of brake pad on road and mountain bikes. The responses here are spot on. Sintered pads are tough and wear well but with a lot of noise when wet. Organic are cheaper, softer and are more effective, especially after a brief bedding in session, but don't last. Noises are minimal in dry and wet. Semi-sintered offer something in between the two versions.
The decision I've made is to go for organic and enjoy the peace of silent braking. I think the cost balances out. Organic are half or a third the price but you use two or three times as many as sintered. As some have said, sintered may be the answer if you're knocking hell out the brakes on a mountain descent.

I always used to use Nukeproof Shimano ones (Deore M515) in semi sintered, but they now seem to made of unobtanium, with those sets available being very expensive. I also steer away from Clarks, as I had a pad fall off the backing plate…TWICE, leaving me with only one brake at the time ( once FR, and once RR) . Just got some Shimano Organic off the ‘bay’ from Hopkinson cycles, and see how they go. Not sure if I trust the ‘own branded’ jobbies out there, having had dodgy ones, it’s no fun squeezing the lever on a downhill only to find nothing there.

[Stevek76]

The cheaper/niche brands all seem to be using the same one or two no name suppliers with just their own brand printed on the back, I've had issues with pads detaching from the backing from these. Though these are also on the pub/utility bike which is also subject to far more adverse conditions (winter road salt, locked up outside in cold mizzly evenings etc) which I'd imagine doesn't help.

I have tried a set of the orange compared coloured 'ceramic' pads and they seem to be a fairly reasonable soft to mid compound, between organic and semi sintered.

Squeal largely seems to be more rotor/caliper dependant in my experience as well as alignment can be critical, sometimes the clamp and tighten won't get the perfect squeal free alignment a manual adjustment can.

My guess is the brakes are just not even close to bedded in and are never getting any heat into them. Find the biggest road descent you can, get up to speed and really pull the brakes on HARD. Repeated stops from speed to get them hot. That should bed them in a bit and stop the squealing but my guess is that no matter what pads you're putting into it, they'll never be great if they're being used on gentle road rides.

Hmm I've got 4 pot slxs (sintered pads) on my mtb and they definitely don't see enough hills locally so can be pretty prone to glazing, but they've been nearly squeal free (briefly squealing if completely drowned) and the current state of bedding in doesn't really seem to affect that.

[Brucey]

Strange because I’m getting the complete opposite results atm with ceramic pads!

The noises coming out of them are horrendous!
I’m going to take them out and give them a clean and the rotars as they are not biting at all

please tell us more about your setup and what problems you are trying to solve.