Brembo brake pads are always sold per set of two brake pads.
Brembo, a familiar name in the world of brake pads and brake discs. Justifiably so because the world leader in design, development and production of brake systems has been building the industry of fast-braking vehicles since 1961. From the Italian Bergamo the brakes quickly ended up at Moto Guzzi and it was the great Enzo Ferrari himself who scaled up their reputation by integrating Brembo in his race cars.
As has been proven before, hundreds of world championship races in cars and motorcycles have been the breeding ground for constant improvement in the most demanding of circumstances. This was also the case for Brembo, which quickly noticed its efforts be translated to collaborations with just about half of all the car and motorcycle manufacturers. This led to a first American adventure in the eighties, to end up 100% Italian again and a listed company in the nineties.
More resources and more opportunities eventually led to … more brakes. Better ones too. Carbon technology, a new R&D centre in the Kilometro Rosso Technology and Science Park in Bergamo, new industries and mainly tons of experience and expertise is what thrusted the Brembo brakes to industry leadership.
Brembo brake pads guarantee optimum safety during braking. Period. To do that, they use over 100 different compounds, in function of the vehicle type and the required result. In all these cases, a minimal stopping distance, maximum riding comfort and no noise are the most important features of a Brembo brake system.
Organic brake pads
Brake pads can be composed of several different raw materials or compounds. The standard compound is called ‘organic’. Brembo uses a specific mixture of metals, lubricants and abrasives, with resin as a binding agent. This delivers a high-quality brake lining that is perfect for ‘regular’ braking in ‘cold’ (300 degrees) circumstances implied by the public roads. Organic Brembo brake pads are compatible with all steel brake discs and carry a (German) ABE type approval.
Sintered brake pads
The sintered Brembo brake pads take us to the next level. Or better: they at least maintain the original brake experience. More than sixty years of experience at top level, that comes in handy. Or in stoppie. Sintered Brembo brake pads really slow you down without eating away at your pad a centimetre at a time. Sintering is the process of compressing ground, shredded metal, often copper, bronze or an alloy under high pressure and at a high temperature. Brembo uses their own specific compound, different for the front and the rear brake, fixating it onto a support plate without adhesive. The metal parts are what determine the friction coefficient, lubricants contribute to the brake stability and abrasives keep the brake discs clean.
Brake pads with sintered material are less soft than the standard, organic ones. Evidently, this results in more force at the brake lever. The corrosive substance that’s released during hard braking requires you to regularly clean your motorcycle wheels. Sintered brake pads are always recommended for intensive use, high braking requirements or true performance-oriented conditions.
Tip from the RAD House
New brakes are bedded in. More specifically: their performance will improve when you thoughtfully give them time to get used to the expectations under low brake pressure. We call this the ‘bedding in time’ and how long this takes exactly has everything to do with the type of brake pad (organic ones need more time) and the circumstances.
