Brake Pads

[rcannon100]

So I commented that I go through brake pads like Chiclets. And damn if the whole twitter universe got on my case. Rootchopper said I should get the red ones. The red ones? What the hell does that mean? :rolleyes:

So I thought I would consult the peanut gallery. Do you have favorite brake pads? (Are they red?)

What I see online and in forums is that commuters seem to eat brake pads where ELITE riders, well, they just never bother to brake. Probably I should lighten my load on my bike as well (eat less ice cream)

Topic

[jrenaut]

Ask 1/8th and dcv – you should just ditch your brakes.

[dcv]

I think he was talking about kool stops. I have them on my single speeds and they work fine. They’re actually salmon.

[Rod Smith]

They need to made of real salmons to survive these conditions. I didn’t see any ELITE riders out there the last couple days.

[Greenbelt]

Fear is the mind-killer. Rain is the pad-killer.

[Jason B]

I have cantilever brakes on my cross bike which I have been riding in this bad weather. For me it is not the pads, but I can’t believe how bad cantilever brakes are comparatively. I need to adjust them every 3-4 rides and they scream like a banshee. During this rain, I had to press them down to the metal. The pads are fine on mine, it is the constant adjusting that kills me.
Road design brakes are much more efficient and practically stop on a dime through telepathy.

[Greenbelt]

@Jason B 66548 wrote:

I have cantilever brakes on my cross bike which I have been riding in this bad weather. For me it is not the pads, but I can’t believe how bad cantilever brakes are comparatively. I need to adjust them every 3-4 rides and they scream like a banshee. During this rain, I had to press them down to the metal. The pads are fine on mine, it is the constant adjusting that kills me.
Road design brakes are much more efficient and practically stop on a dime through telepathy.

We’ve really appreciated our disk brakes on the last couple commutes.

[mstone]

@Jason B 66548 wrote:

I have cantilever brakes on my cross bike which I have been riding in this bad weather. For me it is not the pads, but I can’t believe how bad cantilever brakes are comparatively. I need to adjust them every 3-4 rides and they scream like a banshee. During this rain, I had to press them down to the metal. The pads are fine on mine, it is the constant adjusting that kills me.
Road design brakes are much more efficient and practically stop on a dime through telepathy.

Road brakes have short arms that don’t flex. They also suck if you want fenders, which cantis do well. If you want great stopping power and good clearance, get discs.

[TwoWheelsDC]

@mstone 66551 wrote:

Road brakes have short arms that don’t flex. They also suck if you want fenders, which cantis do well. If you want great stopping power and good clearance, get discs.

I split the difference and converted from cantis to v-brakes…Much better feel and performance, particularly in the wet…I suspect the perceived increase in performance is partially due to the better feel, but it increases my confidence either way, so I’m happy.

[vvill]

Kool-Stop Salmon pads

I installed a set on my road bike a few weeks ago, to replace the stock set after about 8000 miles (it was a little overdue.)

[DismalScientist]

@Jason B 66548 wrote:

I can’t believe how bad cantilever brakes are comparatively. I need to adjust them every 3-4 rides and they scream like a banshee.

By any chance are you tall with a long head tube? Jan at Bikekinetic showed me a trick where you install a cable housing end guide on the drilled out holes in your fork rather than at the top of the head tube. Origin 8 makes this product for about $10. With the cable end at the top of the headtube, the cable oscillates with the relative motion of the front wheel and frame, which adversely effects braking power. Lowering the cable housing end to the fork solves this.

[Greenbelt]

@DismalScientist 66572 wrote:

By any chance are you tall with a long head tube? Jan at Bikekinetic showed me a trick where you install a cable housing end guide on the drilled out holes in your fork rather than at the top of the head tube. Origin 8 makes this product for about $10. With the cable end at the top of the headtube, the cable oscillates with the relative motion of the front wheel and frame, which adversely effects braking power. Lowering the cable housing end to the fork solves this.

I’ve seen fixes like this on some high end cross bikes. But the move toward disk brakes is probably going to resolve the problem for good…

[hozn]

@TwoWheelsDC 66560 wrote:

I split the difference and converted from cantis to v-brakes…Much better feel and performance, particularly in the wet…I suspect the perceived increase in performance is partially due to the better feel, but it increases my confidence either way, so I’m happy.

Yeah, before I broke my cross frame and got the disc one by warranty, I had canti brakes. They were horrid. I replaced then with TRP mini V brakes, which was a HUGE improvement. Stopping power was much improved, squeal was gone, constant adjustments a thing of the past.

If course, ultimately I agree that discs are even better — I also was loving the consistent and powerful stopping on Friday commute; however discs do/can make fender setup more challenging. But I am sold on discs for road application. I am going as far as building up a disc-brake road bike over the winter. Soon I will have zero bikes with rim brakes.

[mstone]

If you have trouble clearing disk brakes you can try a spacer, like http://www.bikebagshop.com/jandd-disc-brake-adapter-kit-for-rear-racks-p-1171.html

[hozn]

@mstone 66577 wrote:

If you have trouble clearing disk brakes you can try a spacer, like http://www.bikebagshop.com/jandd-disc-brake-adapter-kit-for-rear-racks-p-1171.html

Yes, I use the jandd spacers but still had to bend my rear fender stays and add additional spacer and bend the front stays to clear the calipers. Once the work was done it hasn’t been a problem. Having the disc inside the rear triangle would help and I also see some fenders with only a single stay that may simplify things in front.

[Jason B]

Yea, discs would be the best move, but my cross train already left the building, so I have to make do with what I got.
Did you have any problem with the mini-v’s and fenders?

[Author]

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