Uberbike Components’ brake pads.
Photo © Ben Winder

You’d be forgiven for thinking that brake pads can be much-of-a-muchness. If they stop you when you want them to and they last a while, you’re happy, right? The thing is, we’ve known brake pads to catastrophically fail (both branded and budget bundle buys) which, aside from being potentially dangerous, is (a) a ball ache when you’re in the middle of nowhere/on holiday and (b) not a fun way to waste anything from £5 to £25.

With most of the major brake pad brands you can be sure to get a quality product that will last long enough to count as ‘value for money’, but with the cheap brake pads that can be found online it’s hard to be sure of what you’re getting.

There are three main factors I think a brake pad should be checked against. The first is longevity. It’s all well and good having a nice set of expensive pads, but if they’re gone in a day’s riding in the mud, you don’t really get any of the benefit, and it costs quite a bit to be constantly replacing pads. That brings us onto the second key feature – price. Obviously, the cheaper the better, as long as performance doesn’t suffer. Performance of course is the final factor and there is definitely a range from ‘Don’t stop me and squeal loads’ to ‘Stop on a sixpence whatever the conditions.’ So where does that put these pads from Uberbike?

On longevity, I rank them highly. I’ve had a set of the sintered pads on some Avid brakes for a good while now, and I’m nowhere near into the metal. It hasn’t been an easy ride for them, either – here at Bike Magic Towers we’re located bang smack in the middle of wet muddy territory over the winter as we’re perched on the Welsh border.

At £5.49 for semi-metallic, £6.99 for sintered, or £7.99 for “ultralight” (half the weight at 10g for the pair) or kevlar and £8.99 for the top-line ‘Race-Matrix’ compound (with “Higher friction coefficient than our other pads”) the pricing can barely be sniffed at. Especially as the alternative option is to buy sets of four starting at £17.99. The obvious choice is to opt for the multiple purchase, considering that you’re unlikely ever not to need pads.

All compounds/weights work well, but I’d be tempted to just stick to sintered at £6.99 a pair. Available for all the major brake brands too.
Photo © Ben Winder

Finally, performance – the most important of all. Several of us here at Bike Magic have been on the pads and we haven’t had any trouble to report home about; there is barely ever any noise and we’ve tested both semi-metallic and sintered with no issues whatsoever. Whether I’d opt for the lighter pads or ‘Race-Matrix’ compound at an extra couple of quid for both ends I’m not too sure. The sintered ones work perfectly for me and with the constantly changing weather round here they would be my default choice at all times.

Verdict

These are good pads at a fraction of the cost of some branded pads. Brake pads may be unexciting, but they are vital and these come pretty close to the top of the pile.

Pros

Cheap
They provide plenty of power – even the cheapest semi-metallic
They don’t squeal in the wet which is a big bonus
Neither pad nor metal backing disintegrate like some do

Cons

Are there any?

Price: From £5.49 a pair or from £17.99 for packs of four pairs.
More information: Uberbike Components brake pads

Uberbikes Components 1200 Lumens LED Front Headlight and battery pack.

The Uberbike Components 1200 Lumens LED Front Headlight is a single-lamp unit with a long full-power run time stated at four hours which proved to be true as we tested it on rides over the last few weeks. The entire set-up is user-friendly in that mounting the battery pack and light itself couldn’t be easier, but there are a couple of slight flaws that, although not enough to put buyers off, could do with some improvement.

At Bike Magic we’ve tried and tested a great number of lights, some of which have been good and some of which have…well they haven’t been so good. Fortunately for Uberbike, this 1200 lumens light has faired well in most testing situations. The first of these being these being the simple ‘how easy is it to set up’ test. The answer being very easy. Out of the box we charged the light and then fitted it to the handlebars, this couldn’t have been easier as Uberbike have chosen to go down the rubber o-ring road which easily stretches around the bars (spares are provided) and hoops over the light bracket to secure it in place. The battery pack is not minimal but it does size up at around the average mark (it’s an 8.4v 4400mAh Li-Ion battery) and fitting it to the top-tube of your bike is a simple affair with a large Velcro strap and soft case around the battery itself to secure it in place in a matter of seconds.

Fitting the battery and lamp unit couldn’t be easier.

The second simple task for a bike light to achieve of course being the light output, and again the Uberbike light doesn’t fail to deliver. A large circle of light is projected and in the brightest (of four) settings we were impressed no end as to the light’s output. Some companies’ lights simply don’t illuminate the trail in the way they should for a claimed 1200 lumens LED, but this one does. By the way, that LED is an “American manufactured XM-L U2 LED” (according to Uberbike Components). It works.

Third simple achievement: battery run time. Uberbike Components claim four hours on full power. Having ridden for the best part of two weeks – that includes the daily a commute plus a couple of night rides – without needing to charge the battery we have even been left wondering if they under-estimated the run time! Finally just the other day the light gave several warning flashes and the power level dropped, with it the battery level indicator turning from green to red, and the battery was finally into its final 25% power. Impressive stuff.

With the light’s praises being sung for so many words, we have to come to its negatives at some point. Versatility is one area that the light really does fail. Supplied with a helmet mount the potential is all there, and we even mounted it at first to the helmet (the long additional power supply cable allowing the battery to be stashed in the backpack), but having donned the lid and simultaneously almost head-butted the handlebars we decided better of it. That headlamp is big; big and heavy. It’s pretty much no good even considering using it mounted on the helmet and looking at its size on there actually made us chuckle.

This is what Uberbikes’ light is really intended for. That big head unit puts out a lot of light.

Did it fair well on the roughest of trails? That is a mixed answer. Yes it did in that the field of vision given by the light meant that slight wobbles over rough terrain weren’t particularly noticeable. No because the simple handlebar mount is perhaps too simple for such a big torch, and on the biggest hits the light did slip a little, needing adjustment afterwards. That was only in the most extreme of scenarios though.

