Mountain biking with inadequate brakes is terrifying, if not downright unsafe, but the role of pads and rotors in dialing in braking performance is often underappreciated. So this week we sat down with Daryl Simmons of Galfer USA to go deep on brake pads and rotors, including differences in pad materials and why the classic metallic vs. organic debate doesn’t tell the whole story; what factors influence wet-weather performance and heat resistance; rotor design and how to think about choosing rotor sizes; and a whole lot more.
TOPICS & TIMES:
- History of Galfer (1:18)
- Sintered vs. organic brake pads (2:35)
- Tradeoffs with pad materials (5:01)
- Wet-weather brake performance (8:32)
- Brake fade & heat resistance (13:38)
- Galfer’s pad lineup (19:23)
- Rotor sizes & reasons to size up (or not) (24:04)
- Choosing relative rotor size (front vs. rear) (30:58)
- Rotor shapes & cutouts (35:20)
- Daryl’s Big Idea(s) (40:09)
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