Best Brake pads for....

[grahus]

What are the best aftermarket brake pads for...

Shimano brakes...
Any brake...
Aluminium rims...
Carbon rims...

And this is for UK conditions, which means quite often damp/wet roads.

[TonyM]

Aluminum rims and wet: Swissstop!

[C36]

What are the best aftermarket brake pads for...

Shimano brakes...
Any brake...
Aluminium rims...
Carbon rims...

And this is for UK conditions, which means quite often damp/wet roads.

Probably an very very tough question, since one brake pad may not be the best one for ALL the carbon rims. Recall few well done tests by some French magasines 5-6 years ago but nothing recent...
Edit found a scan here
http://www.swissstop.ch/downloads/revie ... vril08.pdf

If anyone is aware of any recent "Lab" test... very welcome!


Envoyé de mon iPhone en utilisant Tapatalk

[alcatraz]

Here is my take...

Keep your alloy rim brake surfaces clean. Wipe them with some alcohol.

Keep your (shimano alloy or swisstop black) brake pads clean from debris and if they have hardened or become glazed you can file them down a tiny bit.

Use good brake calipers. Borrow some shimano ultegra/da calipers and compare if you aren't sure.

If you are on carbon and ride in the wet it's more complicated. Make sure your calipers are top notch. Then try a few different pads and compare. Swissstop black prince($$$)/barradine blue($). Soft and often replace is a good thing. Then the result will only depend on how good your brake surfaces are. (which can't be changed without replacing wheels/rims)

If you don't want to change brake calipers at least make sure the arms have no play by wiggling them sideways from their pivot points. You can often service them. Problem is simple brakes seize up when the play is taken out and then become easily useless. Either swampy feel or rubbing rims at the first contact with contaminants.

I cosider myself economic but also a weenie. I'm happy with my planet-x cnc brakes that come in under 200gr without pads. They have an adequate bite. A lot better than tektro's at twice the weight (many cheaper branded brakes are rebranded tektros). Shimano calipers are cheap and brake well but pretty heavy.

/a

Edit: Koolstop is for alloy rims. My bad...

[PJCM]

I really like Koolstop Salmon for aluminium rims

[grahus]

Thanks for all the replies...

If I want 'one pad to rule them all' are Swisstop Black the best option for not having to swap pads over if I change from alu to carbon rims?
(e.g. if I am changing wheelsets mid week)

@alcatraz...Is there a similar (new) product to Planet-X CNC brakes that is not too expensive, or is used the only way to get hold of these brakes?

[alcatraz]

These brakes have been sold under several brands. Currently they are sold under the brand Fouriers. The brakes are also found on Giant TCR 6700 and 6900 bikes. The brakes are available in two versions. A titanium axle version called "cnc" (extra machining) and a steel axle version that is forged. With pads the difference in weight is like 215gr and 240gr.

I'm sure there are plenty of good brakes out there. Better than these in regard to maintenance and setup which can be a bit tricky. Maybe a pair of sram force or sram red brake calipers would be of interest if you can't find these fouriers/planetx. I've also seen some cheap ciamillos available. (even lighter but with other issues).

I don't think any pads work well on both alloy and carbon. Sorry.

Also remember that the best pad could depend completely on your brake track surface. I got my first carbon wheels a year ago and was underwhelmed by the braking. I read everyone recommended swissstop black prince and ordered them despite the price. I was excited to get a good bite again. Well lets say I was quite underwhelmed by them. But that's because I come from alloy rims and went to affordable carbon expecting high performance. That didn't happen. I live in a dry place and I found that cork pads have just as good of a bite (if not better) than swissstop black prince. Your brake performance in the wet will rely on the combination of rim+pad+caliper+brakelever. It's important you try a few and see for yourself. At least make sure you have good calipers and try at least 2-3 different pads. The most expensive doesn't have to be the winner. Because carbon pads need to be softer to ensure a long rim life span you need to change them more often, so cheap and soft could be the winner. I've heard from a good source that barradine blue is a great carbon allrounder and they are cheap.

/a

[1415chris]

Blocks used on alloy rims may be contaminated with aluminium particles which are not ideal for carbon rims.
If you planning swapping wheels on regular basis it is worth of inwesting in pads holders such as EE. Changing is wey easy and quick.
But then you may find that you will need to adjust the holders as well. At least check if they are properly adjusted after the wheels swap.
For pads, aluminium rims blue swissstops, probably the best.
For carbon, that would depend on your rims, but again black prince from swissstop is widely approved by carbon rims' manufacturers and they are good.

[grahus]

Thanks for all the indepth answers...

I have only been active on this site for under two weeks (although lurking for a few months), and I can say that the level of knowldegs and feedback is impressive, Thanks to all.

[Marin]

TRP Pads are my current favourites for alu rims.

[grahus]

Just took the gamble and bought a pair of the Fouriers BR-S003 Forged calipers, stated weight 230g....which should save me 160g over the 105's.

I'll try them with the stock pads first, Ashima pads, whatever they are, and I'll try some of the suggestions above when I get the time.

[alcatraz]

Two pointers that will save you a lot of time and headache.

1. You need a cone spanner to center the brakes. Forget about using the small adjuster screw.

2. Make sure the cable housing is exactly the right length. Centering is very painful if it isn't.

Keep some spare housing in case you need when installing the brakes.

/a

[grahus]

For point No 2, do you mean not too long, not too short...?

Do they tend to become de-centered easily?

[alcatraz]

Yes.

They don't become decentralized. Once set up they stay right.

They have brake force similar to dual pivot brakes but the set up is like single pivot brakes. It means they are supported only with a spring to the center bolt. Spring tension needs to be right for both sides of the brake to spring back equally. The cable housing disturbs this because it influences the spring action of that side. If the housing is too long it will prevent the brake to spring back on that side. If it's too short it might influence the other side. Also if the housing is too stiff it aggravates the issue because it allows even less free movement.

Don't worry about it. Just make sure you have a cone spanner and cut the housing so it's neither pressing down or pulling on the brake arm. Then you're good.

/a

[grahus]

Out of curiosity, what brake lines do you run with these?

I have standard Shimano at the moment but am looking at different 'ilink' type systems as I like the look.