[Closed] superstar components and 10 under the ben

Hope sintered, never lasted less than 3 months.

Good effort on the silver.

Mixed pairs so 4 or 5 laps ?

My current disco pads are from my last 2 puffer laps -what ever rides ive done between then and now inc 350k big hill miles the other week and did 9 laps in solo yesterday and still look like they have a fair few rides left in em . Yesterday wasnt bad conditions for pads at all - its not the puffer cutting compound. The fort william mud is weak !

mixed pairs - 6 laps.. state of the bike was reminiscient of puffer 07.. may stick with the Sc red pads for awhile now - worked a peach with the R1's

This was my Superstar kevlar pads after 4 laps at the Gorrick enduro, I laugh in the face of your pansy Scottish mud!

FWIW, I still think they're great pads.

[img] [/img]

no probs wi ma ss pads in pansy scottish mud should have bought sinterd pads yir no a racer ir yi ?

njee - how can you consider that to be acceptable? It simply is not. Thats unfit for purpose.

9 laps of stathpuffer - a real bike eater. Half worn set of hopes changed after 4 laps, 5 laps on the new set and they are still in the bike with no noticeable wear.

Any pad that wore out in less than 200 miles that I had would be returned as unfit for purpose. I expect thousands of miles out of pads.

Hope sintered mainly

clarks pads at £7 a pop at CRC seems to be working good for me. Bit heavier than usual but not only did they last at 10UTB but the mud has stopped the squealing i had frmo them

TJ, that gorrick race was murdering pads and drivetrain, did you not read about it? Almost every post on here from anyone who was there commented on it.

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/gorrick-enduro-you-werent-there-mannnnn-you-wouldnt-understand

Unless you think that everyone there was using superstar pads, I'd say that what happened to those ones wasn't exceptional at all.

Anyway, for myself 2 sets of red superstar pads showing no real signs of wear at all after 10UTB, but then I didn't actually ride very far 🙂 TBh though it didn't strike me as that hard conditions for brakes, drivetrain sure but the mud wasn't all that gritty. Thought we might have to change a set on my mate's bike but they were fairly worn before the race.

Northwind - all I can say for sure is I have ridden in conditions that some people get this outrageous pad wear and it never happens to me. I would be returning pads that didn't last hundreds of miles as unfit for purpose and don't understand why anyone would tolerate that.

I'd say it's unreasonable to judge the pads considering you weren't there and didn't see the conditions, or how others were standing up. Njee's obviously a better judge of what was reasonable, with his direct experience.

Having said that I wouldn't bum up the superstar ones particularily based on this weekend either, I'd be really disappointed with any pad that couldn't deal with it, they just did their job.

How can it be reasonable to wear out a brake pad in tens of miles? Thats my point. I do not believe that is ever reasonable. its never happened to me despite doing ten under and strathpuffer as well as riding in the conditions and areas that other folk get major pad wear but the pads I use don't have this happen.

I certainly would not think of any pad that looked like that after such a short distance to be satisfactory

Conditions vary. And you can't discount the reports from people who were there who were burning through the things, no matter how much you might want to have another pop at superstar. It's pretty arrogant to put your own experience of different events above the experience of people who were actually there tbh.

Hope sintered pads after four laps at the Gorrick Enduro:

[img] [/img]

I'd also expect hundreds of miles out of these in dry, clean conditions - but not in gritty slop. Much thought has been given to what [i]would[/i] work in gritty slop, though - the best we could come up with was two pairs of pad backs sandwiched together, sold with a g-clamp for squashing the lever to the bar when your hands give out and a free pair of earplugs for the rider. Any advances? Could get expensive.. 😉

Northwind - I don't mean it to sound arrogant but I have ridden much in conditions that for some cause this pad wear and it doesn't happen to me. I am fascinated b the whole phenomenon and also fascinated that MTBers will put up with this. I wasn't haviung a pop at superstar here at all. Its clearly not just superstar that have this issue.

At Strathpuffer people were going thru pads every lap or two and I wasn't. I used less that half the thickness of pads in my 9 laps

Jennh - I expect hundreds of miles and have got hundreds of miles out of hope pads ridden in gritty slop. Thousands of miles used in the dry

Had those hope pads been bedded in?

this is a conundrum

[i]Had those hope pads been bedded in?[/i]

Of course they had.

Box fresh Hope sintered pads lasted less than a lap on a friend's bike.

The faster you go, the more you need to brake. Race (or ride) fast, and you'll brake more. Not the most complicated of conundrums, really...

but... but... i thought discs were the answer to every maidens prayer in gloopy mud?

what's gone wrong here?

*[i]snicker[/i]*

wow thats serious pad wear.

