REVIEWS DEALS BIKESHOPS TRAILS

Best pads for BB7's?

1611 Views 22 Replies 12 Participants Last post by shiggy, Jul 9, 2010

head

Discussion Starter · Jul 7, 2010

i recently traded into a set of used BB7's and speed dial levers. these are the first disc brakes i've ever owned. i'd like to start out with fresh pads but i'm having a bit of a tough time figuring out what the ideal replacement pads are for these brakes.

i live in VA and ride all year so they'll see all weather conditions. i don't do any real downhill riding other than riding down the hills that occur on my local trails. in other words i'm not a DH rider, i'm an XC rider. i like modulation. i'm 150lbs. i don't know what other information is relevant but lemme know if you need to know more in order to give me some good advice.

thanks for your help.

1 - 20 of 23 Posts

PissedOffCil

· #2 · Jul 7, 2010

Get the Avid metallics, you'll be fine and they last a while

Zoke2

· #3 · Jul 7, 2010

"Get the Avid metallics, you'll be fine and they last a while"
+1

I also like the EBC Gold pads

head

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jul 7, 2010

Zoke2 said:
"Get the Avid metallics, you'll be fine and they last a while"
+1

I also like the EBC Gold pads

are the "avid metallics" the same thing as "semi-metallics"?

i'm confused by the lingo. like b-4, c-4, organic, metallic, semi-metallic...

shiggy

· #5 · Jul 7, 2010

head said:
i recently traded into a set of used BB7's and speed dial levers. these are the first disc brakes i've ever owned. i'd like to start out with fresh pads but i'm having a bit of a tough time figuring out what the ideal replacement pads are for these brakes.

i live in VA and ride all year so they'll see all weather conditions. i don't do any real downhill riding other than riding down the hills that occur on my local trails. in other words i'm not a DH rider, i'm an XC rider. i like modulation. i'm 150lbs. i don't know what other information is relevant but lemme know if you need to know more in order to give me some good advice.

thanks for your help.

EBC Gold. Best power, wear and all weather performance.

I have found the Avid pads to be of very inconsistent quality. Some are fine, others of the same type lasted 70 miles/3 rides. None worked as well as the EBCs.

Be sure to scrub your rotors with 800 grit emery paper and lots of water anything you change pad compounds. Performance suffers when compounds are mixed.

doco

· #6 · Jul 7, 2010

I am using EBC Gold on my BB7's

Dirt Bringer

· #7 · Jul 7, 2010

Just my opinion here. I used sintered pads on these things and my god, it was horrible. The made a racket and I had no modulation. The power was very near organics. Note I was using organic/sintered mix. Ive heard people say its a great mix. Its not. Just so you know.

head

Discussion Starter · #8 · Jul 8, 2010

sintered? ok so add that to my list of pads types that i'm unfamiliar with. so are those different than or the same as semi-metallic?

Surestick Malone

· #9 · Jul 8, 2010

head said:
sintered? ok so add that to my list of pads types that i'm unfamiliar with. so are those different than or the same as semi-metallic?

Sintered= metallic

ae111black

· #10 · Jul 8, 2010

Ive been using the avid metallics for years with no problems except noise once and a while but that dosent bother me much......

asyluminc

· #11 · Jul 9, 2010

EBC gold - long lasting, quick bed in time, and improved modulation.

smilinsteve

· #12 · Jul 9, 2010

asyluminc said:
EBC gold - long lasting, quick bed in time, and improved modulation.

What about noise?

Zoke2

· #13 · Jul 9, 2010

I only get noise right after they get wet ... like a water crossing ... it only last til they get hot again

asyluminc

· #14 · Jul 9, 2010

Noise levels are ok. They squeak when wet (and if they become contaminated). I am using a G3 rotor in front and a G2 rotor in the rear. I originally had a 185 in front and 160 in back - when they got wet and squealed it was loud - like a 2 tone car horn loud. I swapped out the 160 for a 185 and the wet squeal is much less annoying

The BB7's are slowing down a not so graceful 230 lber on a motolite

smilinsteve

· #15 · Jul 9, 2010

Just checked out the EBC website. The red pads look interesting. High friction organics for downhill. Probably don't squeal, and have good grip, but wear fast. That would be ok with me.

slipfitting 2

· #16 · Jul 9, 2010

Has anyone ever tried any of the ceramic pads? Ceramic sounds like they would be horribly noisy however they claim to be the quietest pad available.

smilinsteve

· #17 · Jul 9, 2010

slipfitting 2 said:
Has anyone ever tried any of the ceramic pads? Ceramic sounds like they would be horribly noisy however they claim to be the quietest pad available.

I took a quick look here:
http://www.discobrakes.com/?s=0&t=0&c=7&p=17&

It seems like ceramic pads are just organic pads with some ceramic fibers which they say insulates your caliper from heat. So it doesn't seem like the ceramic actually has anything to do with brake grip or longevity, and probably perform similar to organic pads.

shiggy

· #18 · Jul 9, 2010

smilinsteve said:
Just checked out the EBC website. The red pads look interesting. High friction organics for downhill. Probably don't squeal, and have good grip, but wear fast. That would be ok with me.

I thought the EBC Reds were c###. no power, nosiy and no braking in the wet.

smilinsteve

· #19 · Jul 9, 2010

shiggy said:
I thought the EBC Reds were c###. no power, nosiy and no braking in the wet.

I have no idea, I'm just going by what they say on their web site. But they are organic, which should mean they aren't noisy, and they are supposed to be a higher friction version of there green organic pads, so they should have power. I hear organics do lose power when wet, so that part of what you say makes sense.

shiggy

· #20 · Jul 9, 2010

smilinsteve said:
I have no idea, I'm just going by what they say on their web site. But they are organic, which should mean they aren't noisy, and they are supposed to be a higher friction version of there green organic pads, so they should have power. I hear organics do lose power when wet, so that part of what you say makes sense.

My comments are based on personal experience.

The Reds howled. The Golds just have a scraping sound.

Red: high effort, little braking
Gold: low effort, lots of power

1 - 20 of 23 Posts

This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.