Brake blocks for Campag Veloce

Shadowduck

Surprisingly a search turns up nothing on this, so a quick question.

After 1000 miles or so, the original blocks in my Veloce brakes are getting to the point where I want to have some spare ones ready. I'm neither stunned by nor unhappy with the Campag blocks but I was wondering if anyone could recommend anything better? Most of the aftermarket stuff seems to be aimed at the Shimano end of things - would they fit a Campag caliper or are they dramatically different?

Thanks in advance!

Monty Dog

Unfortunately Campagnolo take a different shape of pad insert and the mounting bolts are a different size, so you can't fit Shimano pad holders to Campagnolo brakes. I've always found Campag brake pads to be fairly hard-wearing but there are after-market ones from the likes of Aztec too.

Shadowduck

Monty Dog wrote:

Unfortunately Campagnolo take a different shape of pad insert and the mounting bolts are a different size, so you can't fit Shimano pad holders to Campagnolo brakes.

I got that impression, thanks for the confirmation. There are a load of threads about aftermarket Shimano pads but I couldn't find a single one for Campag!

Monty Dog wrote:

II've always found Campag brake pads to be fairly hard-wearing but there are after-market ones from the likes of Aztec too.

I'm happy enough with the longevity of the Campag pads, they're not ready for changing yet and I could easily get another 500 miles or more I expect. I just like to plan ahead.

I'm reasonably happy with the performance too, but I'm not overawed and I just wondered if there was anything better out there before I buy!

Rob Sallnow

If you want to try something else BBB make Campag comptible pads....be sure to order the right ones as they make both of the Campag cartridge designs.

Shadowduck

Are the BBB ones worth a go? I'm intrigued as to why there are so many alternatives available for Shimano but there's so little for Campag... I've had experience of 105 brakes and they're every bit as good as Veloce, so it's not just that there's a problem with Shimano!

If there's nobody strongly recommending anything else, I'll probably just stick with standard.

James_London

SwissStop make excellent pads in Campag fit but if you're happy with the performance and longevity of Campag pads the premium may not be worth paying. I find the GHP (green ones) collect fewer alloy shards from the rim reducing wear and they perform better than stock Campag in the wet.

Shadowduck

James_London wrote:

SwissStop make excellent pads in Campag fit

So they do! Not cheap, but since they have replaceable inserts the cost wouldn't be much different after the initial set. I'll give those some thought.

Thanks!

James_London

Depending on your rims, an extra tenner may be a modest price to pay for reduced wear to the brake tracks.

If you don't need the shoes you can pick up pad only for a bit less than that.

aarw

i've been impressed with the koolstop dual compound pads that i've been using in my '07 Centaur brakes

crc usually have them in stock at a good price

master_grunthos

I have found the Veloce pads very hard wearing but they have poor braking performance with my wheels which are Vuelta Zerolites. So much so that i changed the front ones almost straight away as i was finding it alarming.

I'm surprised to read that Shimano pads don't fit as I have used Ultegra ones that I already had lying around without any trouble and i'm on to the second set now. They wear faster but stop better and i prefer the wear to be from the pad than the rim!

Shadowduck

I wouldn't say the braking performance of the Veloce pads was alarming on my wheels (Ventos), but a bit of extra bite wouldn't be too much for sure.

I've stuck a set of SwissStops on order (I was ordering some stuff from Wiggle anyway, hence SwissStop over Koolstop). Hopefully they'll be worth the money!

acorn_user

I thought Veloce pads were blocks, not the cartridge holder kind. You cannot fit Shimano type inserts into Campagnolo cartridge holders, but I'd have thought that you could fit either Shimano type holders or simple brake blocks (the kind without the cartridges). That said, Kool-Stop and Swissstop products are supposed to be very good.

Shadowduck

acorn_user wrote:

I thought Veloce pads were blocks, not the cartridge holder kind.

You thought right. Since the SwissStops are the cartridge type, once you've got them the cost of the cartridges is comparable to the cost of Campag blocks. If the performance is better, I think it should be worth the initial investment in the holders.

All the pads/blocks/holders I've seen for sale seem to be identified as either Shimano or Campag type, which suggests they're incompatible but I haven't tried it to be sure.

Rob Sallnow

acorn_user wrote:

I thought Veloce pads were blocks, not the cartridge holder kind. .

Depends which year we are talking. When Veloce went Skeleton they lost the cartridge pads they'd had for several years.

Tom Butcher

I've got some pre-skeleton Veloce (not sure of the year but probably 4 years old or so) and they came with blocks rather than cartridge holders. I've since replaced them with some other make I bought off a LBS and they are inferior to the original Campag blocks which I found to be pretty good.

Shadowduck

The current ones are definitely supplied with blocks, can't really comment on older incarnations.

Rob Sallnow

Tom Butcher wrote:

I've got some pre-skeleton Veloce (not sure of the year but probably 4 years old or so) and they came with blocks rather than cartridge holders.

Veloce got cartridge holders in 2001. They are black anodized.

Tom Butcher

They may have done but mine definitely came with blocks not cartridge holders.

Monty Dog

To confirm, Shimano holders / blocks do not fit Campagnolo - Campagnolo use a larger diameter mounting boss - I have Campanolo, Mavic, Shimano and Tektro brakes on various bikes. Campagnolo pads also don't fit Shimano holders and vice-versa - I've tried all combinations!

Shadowduck

Shadowduck wrote:

I've stuck a set of SwissStops on order (I was ordering some stuff from Wiggle anyway, hence SwissStop over Koolstop). Hopefully they'll be worth the money!

...aaaaaaaaand, that would be no. Poxy things didn't fit, the bolts are too big for the slots! To be fair to SwissStop, the packaging lists the groupsets they're designed for and Veloce isn't mentioned - just wish Wiggle had that inofrmation on the website!

