I was a little dubious about these pads as I have friends who have had the backing plate fall off however I was assured that this problem had been rectified. I bought some purely because they were cheap. The first set of pads went in before Bontrager 24/12 which I rode solo (finishing 3rd which is not relevant to this review but I am rather proud of myself). At the end of 12 hours in dry conditions the pads looked barely touched so I left them in for the next three weeks while I was training everyday for the Trans Wales. The first set finally wore out three days into the Trans Wales after continuous rain, mud and grit. I put a new set in that lasted until the end of the week. My friend was using the original Hayes sintered pads and put them in at the start of the week. Due to conditions these last just one day more than the Superstar ones.
I think these are excellent pads and an absolute bargain, they last slightly less than sintered originals in wet conditions but cost so much less I could not see myself buying the orginals again. The only problem I had with the pads for Hayes Strokers was the retaining spring which did not hold the pads in place effectively however this was quickly remedied by swaping the springs from the hayes original pads. I think I'll try the Superstar bottom bracket next!
