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Shimano Disc Brake Pads

MSRP $ 17.00
# of Reviews 8
Average Rating 2.25/5
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Submitted by Neilos a Racer from White River South Africa
Date Reviewed: December 17, 2008
Favorite Trail:Tims Rim
Duration Product Used:1 Year
Price Paid: $18.00
Purchased At:Local Bike store
Strengths:Resin pads are inexpensive and u enjoy quiet braking in the dry.
Weaknesses:Absolutely useless in any wet muddy conditions.
Similar Products Used:Avid juicy
Bike Setup:Anthem 2 2008 Aussie bike set up is what we get over here XT wheels, hubs, Maxis monorails, Xt Rear D etc.
Bottom Line:Just completed the Sabie Experience(4 day mountain stage race)last two days were ridden in torrential rain and mud. All five anthems that we knew of and there were many more, lost resin pads within an hour of the first downpour. Had to run the downhills on the way home. Robbed all local bike shops that night of stock on these resin pads only to blow them completely within an hour on the final race day.
If you are looking for brake pads to handle all weather rather put up with some dusty brake "singing" (metal sintered) than have to plod the downhills after months of training..
Value Rating:1Overall Rating:1

Submitted by Chris a Cross Country Rider from Boise, ID
Date Reviewed: July 17, 2007
Favorite Trail:Redfish Lake Loop
Duration Product Used:2 Years
Price Paid: $25.00
Purchased At:George's
Strengths:They work!
Weaknesses:Expensive, wear out quickly & metal pads HOOOOOWLLLL!
Bike Setup:Specialized S-Works Epic
Bottom Line:About tired of these pads. I've run both the metal & resin pads. The metal ones start howling after just a couple uses. Shop suggested I switch to resin. That helped w/ the howling, but they wear out too quickly. Going through 2 sets a year ea on front & back. At $25 x 4= $100 a year in brake pads???
Value Rating:1Overall Rating:2

Submitted by Andy Lo a Cross Country Rider from Penang, Malaysia
Date Reviewed: March 5, 2007
Duration Product Used:6 months
Price Paid: $8.00
Purchased At:PinkBike Penang
Strengths:Cheap. Dirt cheap. It takes up heat very well thanks to copper plate. Good stopping power. Easy maintenance.
Weaknesses:Noisy. Noisy as in it's not silent, can still hear the brake rubbing sometimes even when it's not pressed. Not good braking power in the wet(rain/river).
Similar Products Used:Kool Stop, Shimano resin.
Bike Setup:Tank Easton Elite, Deore compo with hydraulic disc and XT 8" front.
Bottom Line:Not a bad brake pad. I cycle a lot of downhill. Previously with the Shimano resin pads, during heavy and long brakings smoke will appear and brakes tend to lose it's stopping power. But with this metal set now, I never worried about burning it cause it's just so good. The noise sounds quite nice and rough also, which makes it sound aggresive? Since I dont cycle when it rains, so it's the perfect pad for my bike. I would get it again after mine wears off. For RM3 that I paid for a set, there's nothing to compare with. Even v-brake pads are the same price.
Value Rating:5Overall Rating:4

Submitted by David Gasser a Cross Country Rider from Sion,Valais Suisse
Date Reviewed: April 24, 2005
Duration Product Used:Less than 1 month
Price Paid: $18.00
Purchased At:shimano
Strengths:copper pads will dissipate de heats
Weaknesses:complety burned after a 500m downhill of 100% with a 200mm disc
Similar Products Used:delta
Bike Setup:BMC Fourtuned
Bottom Line:Use V-Brake for Cross Country
Value Rating:2Overall Rating:2

Submitted by orb a from Victoria
Date Reviewed: November 16, 2004
Duration Product Used:2 Years
Purchased At:$25 CND
Strengths:• Great modulation and power in dry
• Relatively cheap
Weaknesses:• No power when wet
• Squeal loudly under hard breaking when wet
Bike Setup:AC1 frame, Shimano 525 disks.
Bottom Line:Great in dry summer conditions.
Absolutly suck in wet winter conditions.

I'm hoping I can find some decent metalic pads for wet weather. The resin pads simply are non-function in wet weather.
Value Rating:3Overall Rating:2

Submitted by Jan a Cross Country Rider from Ballerup, Denmark
Date Reviewed: August 15, 2004
Duration Product Used:6 months
Price Paid: $24.00
Purchased At:a local bike store
Strengths:The pads have a copper backplating that dissipates the heat when braking. The sintered metal compund ensures long pad life.
Weaknesses:Well, compared to organic pads, the metallic pads produce a louder noise when braking. The copper backplate and the sintered metal can also react with salts and dirt from the road when it rains and stuff like that, however this is a limited problem.
Price has also been an issue. The pads are a bit expensive for Shimano stuff.
Similar Products Used:Shimano M04 organic pads(they produce a little less noise)
Bike Setup:Centurion(Danish) frame, Rock Shox Judy XC front fork, Shimano XT disc front, Promax V-brake rear.
Bottom Line:The metallic pads(M03) are the only pads you should use on the Shimano XT disc brake system. The sintered metal can't glace or "burn out" when braking which of course is a huge advantage when going down a steep hill or such. And they last longer than organic pads. If you get organic pads you only get a little less noise when the pads hit the brake disc but the organic compound can easily overheat and reduce the brake performance, also the backplating of the organic pads is not made of copper, thus preventing quick heat dissipation.

I have not tried any other manufacturer than Shimano, but you can rest assure that the Shimano stuff is well tested,

For value rating I give the metallic pads 3 Chilis, due to the fact that the pads are a bit expensive.
For Overall rating I give the metallic pads 4 Chilis because I still haven't worn them a bit after 6 months of riding.
Value Rating:3Overall Rating:4

Submitted by BCRider a Weekend Warrior from Vancouver Canada
Date Reviewed: April 24, 2003
Duration Product Used:1 Year
Purchased At:Bike store
Strengths:Good dry weather performance
Weaknesses:Soft grab in wet
Similar Products Used:Hayes mechanical and test riding some other hydro disc systems
Bike Setup:Speciallized M4 Stumpjumper with Deore 525 discs
Bottom Line:Less than impressed. The whole reason for discs is to avoid differences in dry to wet changes. The brakes themselves are great with light feel and good modulation in the dry but when the rotors and pads get wet these pads don't cut it. Tried another wheel set with Hayes rotors and the pads performed the same so it's not that the Deore rotors lack water drainage as some suspected. Oh, and they shudder and squeal in the wet when you increase the lever pressure to stop in time. All this is on a commuter bike. I hate to think of these on a long offroad downhill in wet conditions. But unlike the other review wear has not been an issue, just wet grip.

Shimano continues their long and proud heritage of not being able to make/select braking friction materials. I'll give it a 3 for value as I gather they are cheap but a 2 for overall because of the wet performance.
Value Rating:3Overall Rating:2

Submitted by Chris Carr a Cross Country Rider from England
Date Reviewed: January 8, 2003
Duration Product Used:Less than 1 month
Purchased At:OEM on bike
Strengths:Excellent power and modulation easy to replace and not effected by the weather
Weaknesses:Appaling wear rate in the wet, after only 5 hours of riding the pad had worn down to the metal.
Similar Products Used:None yet
Bike Setup:Specialized Enduro Expert (disc specific)
Bottom Line:For some reason Shimano disc brakes come with different pads (m01 and M02) the sintered pad has hardly worn at all but the other has dissolved in the wet in no time at all. To be fair it may just be the weather but I would not reccoment these pads for the UK winter
Value Rating:2Overall Rating:1






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