Unanswered Mixing compounds

[wilddave]

So I'm after so advice or someone's experience if it's been done before .

99% of my riding is in the south lakes cumbria, weather has turned so now its generally just cold,wet,muddy and generally miserable. My rides are mostly up to the top of a mountain and back down incorporating everything from fast rock gardens,tight single track,steep shoots,very steep switch backs , alot can start off with slow steep tech through tree lines etc .

Problem I'm having is the brakes can be generally useless to begin with due to the cold and can make setting off a bit daunting as I've had the bike nearly get away a few times .

I'm running mt7 brakes with 4 pads per caliper 220f 203r mdr-p rotors .

So I'm thinking of mixing pads , magura sport (ebike for cold and decent heat ) and magura race for the heat and wet performance. 1 of each compound on both sides so like race pad followed by sport pad, theory is good cold performance and the metal compound would clean the rotor slightly for the organic based pad . Has anyone done this ?

 

[wilddave]

Usually I run uberbike race matrix on my bikes and it's the 1st time I'm having this issue , started dragging the brakes and riding around in circles to heat them a bit but it's getting boring now

 

[apac]

Interesting idea. Having two Pairs of pads per calliper could have an unforeseen benefit. I have no idea whether it's a good or bad idea tbh. Obviously the pads will wear at different rates, not sure what it will do with modulation as you will have a softer and harder contact from the different compounds, but it could be worth a try. I have same brakes and am currently trying out a few different pad materials. I haven't settle on any particular yet.

 

[Gary]

Problem I'm having is the brakes can be generally useless to begin with due to the cold

Having ridden to the top of snow covered hills to descend technical descents pretty much every winter I seriously doubt that's an actual problem. But if it is. A couple of hard stops before setting off from the top should be all that's needed to remedy the situation.

I tried different compounds in the same caliper a few years back out of curiosity. Personally I found it to be of no real benefit. but as APAC stated, the different pad compounds did wear at different rates. In a Magura 4 pot caliper where each pad is individual that sounds like a right PITA to look after.

 

[wilddave]

Well I'm hoping if it does change modulation that it's in a way I can adjust to it , as far as wear goes it won't bother as it's fully checked after every ride any way so just be part and parcel of it . Just not really found a pad that can do it all and thinking I could take advantage of the caliper design . Dont think side to side would be good as it could cause a twist or pull the disc if it being worked harder 1 side to the other

 

[Gary]

could cause a twist or pull the disc

it won't

 

[Mikerb]

Pad to rotor friction works by the sacrificial top layer of the pad depositing on the rotor. By using mixed compound pads in the same calliper I think you are likely to find neither pad beds in properly. I think you have to accept that just like most performance braking components, if you use the race version you need to prep them before they will work properly. Typically in a track car you run with the brakes dragging to heat them up for a little while, then do a few heavy brakes to check their status. On the other hand if you use standard ( or for you sport) kit you have to expect they could overheat so use accordingly.

 

[StuE]

Watched a Joe Barnes video and he uses smaller rotors because they heat up quicker and don't squeal has much

 

[Alexbn921]

You can use different pads and it will work, but they need to be on different sides of the rotor so the materials don't contaminate each other. Also you need to keep an eye on pad wear as it will not be even.

 

[Jackware]

I ran MT5 calipers with a EBC green and gold combo in each with no discernible advantage. I swapped back to genuine Magura 8.R (race) pads and although they have excellent braking performance and are very quiet they wear quickly. I've now swapped them out for the Magura recommended 8.S (sport) pads.

 

[Gary]

Watched a Joe Barnes video and he uses smaller rotors because they heat up quicker and don't squeal has much

Joe is also an incredible rider who just so happens to be a midget who weighs fuck all and runs his brakes setup so that his levers hit the grips before the wheels lock.

#YoureNotJoe

 

[RickBullotta]

That's a perfectly reasonable idea, with one caveat - since the materials may wear at different rates, it seems important that the design of the brakes allow independent piston movement. WDYT?

 

[Sapientiea]

Joe is also an incredible rider who just so happens to be a midget who weighs fuck all and runs his brakes setup so that his levers hit the grips before the wheels lock.

#YoureNotJoe

Damn, not sure if I would dare to ride without the oppertunity to lock the wheels.....But i weigh probably at least twice that of Joe
I'm really heavy 112kg all kitted up. My brakes heat up like nothing else so no problem them not performing at start. Problem I sometimes have is they will fade due to overheating if I am not careful. Less braking you would say? Yes but I am not Joe in that respect either