Anyone have experience with sintered ceramic brake

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Just changed the pads on my BB7s. 203mm front and 185 rear. It had tons of stopping power with the stock (semi-metallic I believe) pads. Once finger braking was all that was required and I could put myself over the bars with one finger. Now, I can still endo if I really try but it takes a lot of effort.

They still aren't fully broken in and they're getting more and more powerful as I use them more. I'm hoping they get back to the original power level. They only have a couple miles on them and I haven't gotten them real hot yet so I'm probably jumping the gun here.

Besides the loss in power, the differences I can see so far are better modulation and they don't get more grabby as they get hot.

How does the friction coefficient of ceramics compare to semi-metallics?

What about break-in procedure?
 
According to The Critic you need to make several hard stops from 60 but never a complete stop
LOL.gif


I don't have anything to add to your brake question but FYI all composite brake pads are sintered for any vehicle. It is a manufacturing process not a feature. Marketing throws it out because it sounds cool. Sort of like advertising CNC parts.
 
Originally Posted By: tom slick
According to The Critic you need to make several hard stops from 60 but never a complete stop
LOL.gif


I don't have anything to add to your brake question but FYI all composite brake pads are sintered for any vehicle. It is a manufacturing process not a feature. Marketing throws it out because it sounds cool. Sort of like advertising CNC parts.


That's kind of what I thought, in the automotive world they're just "ceramic" but in the bike world they're "sintered ceramic" lol.

60mph lol. I ran out of gas just trying to break them in.

The brakes are awesome now.

I originally had a Roundagon front rotor with a Cleansweep in the rear. I just swapped the roundagon out for a cleansweep (in the same size) with the ceramic pads. I then decided to go ahead and use the spare ceramic pads I originally ordered for the front on the rear with the existing rotor.

These things are great. The break-in was abrupt. I realigned the calipers first. During the break-in, the brakes got slightly better over the course of 10 stops and all of a sudden they were at full power. Both brakes were the same way, no power to full power nearly instantly.

Modulation is much, much better now. All out power is at least as good as the stock pads. I can really balance the rear tire on the verge of locking and I can balance the bike with the front brake with the rear tire in the air while stopping perfectly.

I can't wait to get some downhill riding in and really test them.
 
I know I'm talking to myself here but maybe some will find it useful.

I got some downhill riding in this weekend. Same thing, 35 miles with a 7,500' elevation loss.

Modulation is awesome, I couldn't ask for more. It's better than my friend's Juicy 7 hydros (160f and r). I know that will raise some eyebrows lol. Fade was non-existant even though I was doing everything in my power to make them fade, even pedaling while braking and dragging the brakes for minutes at a time.

I never was able to get the stock pads to fade so I can't say which is more resistant to fading. What I can say is I like how the ceramics feel the same from dead cold to screaming hot. The stock pads would bite signifigantly harder once warm and level off after a while. I got used to it but it could surprise anyone riding the bike for the first time. Also, the tiny bit of noise I had under hard braking when very hot is gone. Since this was mostly on the front rotor and I swapped the front rotor to a different style I can't fully say if it was the pads or the cleansweep rotor.

The tally is: BB7s with 203/185 Cleansweep G2 rotors Alligator ceramic pads, and Speed dial levers. Probably more expensive than some hydro setups but very reliable and trouble free.

I think I'm done with the brake upgrades. Time to just enjoy riding instead of purposely abusing the brakes. I can't imagine ever needing more in any imaginable real life scenario.
 
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