Originally Posted by
gsa103
Very detailed post. And very true about the automotive brakes, honestly, I don't find hydraulics any harder to deal with than mechanical (just a little messy), they're very simple and robust.
Back to your post, why metallic pads? Have you actually tried metallic pads before?
They're ummm....different...
They make a lot of noise, and when you initially grab the brakes they have almost no initial bite. I found that I had to drag mine a lot just to keep them in their temperature range.
The best analogy for metallic pads is they're like track automotive brake pads. You always have the disadvantages and maybe only sometimes get the advantages. Most people gravel biking will never even touch the heat ranges where you need metallic.
My advice would be to start with the resin pads, and if you cook them then move to metallic.
Great analogy. I haven't tried metallic pads myself, but the stock resin pads on my Jamis Renegade have been stellar so far in dry and wet conditions mostly on pavement, with gravel and hardpack mixed in. I've yet to encounter any fade, but I've also yet to encounter any epic descents. I found the brake feel to be very good as well, and I've read that metallic pads don't offer the same progressive modulation. So far I've put over 1200 miles on my resin pads and there's still plenty of pad life left.
I suppose the other nice thing you've noticed is that Shimano hydraulic brake pads are trivially simple to swap, so it should be easy to experiment. Though I'm thinking you'd probably want to try out the resin pads first before switching to metallic pads and bedding those in.