Author Topic: Why you should use decent pads for your rim brakes  (Read 48865 times)

rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
Why you should use decent pads for your rim brakes
« on: 27 June, 2008, 06:30:18 pm »
Both from the same bike.  One pad is a Kool-Stop salmon.  The other is a Clark's from Halfords.  Which one do you think has embedded all the aluminium chips and made my rim concave?

Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

bobajobrob

Re: Why you should use decent pads for your rim brakes
« Reply #1 on: 27 June, 2008, 06:33:29 pm »
Have just fitted Kool Stop dual compound pads on my tourer. Shimano canti pads are awful, you can hear them grinding the rim away, and ineffective.

andygates

  • Peroxide Viking
Re: Why you should use decent pads for your rim brakes
« Reply #2 on: 27 June, 2008, 08:26:49 pm »
That's a very clear and horrifying illustration of the case.  Good post.
It takes blood and guts to be this cool but I'm still just a cliché.
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Re: Why you should use decent pads for your rim brakes
« Reply #3 on: 27 June, 2008, 08:28:10 pm »
That's a very clear and horrifying illustration of the case.  Good post.

Ditto.

frankly frankie

  • I kid you not
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Re: Why you should use decent pads for your rim brakes
« Reply #4 on: 28 June, 2008, 12:09:03 am »
Except we weren't told which was which.
when you're dead you're done, so let the good times roll

Chris N

Re: Why you should use decent pads for your rim brakes
« Reply #5 on: 28 June, 2008, 12:11:56 am »
It says KOOL-STOP on the left-hand end of the lower pad.

Gandalf

  • Each snowflake in an avalanche pleads not guilty
Re: Why you should use decent pads for your rim brakes
« Reply #6 on: 28 June, 2008, 06:33:55 am »
Following a similar discussion last week I Wiggled meself a set.  I'm glad I did, they are much better in every respect and particularly in the rain, as I discovered last Saturday.

CathH

Re: Why you should use decent pads for your rim brakes
« Reply #7 on: 28 June, 2008, 07:45:47 am »
Wow.  *slightly concerned* What do you guys think of Aztec cantilever brake pads?  Do they have a good reputation, or is it time for me to change them?  I've had a look at them this morning in situ on the bike and their appearance is somewhere between the above pictures.  They only squeal a bit in the wet.  I have the ones with replacable pads, thinking that I was creating less waste.

rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
Re: Why you should use decent pads for your rim brakes
« Reply #8 on: 28 June, 2008, 08:24:03 am »
I like Aztecs, because they don't need toeing-in to prevent squeal.
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

Re: Why you should use decent pads for your rim brakes
« Reply #9 on: 28 June, 2008, 08:27:09 am »
Wake up and smell the coffee people.
I forked out £26 for Swissstops for the MonstaThorn for exactly this reason.

Excellent illustration though.

Re: Why you should use decent pads for your rim brakes
« Reply #10 on: 28 June, 2008, 08:41:47 am »
Wake up and smell the coffee people.
I forked out £26 for Swissstops for the MonstaThorn for exactly this reason.

Excellent illustration though.

£26 for brake blocks is beyond my budget, over priced if you ask me for something that IS going to wear out. I've never had a problem with premature rim wear and never used Kool Stop salmon or Swissstops.

Re: Why you should use decent pads for your rim brakes
« Reply #11 on: 28 June, 2008, 11:23:25 am »
Shimano are as bad as cheap blocks for peeling off the rims. Kool stops are the best, although I've never paid £26 for a set.
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Gandalf

  • Each snowflake in an avalanche pleads not guilty
Re: Why you should use decent pads for your rim brakes
« Reply #12 on: 28 June, 2008, 12:54:59 pm »
I paid £13.28 for a full set of Koolstops on Wiggle, with free delivery.

bobajobrob

Re: Why you should use decent pads for your rim brakes
« Reply #13 on: 29 June, 2008, 11:51:38 am »
Wow.  *slightly concerned* What do you guys think of Aztec cantilever brake pads?  Do they have a good reputation, or is it time for me to change them?  I've had a look at them this morning in situ on the bike and their appearance is somewhere between the above pictures.  They only squeal a bit in the wet.  I have the ones with replacable pads, thinking that I was creating less waste.

Have used the aztecs before and found them rim-friendly. Consider some kool stop salmon or dual compound pads next time, they are the best IMHO.

Re: Why you should use decent pads for your rim brakes
« Reply #14 on: 29 June, 2008, 12:36:17 pm »
Wake up and smell the coffee people.
I forked out £26 for Swissstops for the MonstaThorn for exactly this reason.

Excellent illustration though.

£26 for brake blocks is beyond my budget, over priced if you ask me for something that IS going to wear out. I've never had a problem with premature rim wear and never used Kool Stop salmon or Swissstops.

£26 was for the brake boot too - as my existing setup was Ultegra crap all in one through away pads.  Normally the inserts are £20 I believe - and they last longer so in the long run, aside from no rim wear ( minimal ) the outlay will be the same I reckon.

Rhys W

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Re: Why you should use decent pads for your rim brakes
« Reply #15 on: 29 June, 2008, 10:16:16 pm »
Both from the same bike.  One pad is a Kool-Stop salmon.  The other is a Clark's from Halfords.  Which one do you think has embedded all the aluminium chips and made my rim concave?

