How do I know which brake pad is the most suitable?
Bikers, the durability of your brake pads depends largely on the type of road you ride on and your driving style. If you ride your motorcycle daily in the city, you'll brake more frequently due to the increased traffic.
If you're a weekend motorcycle rider, alone or in a group, and you like to cruise along quiet, uncrowded roads, you'll likely use the brakes less. Finally, riders who engage in sporty riding (curvy terrain or circuit riding) or even competitive riding (in sports like enduro or trail riding) also use the brakes quite intensively.
On the other hand, some riders have a softer riding style and others a more aggressive one. Maintaining a more or less constant speed helps extend the life of the brake pads. Some habits that can prematurely wear down the pads are accelerating and braking abruptly simply for the sake of "testing" the bike, or riding unsteadily and braking continuously. You will be producing the fade effect on the pads, which consists of braking repeatedly, for example, on steep descents, causing the pads to overheat and eventually lose effectiveness.
As a starting point, brake pads must meet certain minimum specifications so you can drive safely and the entire braking system perfectly fulfills its purpose. The most important of these is that they provide powerful yet adjustable braking, perform well in both dry and wet conditions, protect the disc and prevent it from getting dirty, make minimal noise under normal conditions, and are highly resistant to fade .
From there, you'll have to choose between organic, semi-metallic, or sintered pads. But as you've probably noticed, the use you give your motorcycle is key to choosing one of the three types.
Organic: Less durable and perform worse at high temperatures. On the other hand, they are quieter because they have fewer metal components. Not suitable for extreme use or competition.
Semi-metallic: Greater durability and better performance at high temperatures. Suitable for intensive use because they have a higher percentage of metallic components. They are also quite quiet.
Sintered: These are the most durable on the market, although their use isn't suitable for all circumstances, but rather for sport and racing motorcycles. Their high proportion of metallic components causes the disc to wear more quickly and the initial bite to be less perfect.
In any case, keep in mind that sintered brake pads are the most expensive, although they offer better braking power. Lower pressure provides better braking retention. We recommend this type of brake pad if you have a large-displacement road bike, dirt bike, or maxi scooter. On the other hand, we suggest that if you have a small-displacement moped, motorcycle, or scooter, you opt for semi-metallic or organic brake pads.