*sigh* Something else to send back, then. :roll:

victor ludorum

Shadowduck wrote:

...aaaaaaaaand, that would be no. Poxy things didn't fit, the bolts are too big for the slots! To be fair to SwissStop, the packaging lists the groupsets they're designed for and Veloce isn't mentioned - just wish Wiggle had that inofrmation on the website!

*sigh* Something else to send back, then. :roll:

Are you sure they don't fit? Because I thought I had a similar problem with a third party brake cartridge (tbh, it could have been either SwissStop or KoolStop, I can't remember) and some Veloce brakes.

At first, it seemed like there was no way that sucker was going to fit, but with a bit of patience, a gentle scrub around the cartridge holder with an old toothbrush, some gentle persuasion (brute force) and a lot of swearing, I eventually got it in.

Shimano brakesets I've come across (admittedly not road brakes) use a small pin to keep the brake-shoe in place whereas, the lower end of the Campagnolo road brake market seems to use good, old-fashioned wedging.

Another important thing (and please don't feel patronised, God knows I do it often enough myself...) is to remember that the brake-shoe goes in a particular end first. If you're trying to push it in upside down, that's going to make hard work even harder.

I hope that helps.

Shadowduck

Thanks for trying, but it's not a problem with fitting a cartridge into a holder - the standard '08 Veloce blocks don't have replaceable cartridges so I had to buy the whole thing, cartridge AND holder. The problem is that the mounting bolts for the SwissStop cartridge holder are way too big for the vertical slots in the Veloce caliper, definitely no chance of them going in without some serious butchery!

venster

I thought I'd ressurect this thread....

I've got Veloce brake blocks and want to upgrade them to cartridge and pad type. The only ones I've found are the Swisstop ones but at £26 a pair it's an expensive upgrade when you need 2 pairs.

Did you find any alternatives ?

Shadowduck

Sorry to say I haven't as yet. The SwissStops you link to are the ones I ordered - the initial price is fairly heavy, but from there on you'd only have to buy the cartridges which are about the same price as Campag blocks. I'm only really looking to upgrade the front so I figured the price was worth it. All moot of course since they didn't fit my '08 Veloce calipers!

There are a few other suggestions further up in this thread (Aztec, BBB, Koolstop), but I didn't really want to systematically order every pad on the market in the hope one would fit. My current plan is to ask in the LBS next time I'm there (I'm not a frequent visitor), unless someone on here gives a definite recommendation.

venster

I've just ordered these - don't know if it's a price error but it seems a bargain. I've gone for 2 sets......here

Shadowduck

Let me know how they work out - they look just the job!

ColinJ

Shadowduck wrote:

There are a few other suggestions further up in this thread (Aztec, BBB, Koolstop), but I didn't really want to systematically order every pad on the market in the hope one would fit. My current plan is to ask in the LBS next time I'm there (I'm not a frequent visitor), unless someone on here gives a definite recommendation.

I found a company who make a wide range of compatible replacement brake blocks, cartridges and disk brake pads at very good prices, especially if you order mult-packs. I get blocks for my old Campagnolo Athena brakes and pads for my MTB's Hope C2 disk brakes from them.

The Athena blocks were easy to fit and have been long-lasting. I found that they needed a couple of rides to 'bed-in'. The only other (minor) criticism of them is that they fade very slightly on long descents if I stay on the brakes too long. I don't consider that a major weakness because it is bad practice to do that anyway (it overheat rims and therefore tubes/tyres).

The company is called Original Brake Engineering and they sell through a website named discobrakes.com. You can use Google to find them or if you don't mind me getting a small 'finders-fee', you can just click on the link in my signature line below .

Shadowduck

That looks interesting too... Which of the various compounds would you fancy for bog standard ally rims? I'm especially looking for better wet weather performance* and I've never got my head round the difference from one colour to the next! :oops:

Naturally I'll be using your link if I order. 8)

*Isn't everyone?

ColinJ

Shadowduck wrote:

That looks interesting too... Which of the various compounds would you fancy for bog standard ally rims? I'm especially looking for better wet weather performance* and I've never got my head round the difference from one colour to the next! :oops:

Naturally I'll be using your link if I order. 8)

*Isn't everyone?

When I ordered, I only had a choice of a black compound!

Actually, I can see a choice of compounds for general 'Campagnolo Compatible Replacements'. One type is for carbon rims and another for ceramic, but there seem to be 4 colours for normal rims. Perhaps it's just a fashion thing - choose whichever you prefer the look of?

It might be a good idea to email the company with your specific requirements to make sure you get exactly what you want. I know that that the first set of Campag blocks I bought elsewhere didn't fit my brakes so they definitely have different shapes and sizes according to year/model.

Address: support27@discobrakes.com

As for the wet-weather braking question... I try to keep my rims clean and that helps. The other thing is an old trick - make sure you apply your brakes gently from time to time in the wet to skim the water off the rims. That helps the brakes bite when you need them in anger. I can lock my wheels in the wet no problem and I don't need better brakes than that. Now if someone can come up with tyres that don't skid in the wet, that would be really handy!

Shadowduck

Looking at it again, the ones that specifically say they're Veloce compatible are only available in black. That saves making a decision!

I've ordered a set to try out, it'd be rude not to at that price.* I'd still be interested to hear the verdict on the Kool Stops as well though. Looks like this thread may have paid off in the end!

*I think I used your link but ended up with a rake of tabs open so may have lost track!

ColinJ

I know that is obvious, and I can't imagine that you'd do it, but... just make sure that you put the brake cartridges back in the right way round! I spoke to someone who'd got a bit distracted and accidentally swapped left for right and vice versa. Result - first time down a hill, the brake blocks got ejected from the bike :shock: :shock: !