I've loved my red labelxSaint combo for a few years now in the dry interior, both on the DH bike and the Enduro bike. Slightly more power, dead quiet, and much better modulation than Shimano metallic. For reference, I'm on the heavy side and like long, steep trails and riding bike park laps top to bottom without much, if any, rest. I find the non-finned shimano pads to heat fade on this kind of lap, which is why I'm only really happy running the finned version or the MTX brakes. Given that some finned shimano pads are eye-wateringly expensive now on Canadian MSRP, MTX all the way for me.
I remember talking to Kevin about them a few years ago via email, he said that unlike metallic or resin, the ceramic the Red Labels had no bed-in time. Well, I trusted that and immediately dove into a trail to try them out. Quite a surprise when they had literally no braking power for the first corner, only to immedately catch at full power just as I was about to die. So "No" bed in time was a bit of a misnomer, it's a fraction of a second of time. Quite the spooky experience!
I was hoping to see Andrew on a set of these the next time he gets to try out a budget bike for bang for your buck improvements. I've found they can really spruice up an entry level set of brakes (and the Gold Label can really improve the power on the XC version of the XTR brakes that run the little road pads).
Jan. 3, 2023, 8:40 a.m. - Lu Kz
I've loved my red labelxSaint combo for a few years now in the dry interior, both on the DH bike and the Enduro bike. Slightly more power, dead quiet, and much better modulation than Shimano metallic. For reference, I'm on the heavy side and like long, steep trails and riding bike park laps top to bottom without much, if any, rest. I find the non-finned shimano pads to heat fade on this kind of lap, which is why I'm only really happy running the finned version or the MTX brakes. Given that some finned shimano pads are eye-wateringly expensive now on Canadian MSRP, MTX all the way for me. I remember talking to Kevin about them a few years ago via email, he said that unlike metallic or resin, the ceramic the Red Labels had no bed-in time. Well, I trusted that and immediately dove into a trail to try them out. Quite a surprise when they had literally no braking power for the first corner, only to immedately catch at full power just as I was about to die. So "No" bed in time was a bit of a misnomer, it's a fraction of a second of time. Quite the spooky experience! I was hoping to see Andrew on a set of these the next time he gets to try out a budget bike for bang for your buck improvements. I've found they can really spruice up an entry level set of brakes (and the Gold Label can really improve the power on the XC version of the XTR brakes that run the little road pads).