Brake Pads

dogllabtoof

I bought a second hand bike in October and all is going well except my braking is terrible. I am looking to buy some new brake pads to try and improve this. Can anyone recomend any good quality brake pads, that are reasonably priced?

Thanks in advance.

Wooliferkins

Kool Stop. They do pads for most braking systems and they are excellent (IMHO)

Wooliferkins

Primary thought came second what brakes have you got?

feel

have you tried cleaning the rims? see what dirt comes off when you rub a kitchen towel on them. If you have been riding through the winter my bet is that they will be coated with slippy muck. Clean them with a degreaser and wire wool and clean the pads. It may well be that you still want to upgrade the brake blocks, but cleaning the rims can make a big difference. It is also worth checking the action of the calipers/levers they might need a bit of lubrication.

edit : i'm assuming you are not talking discs.

trio25

Koolstop!!! they are the best upgrade I made to my bike.

But yes check the rims are clean, mine are flithy after every ride at the moment.

jpembroke

Whilst I concur with the Koolstopistas above (I have them on 3 bikes and they are awesome) I would look at the brakes first. Depending on the age of the bike, they may be single pivot brakes, which are useless and need to be ditched. I would also replace the cables (inners and outers) as that can have a significant impact on braking power.

Then get some koolstops!

dogllabtoof

Ihave tektro brake calipers and pads at the moment.

I have cleaned the rims and they were pretty damm dirty to be honest so will try them tomorrow.

Are there specific pads for road bikes, or are they all the same?

feel

They come in different sizes but not different types specifically for different styles of bike AFAIK. If i was you i would ask in your local bike shop as to what they recommend.

JWSurrey

I run Swissstops, which are frighteningly expensive, but very good.
I previously ran Tektro blocks on the winter trainer.

I recently found fibrax.com - A British firm with a long history of friction linings - cheap too from their direct mail-order site.
No idea what they're like though.

rdaviesb

I've just put new fibrax blocks onto Tektro callpers and stopping power is much improved.

redjedi

How long do brake pads generally last for?

I've just changed my front pads after approx 200 miles, which didn't sound like a very long time.

JWSurrey

redjedi wrote:

How long do brake pads generally last for?

I've just changed my front pads after approx 200 miles, which didn't sound like a very long time.

Depends on the softness of the compound, and the weather - If it's raining, I find they wear out like the clappers, as do my rims - It seems to be that, especially for the back wheel where I use the brake more and where more grit seems to get thrown on to the rim - Grit gets on the rims, and in to the blocks, then grinds the block and the rim.

Modern rims are machined to increase the contact area - these seem to wear the blocks faster.

Depends on your riding too - If it's hilly and a winding descent etc.

My Swissstops have lasted about 500 miles. Just about to change to a second pair soon. These are much softer than my old Tektro blocks that were not very good - however these were virtually un-marked after 1500 miles.
Campag. standard blocks (2007) appear to be looking like 1500+ miles too.

Swissstops are awesome.

My old racer had the same pair of Weinmann blocks on it, after 5 years of use on smooth rims! (stopping was greatly enhanced by the use of my feet).

Aztecs on the MTB - Got about 700 miles out of them - 50:50 on/off road.

stevec205gti

My campag centaur pads have lasted over 2000 miles and still have some life left in them - but it really does depend on where you ride. I live near Cambridge so don't need to brake for any hills, but i'd say well over a third of the pad wear came from about 150 miles worth of riding in the peak district.