Brake Pad Compound Guide: Which One Should You Choose?
Not sure which brake pad compound to choose? We make three: Trail, Gravity and Sintered. They all fit the same calipers, so this is not a fitment decision. It is a decision about conditions and what you want to trade off.
The short version: Trail is the quietest and beds in fastest but wears soonest. Gravity lasts longer but is noisier while it beds in. Sintered lasts longest and is the one to run in the wet, at the cost of noise and rotor wear.
Quick Summary
| Compound | Best For | Key Traits |
|---|---|---|
| Trail | Riders who want quiet brakes straight away | Quickest bed-in, quietest, wears fastest |
| Gravity | More life out of a set, long sustained descents | Slower, noisier bed-in, longer lasting than Trail, insulates the system from heat |
| Sintered | Wet and gritty conditions, year-round riding, e-bikes | Longest lasting, best in the wet, loudest |
Trail and Gravity feel close to each other once they are bedded in. We are not going to tell you one bites harder than the other, because in our own riding that difference is not the thing you notice. What you notice is how quickly they go quiet and how long they last.
Trail
Trail beds in the quickest of the three and settles into being our quietest compound. If you have had a set of pads that howled for the first two weeks, this is the answer to that.
Choose Trail if you:
- Want quiet brakes from the first few rides
- Would rather replace pads a little sooner than listen to them bed in
- Ride mostly dry to mixed conditions
- Are not sure and want the least fuss
Trade-offs: Shortest life of the three. If you are getting through a lot of pads, Gravity or Sintered will stretch the interval.
Gravity
Gravity lasts longer than Trail. The trade is that it takes longer to bed in and stays noisy for longer while it does. Once it is bedded in, the feel is very close to Trail.
Choose Gravity if you:
- Want more rides out of a set than Trail gives you
- Can live with some noise for the first while
- Ride the same terrain a Trail rider does, but would rather change pads less often
- Ride long sustained descents where lever feel matters
Gravity also insulates the braking system. Heat stays in the rotor rather than migrating into the caliper and fluid, which is what you want on a long alpine descent where the lever going soft is the thing that ends your run.
Trade-offs: Noisier for longer during bed-in. If brake noise is the thing that bothers you most, run Trail instead. Wears faster than sintered in deep mud.
Sintered
Sintered pads use metallic particles bonded together under high pressure and heat. They are the longest lasting compound we make and the one that holds up best when the trail is soaked and gritty. They are also the loudest.
Choose Sintered if you:
- Ride year-round in the Pacific Northwest or a similar wet climate
- Ride an e-bike, where the extra weight wears pads faster
- Want the longest interval between pad changes
- Ride in mud and grit that chews through softer compounds
The trade for that durability is heat. Sintered conducts heat efficiently into the caliper and brake fluid, and on long sustained descents that can contribute to fluid fade and a softer lever. For mud and wet, sintered excels. For sustained alpine descents, Gravity's system insulation gives you an edge.
Trade-offs: Loudest of the three, and it wears rotors faster than Trail or Gravity. Check your rotors are not resin-only before fitting sintered pads. If you need rotors rated for metallic and sintered pads, we sell those here.
Still Deciding?
Work backwards from what annoys you most:
- Noise annoys you most, and you accept changing pads sooner: Trail.
- Changing pads annoys you most, and you can tolerate a noisier bed-in: Gravity.
- You ride wet and gritty all season and want maximum mileage: Sintered.
- Your lever goes soft on long descents: Gravity, for the system insulation.
If you pick one and do not get on with it, our 60 day guarantee covers you. Get in touch and we will sort out a swap to a different compound.
Do I Need Finned Pads?
Finned pads (also called "ICE Tech" style) have aluminum cooling fins that shed heat during long descents.
Consider finned pads if you:
- Ride long descents (15+ minutes of continuous braking)
- Do shuttle runs or lift-accessed riding
- Ride an e-bike, where the extra weight puts more heat through the brakes
- Experience brake fade on your current setup
For most trail riding with typical climb-then-descend patterns, standard pads are sufficient.
Can I Switch Between Compounds?
Yes. You can move between compounds freely, and plenty of riders run different compounds front and rear. When you switch, we recommend:
- Clean your rotors with isopropyl alcohol when switching compound types
- Bed the new pads in properly (20 to 30 moderate stops from speed)
- Consider a fresh rotor if you are switching from sintered to Trail or Gravity, for best results
Still Not Sure?
Use our Brake Pad Finder to get a recommendation based on your brake model. Or contact us, we are happy to help you choose the right compound for your riding.