Absolute Black Disc Brake Pads | GraphenPads World's Best Disc Brake Pads (No.15)

GRAPHENpads® - the new era of braking confidence and consistency is here.. Ceramic GRAPHENpads® are a completely new benchmark for the braking pad industry thanks to our bespoke backplate coating with graphene as well as a completely new friction compound, which uses specially modified graphene instead of toxic copper. These pads fit Shimano Deore brakes and more.

Specifications

• Mass (+/-1g): 20g per set + 1g spring + 1.5g pin
• Compatibility Shimano Deore BR-MT410,BR-M575,BR-M525,BR-M515,BR-T615, LX BR-T675, Alivio BR-M4050, Acera BR-M3050, Altus BR-M375,BR-M365,BR-M315, BR-M506, BR-M505, BR-MT500, BR-M495, BR-M486, BR-M485, BR-M475, BR-M465, BR-M447, BR-M446, BR-M445, BR-M416, BR-M415, BR-MT400, BR-M395, BR-M355, BR-M200, TRP Hylex, HY/RD, Spyre SLC, Spyre, Spyke, Dash Sport, Tektro Orion SL HD-M740, Orion HD-M730,HD-M725, Gemini SL HD-M520 / M521, Gemini HD-M500 / M501,HD-M510, Draco2 HD-M352, HDC330 HD-M330, Auriga HD-M290 / M291,HD-T530,HD-T525,HD-E530,HD-E525, Aquila MD-M500, Aries MD-M300, Mira MD-C400, Volans HD-T710, Vela HD-T290, Dorado HD-E715, HD-R280, MD-M280, HD-M282, HD-M285/286, HD-T285/T286
• Composition Ceramic organic Endurance friction compound containing graphene. A thermal coating containing graphene. We don't use copper or any heavy metals
• Usage All weather conditions
• In the box Two pads (set per wheel), one spring, and one retention pin. Packed in reusable aluminium can.

Brake pads are the single most important part of the bike, which determines how confidently you can descend. The key element to their optimum performance is to keep the temperature of the brake pads and the rotor as low as possible (ideally below 400C), especially on longer descends. The hotter the pads get, the faster they fade, which means they lose the ability to slow you down reliably when needed. Overheated pads lose braking consistency and behave differently each time you press the brake lever, which greatly diminishes your braking confidence, effectively making you ride much slower.

The ideal brake pad will have the same predictable braking power, initial braking bite and perfect modulation throughout a long descend. After 3 years of development, we believe that we have achieved just that with our GRAPHENpads®. The results of the machine tests and thermal imaging show that we were able to reduce disc pad and rotor temperature by up to 35% vs competitors and completely eliminate brake fading.
Rotors are heated repeatedly to high temperatures exceeding 500°C, increasing the danger of softening the rotor materials by tempering. Temper softening causes an increase in wear and warping of the rotor and leads to reduced brake performance. For this reason, it is extremely important to evacuate heat from the rotor-pad interface as fast as possible.

The Key Elements of Graphenpads

• The first pads on the market contain specially modified graphene in their friction compound, which greatly improves braking performance, durability and heat transfer to the backplate.
• Thanks to the backplates being entirely covered in graphene heat-dissipating coating, it was possible to achieve much greater heat transfer from the friction material to the backplate and at the same time, increase radiation of heat (IR spectrum) by over 20% (which is very significant).
• To date, GRAPHENpads® are the only brake pads in the market that completely eliminate toxic copper, ahead of new regulations (copper brake dust is proven to be toxic to aquatic life hence new California regulation will ban the use of copper from 2025)
• Graphene in disc pad friction material prolongs the life of rotors by embedding graphene particles into micropores of the rotor braking surface.
• They are produced in the EU, unlike the majority of other pads on the market, which come from a single Taiwanese factory.

What You Will Feel

• Predictability and power, allowing you to regain full control of your braking
• Better modulation and faster stopping
• Improved confidence when descending
• No brake fade, more consistency and reliable braking feel corner after corner, even on the most demanding descends.
• They are very quiet, even during long descends.
• They reduce fatigue of your hands due to the greatly reduced brake lever force needed to achieve powerful braking compared to the competition

Why the Majority of Pads Have Similar Average Performance?

The great majority of popular organic disc pads on the market are produced by just one Taiwanese company. Interestingly, they don’t develop braking compounds themselves but instead, source such formulas from elsewhere. Anyone can pick their braking compound from a short catalogue, then pick a colour of the backing surface and just like that, they’ve created their own brand of braking pads.

GRAPHENpad’s friction compound, on the other hand, was developed with help from renowned European disc pads specialists with decades of experience and one-of-a-kind equipment, that allows for precise performance testing.

Graphene is still a very new material, especially in friction brake compounds. Due to its very unique properties and years of testing, we were able to develop a friction material like no other. In the automotive industry, where every major car maker has already filed several patent applications for friction compounds containing graphene, it’s clear to see that it is the future of braking pads. New regulations which start from 2025 will prohibit the use of copper powder in disc pads. Graphene is not only an excellent substitute to copper, but a major upgrade in terms of performance. We are the first company in the bicycle industry to offer graphene in the friction compound.

But Graphene Is Used in Super Low Friction Lubricant…

In order to understand why graphene is such a good material for friction compound, one needs to understand how friction compound is made. Typical organic friction compound includes five classes of components: a fibrous material made from inorganic/organic/metallic fibres (like copper), a binder (like thermosetting polymer), a "filler" (various soft ceramic powders), one or more lubricants/friction modifiers (like graphite, copper), one or more abrasives (hard ceramic powders). The binder, which is typically a phenolic resin that bonds all components together, has a very high friction coefficient, therefore it is necessary to add friction modifiers/lubricants to lower the friction coefficient and allow braking modulation.

Copper is a great example of a material that not only acts as fibrous material but it is also a lubricant and conductor of heat to the backplate. Graphene on the other hand is several times stronger than copper, conducts heat 3-6 times better and its coefficient of friction is several orders of magnitude lower. By eliminating copper and finding the right balance of graphene and other components, we created one-of-a-kind friction material that delivers extraordinary performance.

How to Install Graphenpads

Please bed the pads in for a proper braking experience. This is a CRUCIAL part of every brake pad installation. Neglecting this step will produce a sub-par experience.

1. Remove the wheel and old brake pads.
2. Use a brake cleaner to clean the inside of the calliper and the rotor surface (alternatively use isopropyl alcohol)
3. Gently push each piston back into the calliper body (using for example big screwdriver). Then mount new pads and spring
4. The most important part - While riding at about 20km/h (12mph) in a safe environment, apply brakes evenly until speed drops to walking pace. Repeat 20 times. Then stop 10 times aggressively.

SKU# DISCPAD15_Std