Jennh makes sense their tj - no doubt you get above average but the faster you go not only do you brake harder more often but you find you use them in hard bursts rather than dragging which will result in a new film of grit and crap being on the face

Fwiw 10 utb on sat cannot be compared to strathpuffer - ever. it wasnt anything like it. i used a set of disco pads every 4 laps at puffer for 17 laps and was happy with that.....2 years ago in a team of 4 i was using superstar pads at a rate of 1 pair in 1 lap. pads used on saturday have about 1500kms on them

I think Jenn's probably right. I also think there's gritty slop, and there's gritty slop! I ran the same pads all winter around the Surrey Hills, with virtually no wear, a few hours around Swinley and that happens. Then again I've done wet rides around Swinley without that sort of wear, which does suggest it's something about the racing and the way one brakes that causes the rather rapid wear.

It was trashing everyone's pads, it was phenomenally wet too, certainly far far wetter than the Puffer in 08, can't comment on any of the other ones as that's the only one I've done.

Perhaps you just maintain your brakes better than I do! Perhaps they're not fit for purpose, but frankly I can't be arsed to send back pads that only cost £5, my time's worth more!

I'm surprised many of the mincers gathered enough speed on some of the sections to brake, whilst I'm here why do you need to carry your bike down a mud section, just ride it.

njee - how can you consider that to be acceptable? It simply is not. Thats unfit for purpose.

So somehow every pad manufacturer (300 odd people, surely there must have been a good cross section of manufacturers) managed to produced a duff batch and sell them only to people doing the gorrick that day? No one was manageing more than 2 laps to a set of pads. Oddly, my organic front set were still OK, it was the sintered rear ones that went AWOL!

I gave up after the grit managed to work its way past the seals on my shimano XT's, re-bled them now but not holding much hope for them!

My forks are feeling worse for wear too after beign ridden for 4 hours in grinding paste? Should I return those as unfit for purpose?

I used to get 9 months out of pads in the peak district, but when conditions get that bad they last minutes.

I'm surprised many of the mincers gathered enough speed on some of the sections to brake, whilst I'm here why do you need to carry your bike down a mud section, just ride it.

I'd considder myself a fairly competent rider, the fast guys at the gorrick werent carrying their bikes over anything unless its was either;
a) a complete brake failiure like me
b) the climb upto the labarynth (well they climbed it on lap 1, but pushed after that)
c) the muddy offcamber climb towards the end, WTF was that about anyway!
d) the body of someone who'd fallen off into the mud.

I think (but I may be wrong!) that bruneep was referring to 10UTB and the mincing content.

On the Gorrick I rode the off camber bit and the climb to the labyrinth every lap, the joy of Swinley is that despite being horrifically wet it does remain totally rideable. Prefer bike trashing rideable slop like that to sticky crap that doesn't kill your brakes, but you can't ride either! It's killed my jockey wheels and cables, although I think everything else has escaped!

Fair enough, Swinley was bizzarely rideable, there was even some grip under the slop if you trusted your tyres enough.

Bruneep- play nice. A lot of people who do 10UTB aren't experienced and are doing it just to see what it's like and to make an achievement. Not all have been riding tech stuff for years.

Fair enough, Swinley was bizzarely rideable, there was even some grip under the slop if you trusted your tyres enough.

Definitely, I suspect if we'd had a bit less rain it would've been less rideable!

Anyway, enough hijacking!

well, well, well, i never expected the thread to go this way...anyway, puffer is no contest to any of the other events i've cycled. 1 pair per lap in 07 and 08. yep true the faster you go the more you're going to go through the pads...

The point of this thread was that as i literally burned through SC pads at a very high rate, i always expected this to happen (4 sets for £25 was a cost i accepted) but i was just impressed with the performance of the ones last weekend....

Bruneep- play nice. A lot of people who do 10UTB aren't experienced and are doing it just to see what it's like and to make an achievement. Not all have been riding tech stuff for years.

I think on the whole most people did play nice, but it wasn't just the novices mincing.. I dont mind folk walking tech sections - i'd rather they did this than come a cropper, but they need to expect people approaching from behind and be prepared to move quickly - its far easier to stop walking during a tech section than stop riding it.

EDIT - to the OP 3 laps of TUTB on half worn shimano pads - I still have half worn pads left. No visible wear at all. Maybe I just braked less 🙂 or pad clearance is greater. Is there a brake manufacturer who noticeably suffers less than others?

................ Is there a brake manufacturer who noticeably suffers less than others?

I have been following this issue with interest for awhile. Hope seem to be better than most - but it is not certain by any means. Avid seem to be particularly bad. The newer shimano with the servowave might be better than olderones but the data is skimpy and there are exceptions all over the place

I've heard good things about Shimano Servo-Wave brakes, the pistons retract further, giving a bigger gap and thus more clearance. Makes sense.

I personally find Superstar pads superior to stock Avid ones, despite being 1/4 the price. I've never found Avid pads to last any better either!

XT servo-wave brakes are no better, the Shimano pads in mine lasted 3 laps (about 17 miles) and the last of the Thetford winter series in Tunstall forest. I think it was the sand in the mud that makes it like grinding paste.