The light comes with a 12 month warranty, the battery a 6 month warranty. This is a nice way to ice the cake and we can safely say that we are sold – even the slight niggle with the light slipping wouldn’t put us off, especially at under £80.

On the whole, a very impressive light especially for the price. Great power, long run time and fitting it couldn’t be simpler. We did find it slipped a little on the roughest of terrain and it’s too heavy to run as a helmet-mounted light.

Price: Currently £79.99
More information: Uberbike Components 1200 Lumens LED Front Headlight

• Features: Machined 6063 Grade-A aluminium headlight body with hardened anodized anti-abrasive finish.
• Superior 22 degree mirror finish aluminium reflector with revised reflective curve for optimized throw and spill.
• Uberbike Custom anodized aluminium bezel with logo.
• Light Source: American manufactured XM-L U2 LED, deliveres unmatched performance across all power settings.
• Modes: High> Low> Light Sense> Strobe
• Light Sensitivity: Surrounding > Light Output – 50-41 Lux > 20% Brightness, 40-31 Lux > 40% Brightness, 30-21 Lux > 60% Brightness, 20-11 Lux > 80% Brightness, 0-10 Lux > 100% Brightness.
• Battery warning indicator – Green 100%-25%, Red 25%-0%
• The Uberbike 1200 headlight kit includes: headlight unit, 8.4v 4400mAh Li-Ion battery pack with soft neoprene frame pouch and velcro straps, UK spec charger, helmet mount, battery extension cable, O-rings for standard and oversize bar fitment.
• Runtime – up to 4 hours on max output.
• Supplied with 12 months warranty on headlight, 6 months warranty on battery and charger.

Well, we had to wade through a whole load of comments that didn’t make it past our judgement criteria, mostly the  ”without over-stepping the mark” bit… But we had some giggles reading all your grip jokes and have selected the four winners who are as follows (comment names):

– Angela Nicholson
– Jason Lomas
– Darren Tyson
– Serge the seal of Death

Well done to all of you! We’ll be in touch via email.

It’s January and the festive season is but a faint memory of booze, over indulgence, Cadbury’s Roses and satsumas. We’re beyond 2012 but its legacy is still with us; for many that means an extra tyre – around the waist.

It’s time to get out on the old push-bike, blow out the cobwebs and get those cranks spinning. And what more incentive could you need than a fresh set of grips? Free ones at that.

Thankfully the lovely folk at Uberbike Components have sent over four pairs of their already bargain priced grips for you lot to get your hands on…

We have four pairs of Uberbike Components grips up for grabs.

Well if your steed is in need – of a fresh set of grips (and let’s face it, who doesn’t like new grips?) – then all you have to do is provide us with a bike related caption to go with the below shot of the BM caretaker, Mr Craig…

As ever, the more you make us chuckle, the more likely you are to win one of the sets of grips.

Insert crass joke here.

Enter your captions into the comments box below and be sure that you type your email address correctly or we won’t be able to contact you should you be fortunate to win!

We’ll choose our favourite four captions based on wit, cunning and the ability to include crass humour without over-stepping the mark…

You’ve got until Friday to get a grip on this.

This time round we have eight pairs of brake pads from the lovely folk at Uberbike Components – two pairs for each of four winners.

Brake pads: you’ll be needing some spares if you’re aiming to get out on the push-bike over Christmas, all that mud can play havoc with bikes. So why not save some pennies and win some here?

All you have to do is… Write us a short Christmasy poem/story/joke about Uberbike Components and post in in the comments box below. The most entertaining/festive four will win two pairs of brake pads of choice from the Uberbike online store!

Make sure you enter your email address correctly in the comments section or you will instantly relegate yourself.

Uberbikes Components specialise in aftermarket upgrade components. Their bottom bracket has replaceable bearings and comes in red, black or gunsmoke anodising.

This Shimano Hollowtech II/Raceface X-Type-compatible external bottom bracket is CNC-machined from 6061 aluminium. The Uberbikes logo is laser engraved on the sides and several different colours are available.

Replacing the tired and creaky bottom bracket on the test mule, the Uberbike bottom bracket felt very smooth to start with and a couple of months hard use later is still feeling smooth.

It rolls on replaceable stainless steel bearings that are sealed behind internal double row O-rings with an external custom lip outer seal. The sealing has stood up well to a couple of jet washes and scattered maintenance.

Compared to a benchmark Shimano XT bottom bracket it’s about the same price (unless you shop around), and performance is comparable. It scores well on weight because at 96g (on our scales) it’s a good deal lighter than the competition.

Verdict

Good price for a decent quality bottom bracket that offers smooth and long-lasting performance.

Pros

Smooth running
Looks good
Choice of colours
Well priced
Light

Cons

There are cheaper options
Too soon to comment on long-term durabilty

Price: £34.99
Weight: 96g
Options: Red, black and gunsmoke colours. Ceramic bearing version is £59.99
More information: Uberbike Stainless Steel External Bottom Bracket

What Uberbike says about the Stainless Steel External Bottom Bracket

Lightweight CNC machined alloy cups (BC 1.37″) with replaceable bearings, anodised finish with laser engraved logo, supplied with matching alloy spacers.

Advanced bottom bracket design, lengthened space between bearings, enhances stability under pedalling load.

Composite centre tube double O-ring sealed, external custom lipped outer seals.

Uberbike stainless steel bearings offer a high standard of rotating performance.

Compatible with Shimano Hollowtech II, Raceface X-Type external bottom bracket systems. 68/73mm shell width.

Weight -Only 96g. 17g lighter than the high end competition.