Wet weather, muddy trails, and bike park laps share one thing in common: they destroy resin brake pads. The Shimano P04C-MF uses a sintered metal compound that handles these conditions without the accelerated wear that comes with organic materials. If you're running XTR BR-M9220 or XT BR-M8220 4-piston calipers and need pads that maintain stopping power when conditions turn nasty, the P04C-MF delivers where resin compounds fall short.

Sintered metal pads work by fusing metallic particles together under heat and pressure, creating a friction material that resists glazing and contamination. Where resin pads can lose bite when soaked or covered in trail grime, metal compounds cut through moisture and debris to maintain consistent lever feel. The tradeoff is noise — metal pads tend to squeal more than resin, especially when cold or damp. Most riders accept this as the cost of durability and wet-weather performance, and the noise typically settles down once the pads warm up.

The "MF" designation indicates these pads include aluminum cooling fins extending from the backing plate. Shimano calls this Ice Technologies, and the fins serve the same purpose here as they do on resin pads: radiating heat away from the braking surface during sustained use. Metal compounds already handle heat well, but adding fins on top of that means you can drag brakes down extended descents without the lever going soft. For enduro racing or bike park riding where you're on the brakes constantly, that heat management keeps stopping power consistent from top to bottom.... Read More