Carbon pads, expensive or cheap ?

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toride
Posts: 153
Joined: Fri Sep 02, 2011 6:19 pm
Location: Lincolnshire

by toride

Hi guys,
carbon specific brake pads, I am finding it hard to warrant spending £30+ on some Swisstop yellow pads, I run some swisstop yellows on a pair of Reynolds wheels and I find the braking more than sufficient, I also run some no name and very cheap carbon specific pads on another set of much cheaper wheels, again the braking is sufficient and the wheels don't seem to show wear or brake groves.

So, do I need to fork out the extra ££'s for the for the SS yellows or do I use the cheaper pads on my new C35's ?? Will I live to regret this ??

Any thoughts please

hasbeen
Posts: 531
Joined: Tue Feb 07, 2012 7:17 pm

by hasbeen

The big thing I noticed when going to SStop pads was the increased performance in the rain. I havent tried any cheap carbon pads yet because I still use whatever I got laying around be it carbon specific or not. When I think long term and overall performance I will consider SStop or whatever but if someone told me some BBB carbon pads worked well in the rain I would jump on them.
So, for me, I would consider cheap carbon pads if they worked well in all conditions. What has your experience been thus far with the cheapies and rain?
Sstop also didnt burn up as quick.
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toride
Posts: 153
Joined: Fri Sep 02, 2011 6:19 pm
Location: Lincolnshire

by toride

Thanks Hasbeen, my experience isn't vast but I suppose I do feel greater stopping power with the SS in comparison to the cheapies.. they certainly seem to wear out a quicker, so, as long as I remember just which pad I have in when braking I will give the cheapies a whirl, and keep a close eye on track wear.

Rob1519
Posts: 55
Joined: Thu Mar 17, 2011 7:29 pm

by Rob1519

toride wrote:Hi guys,
carbon specific brake pads, I am finding it hard to warrant spending £30+ on some Swisstop yellow pads, I run some swisstop yellows on a pair of Reynolds wheels and I find the braking more than sufficient, I also run some no name and very cheap carbon specific pads on another set of much cheaper wheels, again the braking is sufficient and the wheels don't seem to show wear or brake groves.

So, do I need to fork out the extra ££'s for the for the SS yellows or do I use the cheaper pads on my new C35's ?? Will I live to regret this ??

Any thoughts please


The Reynolds Cryo Blue pads seem to get good reviews and are less expensive than the SS Yellows. I will be purchasing a set in the near future

Geoff
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Location: Canada

by Geoff

Personally, I don't like the synthetic pads for carbon brake surfaces. You might try natural cork pads, instead.

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stella-azzurra
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Location: New York

by stella-azzurra

The are SwissStop FlashPro Yellow Brake Pads for Carbon Rims, Shimano/SRAM, Set of 4 on sale on ebay for 40$
The Zipp Tangente High Performance Cork Brake Pads SRAM/Shimano Carbon Rim pair of 2 are on sale on ebay for 29.95$
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Rick
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by Rick

Reynolds Blue pads seem as good as any on carbon.

Swisstop Green do seem superior on aluminum.

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stella-azzurra
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by stella-azzurra

Kool-Stop Pad Set for Shimano Dura Ace Ultegra Sram Pads for Carbon Rims a pair 10$

Don't know how good those would be but search for some review on those and they might be worth it.
I never took drugs to improve my performance at any time. I will be willing to stick my finger into a polygraph test if anyone with big media pull wants to take issue. If you buy a signed poster now it will not be tarnished later. --Graeme Obree

toride
Posts: 153
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Location: Lincolnshire

by toride

I would be pretty keen to try proper cork pads, can I get these to fit shimano slide in fitting ?

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stella-azzurra
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by stella-azzurra

They should work with the slide shimano holders.

How do cork pads perform in the rain?
I never took drugs to improve my performance at any time. I will be willing to stick my finger into a polygraph test if anyone with big media pull wants to take issue. If you buy a signed poster now it will not be tarnished later. --Graeme Obree

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stella-azzurra
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by stella-azzurra

I've had the same KoolStop pads on my bike for years and didn't wear them out yet.
I never took drugs to improve my performance at any time. I will be willing to stick my finger into a polygraph test if anyone with big media pull wants to take issue. If you buy a signed poster now it will not be tarnished later. --Graeme Obree

toride
Posts: 153
Joined: Fri Sep 02, 2011 6:19 pm
Location: Lincolnshire

by toride

stella-azzurra wrote:They should work with the slide shimano holders.

How do cork pads perform in the rain?

I have no idea how they work, I just seem to think they may work better when wet and would be very safe on your wheels both wet or dry.

Geoff
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by Geoff

Carbon braking surfaces are not nearly as good as alloy for wet weather riding, so you are already going to be at a disadvantage. The cork pads are ok for rain, but probably not as good as the synthetic pads are. The cork pads are noticeably better than the synthetic pads for dry braking. I guess that is why so many choose them for racing. Don't get me wrong, cork pads on modern brakes still work way better than the old brakes we used to race on 20 years ago.

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stella-azzurra
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by stella-azzurra

Any of today's pads work better than the pads from 20 years ago.
I never took drugs to improve my performance at any time. I will be willing to stick my finger into a polygraph test if anyone with big media pull wants to take issue. If you buy a signed poster now it will not be tarnished later. --Graeme Obree

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Rick
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by Rick

I am not one who is easy to impress with braking. I have always felt that they all seem to slow me down and stop me just as well as I ever need. I think I have gone for 15 years on the same set of brake pads without even feeling a need to change.

But I will have to say that I have been really impressed with the dark green Swisstop pads on aluminum. They stop fast, have great modulation (controllable increase in stopping with increased brake pressure) and best of all they seem to continue to feel like new: they don't glaze over and start sounding like they are sandpapering your rim; they continue to feel soft and quiet with light brake pressure, but still clamp down hard when needed. I haven't really tried a lot of pads, but these are really great.

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