Brake Authority ceramic brake pads review

These ceramic brake pads are made from a mixture of the standard sintered metal pad material with some ceramic content thrown in. The idea behind the latter compound is that heat should dissipate better when the pads get warm, reducing brake fade.

We whacked our set into an Avid Elixir and got cracking. Brake Authority do say they’re designed for racing only due to the ceramic element causing faster wear than on a normal sintered pad, which we found to be true to an extent. But they don’t wear as fast as some resin-based options.

Resistance to heat build-up did seem better than usual, and the bite of the brake was better than with the original pads. But the difference was less noticeable in very wet conditions. You pay the price for high performance too, making these a condition-specific buy rather than a standard replacement.