 To elevate this from the level of anecdote you need to tell us if they came from either side of the same wheel, or one was front and the other rear.

rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
Re: Why you should use decent pads for your rim brakes
« Reply #16 on: 30 June, 2008, 06:38:54 am »
The crappy ones were from the rear, but only about half the mileage of the front ones.  Both wheels have mudguards, so the front gets a reasonable dose of gritty water too.
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

Re: Why you should use decent pads for your rim brakes
« Reply #17 on: 30 June, 2008, 06:46:58 am »
£26 was for the brake boot too
That's £26 for a pair of brake blocks in brake shoes (I am old enough to remember the old terms before fashion got in the way.  None of this modern cartridge/boot and pad/insert.)

Quote
Normally the inserts are £20 I believe

That's for a set of 4 brake blocks.  At £5 each I don't think that extortionate.

In recent years I have used Koolstop dual compond and found them to be very good.  I have one machine where the brakes did not seem as good as they should be , so having read rave reviews on the various fora ("it's like throwing an anchor out the back") I have bought some green Swiss Stop.  I've only used them for about 50 miles so far.  Can I detect any difference to the Kool Stops?  No, they seem pretty much the same.

By far the best braked machine I have has brakes many here would probably sneer at.  It has  pair of very deep drop Alhonga dual pivot with KoolStop dual compond worked by late 1970s Mafac levers.  Now that really does stop very well indeed.  I think it is due to the lever design - distance of the cable nipple from the pivot and all that.

I think the important thing to realise is that OEM blocks are not as good as aftermarket blocks.

The Mechanic

Re: Why you should use decent pads for your rim brakes
« Reply #18 on: 30 June, 2008, 09:52:00 am »
I use Koolstops all the time.  They were difficult to get hold of but now seem to be available at more places.  I put some on my audax bike last week after being out in the rain with the OEM items on the Shimano R640 breaks.  B****rs wouldn't stop the bike no matter how hard I pulled on the lever.  I would recomend a set of KS with evey new brakeset.


bobajobrob

Re: Why you should use decent pads for your rim brakes
« Reply #19 on: 30 June, 2008, 09:53:45 am »
That's £26 for a pair of brake blocks in brake shoes....Can I detect any difference to the Kool Stops?  No, they seem pretty much the same.

Kool stops are about 2/3 of the price *and* you get an extra pair of inserts :thumbsup:

LEE

Re: Why you should use decent pads for your rim brakes
« Reply #20 on: 30 June, 2008, 02:46:07 pm »
Wake up and smell the coffee people.
I forked out £26 for Swissstops for the MonstaThorn for exactly this reason.

Excellent illustration though.


That's almost twice the price of a SUN CR18 rim though.

I'm going to start building my own wheels soon (because I ground my back wheel to destruction in 8000 miles and son't want to be so reliant on LBS).

What are the economics of this?  Expensive blocks versus replacement rims.

Brake blocks must be one of the most overpriced items (next to printer ink) in the world.  Printer ink is more expensive than CHANEL no5 by volume and now most manufacturers are selling replacement rubber pads £7 (not even the metal holder).

So,
how many miles do you expect from a set of blocks?
how many miles do you expect from a rim?
how much do you pay for your blocks?
how much do your rims cost?

Does it make sense to buy budget blocks and build my own wheels?

clarion

  • Tyke
Re: Why you should use decent pads for your rim brakes
« Reply #21 on: 30 June, 2008, 02:57:42 pm »
Aztecs are fab.  Definitely rim-friendly, but the corollary is that they are pretty soft and wear quickly.  I don't mind, cause they are easy to replace & set up (I do make sure I toe them in).  The gunge in winter can be a bit disheartening, but the stopping power is reliable, so I pay that price.

Kool-stops?  Tried several times, but never been impressed.
Getting there...

mattc

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Re: Why you should use decent pads for your rim brakes
« Reply #22 on: 30 June, 2008, 03:34:14 pm »
Wake up and smell the coffee people.
I forked out £26 for Swissstops for the MonstaThorn for exactly this reason.

Excellent illustration though.


That's almost twice the price of a SUN CR18 rim though.

That's exactly what i was thinking!

Do bear in mind, though, when you finish the analysis started above, that it is somewhat quicker to replace blocks than a rim.
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LEE

Re: Why you should use decent pads for your rim brakes
« Reply #23 on: 30 June, 2008, 03:43:53 pm »
Wake up and smell the coffee people.
I forked out £26 for Swissstops for the MonstaThorn for exactly this reason.

Excellent illustration though.


That's almost twice the price of a SUN CR18 rim though.

That's exactly what i was thinking!

Do bear in mind, though, when you finish the analysis started above, that it is somewhat quicker to replace blocks than a rim.

My LBS rebuilt my wheel in under an hour (I know, he's very experienced) and I'm not saying that I won't change brake blocks, just that I could buy cheaper ones.

Eventually we all need to replace rims and brake blocks I'm really just pointing out that  there isn't such a huge price difference between a wheel rim and a 'quality' set of brake blocks

Air Dancer

Re: Why you should use decent pads for your rim brakes
« Reply #24 on: 30 June, 2008, 03:45:39 pm »
What, no mention of Fibrax?

They're good and they're British