One set of carbon brake pads for two different carbon wheel brands?

Back by popular demand, the general all-things Road forum!

Moderator: robbosmans

Post Reply
Noctiluxx
Posts: 1333
Joined: Tue Feb 07, 2017 7:17 pm
Location: Southern California

by Noctiluxx

Hey guys,

My buddy bought my old Zipp 404 NSW's and just added a pair of Flo 90mm carbon aero wheels. Can he use one set of carbon brake pads for both wheels? If yes, which one, the Flo or Zipp pads? Thanks!
Bianchi Oltre XR4, De Rosa SK Pininfarina, Trek Madone SLR, Giant TCR Advanced SL, Cervelo R5 Disk, Giant Revolt

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



alcatraz
Posts: 4064
Joined: Mon Aug 29, 2016 11:19 am

by alcatraz

Unofficial answer: whatever is softer.

Official answer: He won't keep warranty on both wheels with either pad probably.

Maybe Swissstop Black prince's ($$) are the widest accepted among manufacturers but I'm not sure if those are approved. You could check by sending them an email. Having two wheelsets is not uncommon.

Other allround pads worth trying are Campy red ($$$) and Barradine blue. For dry weather cheap pads are cork pads. They are soft and won't damage the wheels.

/a

User avatar
Calnago
In Memoriam
Posts: 8612
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2010 9:14 pm

by Calnago

Contact Flo and see if the latest Zipp Tangente Platinum Evo Pro would be ok. I have them for use on Zipps and they work great and last longer than their earlier generation Tangente pads. I have no experience with the Flo wheels so best to ask. It’s best to ask the manufacturer regardless. Softer pads will be exactly that... softer, but if the Flos can handle the newest Zipp pads go that way. The blue pads from Reynolds (Kryo?) are the softest non cork pad I’m aware of but wear really quickly. Campy red pads on Campy rims are the ultimate in carbon rim braking that I’ve come across but their rim surface and resins are designed with those pads in mind, and vice versa. While I used to be of the mind that how much could it hurt if I used non manufacturers pads on rims, I generally go with the manufacturers recommendations now. And it’s usually good. For instance, Lightweight branded SwissStops are fantastic on Lightweight rims and while made by Swissstop, they are not simply rebranded pads. Long gone are the days when everyone was recommending SwissStop yellows for their carbon rims, simply because that’s all there really was. Worst pads ever imo. But that was 10 years ago. Don’t know anyone using the yellows currently although they still sell them.
Bottom line, call Flo and hopefully you can use the latest Zipp Tangente Evo Pros. As much as I like the Campy Red psds, they are quite aggressive and I’d definitely want an ok from the wheel manufacturer before using them on everything.
Colnago C64 - The Naked Build; Colnago C60 - PR99; Trek Koppenberg - Where Emonda and Domane Meet;
Unlinked Builds (searchable): Colnago C59 - 5 Years Later; Trek Emonda SL Campagnolo SR; Special Colnago EPQ

Post Reply