The shock and pads I chose were mainly to see if cheap touches would really make a difference and it has in both feel and sound. with just better pads it seems the stock brakes are good... good enough to easily skid the tires if not doing the antislip method. overall I'm still geeking over this ebike and am only thinking of what may need to be replaced later on. so far with 167 miles it is strong and easily able to contend with much more expensive bikes.