It wasn't anything to do with using the brakes either, as I only used them once or twice on each lap 🙂

I think on the whole most people did play nice, but it wasn't just the novices mincing.. I dont mind folk walking tech sections - i'd rather they did this than come a cropper, but they need to expect people approaching from behind and be prepared to move quickly - its far easier to stop walking during a tech section than stop riding it.

+1 and don't attempt to remount your bike at the bottom of a run off with your bike blocking my exit. 🙄

I'm still very much of the view that the better rider has to make concessions. It's all part of racing BUT that's another discussion!

Avid brakes eat pads compared to many others. And Avid own brand pads don't last 2 minutes.

Servowave Shimano have acres of space between pad and rotor which must count for a lot.

lol ^

I way way overbiked for the event even on my light 150mm pronghorn full sus and it did nark that the work i did to keep with the hardtail whippets on the climbs was eroded becase i couldn't take advantage of my full sus on the downs, but thats the way it is i guess.

Total respect to the guys doing 11 laps solo though - a few times later on in the race i was passed by guys who looked like they were hardly trying 🙂

Turbo mince !!!!!

Lots of over biked folk having lots of fun !

How ever luke how do you define better rider ? is it me for kamikazi riding down the high line or is it the guy running because he knows its faster ?

imo the guy walking should make way for the rider if the rider is going faster than the walker .....and vice versa ....

BUT that's a whole other discussion 😉

Turbo mince !!!!!

I'm guessing that was directed at my comment?

regardless of fun had / skill employed / desire to win / fitness, a HT was more suited to the course.

wasnt really directed at anyone but my merida flx 3000 hardtail was lovely for course .....bUt it fairly chewwd up back wheels ..im a couple spokes short and so short of tension i thought i snapped my frame ! radogairs bike is in a similar way !

Doing a full rebuild now .... hope i can get some straight pull dt spokes as the sapims are ****

ahhh, i also used the turner flux for TUTB, saved my arse a peach as i couldnt walk for 2 days having done the puffer on the hardtail.....
now, full suss of HT for enduros?????

Total respect to the guys doing 11 laps solo though

Just to clarify, only 1 person out of the whole solo field completed 11 laps 😆

jeremy.. from what ive gathered in the past i would guess that you keep on top of your brakes by keeping the pistons clean and always keep them running freely with no drag. unfortunately the amount of folk that have brakes running poorly (when they think they are running perfectly well) is quite high. Ive gathered this from the shops ive worked in and one other thing.. if folk bedded a number of sets of pads in and took them to the races they would get better life from them.as for folk boasting/complaining about going through dozens of pads in one event.. try asking any mechanic on here that can slip a set of worn out pads from a hydraulic brake and fit and forget a new set without having to clean and reset pistons.If they say they can do it with never having to do a little extra work then its lies.so how can the riders expect a set of pads to be running freely after they just slapped a new set in under the bloody moonlight at 3am with no extra fettling?! the amount of pads replaced at races will be suffering the premature wear through this lack of going the whole hog on getting things running spot on ..and thats acceptable seeing as how time is precious but some folk have got to learn that its not all about pad quality and how bad the conditions are.

has anyone gone to the likes of the puffer with half a dozen sets of avid pads for their BB7s and ran them with heaps of clearance either side to help prevent the crap from constantly wearing the material? you would have to accept a little more lever travel but surely this is the answer to a lot of probs some folk are having.

..or is a bb7 just far too poor,powerless and heavy for you all? ;O)

Nice try but bb7 theory doesnt work

Tried it at first puffer i did started with the pads right back - ended up aving to stop half way round to wind em in to actually have brakes and still wore out the pads in a lap .

Those new brakes from the far east...TPC or something, they are pistonless and have a lot more pad movement from the seal rather than a piston - can't recall the name of them now, but they appear to be a 1 piece unit with red pipes at either end for fluid transfer - the pipes are external to aid cooling (and look cool) - saw a couple of bikes with them on at 10UTB and although the lever throw is too much for my liking, they did seem to have plenty space between rotor and pad...

...fit and forget a new set without having to clean and reset pistons.If they say they can do it with never having to do a little extra work then its lies.

With the Shimano deore brakes it's very easy to replace pads and reset the pistons, both in the comfort of your garage and out in the wilds. Pair of pliers (also useful for removing thorns) and a multitool is all you need.

Perhaps other makes are as well (but Avid hydraulics seem to be more of a nuisance in this respect, unless I've not got the technique right).

Those new brakes from the far east...TPC or something,

[url= http://www.ashima.com.tw/ ]Ashima PCB (Pancake Brake)[/url]

Look interesting, very light too considering the price.

Aye that is them...they looked nice on the bikes I saw them on but as I said, seemed to have too much lever pull for my personal liking...I don't like a lot of lever travel.