waters60

I am sure this has been answered elsewhere but here I go. My road bike has metallic disc brake pads while my gravel bike has resin pads. No matter how well or how clean the metallic pads are they eventually squeal, mostly after a period of steady or modulated braking going down hills. Not until considerable squeak free braking has been done. The resin pads on the other hand are flawless. I know the pros and cons of each but it just seems I like the resin pads better. Any huge downside to putting resin pads in my road bike?
Road is hydraulic Ultegra R 8000 or so, gravel is GRX hydraulic.
Thanks

epnnf

No, but metallic pads work better.

PeteHski

Nope, I run resin pads in Shimano road brakes. I thought they were standard fitment? They were on my R7000 brakes. The only time I would switch to metallic pads is if I was going to the Alps with massive long descents. Or planning to ride regularly in very wet conditions.

KJ43

Resin all the way. Quiet, way better modulation and not much less power. I'll give up power any day for modulation.

UmneyDurak

Yeah not a fan of metalic. I also found they squell no matter what.
I tried MTX brake pads, and I have to say I like them. They have that initial bite of metallic, good consistency and no squelling. Although I have heard they wear out rotors faster.

surak

Resin wears out a lot faster in my experience, especially if they get exposed to any rain. I've read they are more prone to fade during extended braking than sintered metallic pads.

PeteHski

I thought that too based on my mtb experience, but the Shimano resin road pads seem to last forever.

KJ43

Maybe faster, but not a "lot" faster. They don't fade during extending braking either.

cxwrench

There is a reason SRAM describe their organic pads as 'quiet' and the metallic as 'powerful/wet conditions'.

Iride01 

Try them and see if you like them. All you are going to find here is people that had different experiences and many of the opposite opinion. And it's not like you are going to have break into your retirement fund... I hope.

My only caution would be to make sure whatever rotor you have on your bike that the manufacturer says they are okay to use. Though I expect most are okay with resin. I think it's metallic pads that some warn against. But I only heard that from a person that heard it from another person. Never seen it with my own eyes.

surak

I rode my front Ultegra resin brake pads to the point it started scraping my rotor in about 1k miles on a brand new bike. Replaced with metallic and have probably 5x (back of the envelope discounting indoor miles on the trainer) that much. I only weigh 140lbs.

PeteHski

I can never figure out pad wear between individuals - so many variables. Mine have done at least 3k miles and still going strong. That's included several very wet century rides with a lot of very steep descending. I don't brake very much on my local loops, although there are plenty of short steep descents. I'm a 75 kg rider, so pretty average.

smashndash

Obligatory not a disc brake user but...

this is a pretty simple problem. You have 2 materials available. Organic/resin is designed for low temps and metallic/sintered is designed for high temps. If you're descending steep, curvy mountain roads, get metallic, at least for your front. If not, stick with resin.


The following is uneducated rambling, so take it with a grain of salt:

Squealing is caused by sticking and slipping. If the frequency is high enough (initially), you can't hear it. Your spokes also have a certain harmonic frequency at which they REALLY howl. The closer you get to that frequency, the louder the howl.

So why would the stick-slip frequency decrease? Either the slip is taking longer or the stick is taking longer. Or both.

Slips get longer if the pad/rotor overheats. If you're hearing squeals after hard braking in the dry with resin, you're overheating the pads. Get metallic. Although I think if you went beyond that point and properly melted the pads, the sticks would also get shorter and your brakes would get quieter... you'd just have no brakes.

Slips also get longer if the pad/rotor contact is compromised. Oil, water, etc. I think it's normal to expect squealing in the wet, especially with sintered pads, which don't like cold temps.

Sticks get longer when your pad gets up to temp and starts biting harder. This is why your sintered pad might be quiet at first but starts squealing once you get some heat in.

Sticks also get longer when you press the brake harder. So the likelihood of squeal goes up the harder you press the brakes.

Sticks and slips both get longer at slower wheel speeds. You can probably make your front brake sing by getting off your bike, grabbing the brake and pushing your bike very slowly.

I also believe that, if you want to minimize howl as much as possible, you should install rubber dampers at all of your spoke crossings. This will a) absorb a ton of energy and b) increase the harmonic frequency of the spokes (double?). But there's a slight chance you'll go from a low howl to a shrill, ear piercing squeal in the wet, similar to cars. Good luck

citation for the damper idea: https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-m...vibration.html

Other crazy ideas include:
buying a bikeahead monocoque wheelset.
buying a wheelset with much stiffer spokes (carbon spokes, like lightweight, winspace etc).

Pridedog

I had 13,000 miles on my Shimano 105 hydraulic road disc resin pads before I switched them out. Front had about 80% life left, rear was much worse with about 20% life left. Not sure what that means, probably that I drag the rear too much.

waters60

Really not a disc brake user? I have found actual experience trumps theory. Lots of places to get lots of info but things are different in reality! I can and have read volumes on the topic but actual feedback is actually helpful. Thanks for your info though.

Koyote

That's exactly what it means. Most of your braking power is on the front -- so if you're doing it most effectively, your rear pads will last far longer than the front.

surak

I have to brake on most descents around here as they tend to end at stop lights or signs at intersections with frequent car traffic.

Just replaced the front organic SRAM pad that came new on my rain bike after about 1.5k miles with metallic. It wasn't fully worn down but I'm going on some long rides in consistently wet conditions and didn't want to chance it. I've mostly used it on shorter commute rides with only a few steep descents so it probably lasted longer.

My rear pads last forever because I hardly use the rear brake. At my weight, it takes almost nothing to get the rear of a road bike to unweight and lose traction even on completely flat ground.

eduskator

+1 for resin. feels bettAH.

Wait...why do we even need brakes on a road bike?

Psimet2001 

<channeling the old days> Correct.

Psimet2001 

To add my voice to the crowd - Yes there's a lot of variables. There's a reason most OEMs manufacture both types of pads. There's also a reason most all of the calipers meant for road use come stock with resin pads.

You will get a more pleasant experience with resin pads.

You will get better performance (read as braking power) in wet with metal pads. Metal pads will last longer given the same conditions.

Quite literally though - YMMV

I have seen riders here in the flatlands of greater Chicago run through regular rim brake pads within a season. I have also known many, like myself, who could run the same pads for almost the life of the bike.

Some of it is terrain. Most of it is riding style.

All of this said - modern resin pads perform better for almost all riders in almost all conditions they encounter with regularity.

smashndash

I figured it's easier to get someone to correct me than to pose these as questions lol. I was actually going to tag you wrt the spoke damper idea. Mind explaining which parts I got wrong?

Racing Dan

All sorts of undampened harmonics going on. No wonder it squeals. I agree its a stick n slip issue, that's why it sounds like a child toying with a violin. Did anyone ever test if a rubber bung in the rotor (like in a tennis racket) would help, or even simply adding mass to alter the resonant frequency?

Rides4Beer

I'd rather replace my pads more often and have them be quiet, resins for me. Tried metallics once, never again. I'm 185lbs and used to do a lot of climbing, 750,000ft one year (moved and it's all flat now lol), never had any issues braking on long/steep descents with resin pads.

genejockey 

Way back when I was doing a lot of group rides, I used to use my rear brake a lot for the very slight speed adjustments that you often need to do in a tight group, where you want to shed a LITTLE speed - more than you lose if you stop pedaling, but not enough to justify grabbing both brakes. Turns out I wore out the rear rim faster than the front.

Koyote

Yep, that’s an exception to the rule!