Caliper brake advice/pad recommendations

flimflam_machine

I've just inherited an old tourer with 27" wheels and old-fashioned centre-pull calipers. After several years of commuting on a slicked-up mountain bike with V-brakes the brakes are frighteningly "approximate". So to cut to the chase (in the order that I'll improve things):

1. What caliper brake pads would you recommed (the rims are alloy)

2. Is there any reason that I couldn't use V-brake pads on road calipers? The fittings seem identical and I have some kicking around that I'm tempted to try.

3. If I do end up buying new calipers, can anyone recommend a model that has a long drop and are wide enough to fit around mudguards?

4. Are crosstop levers any good? Are they compatible with centre-pull breaks where the cable outer ends at a cable hanger at the headset/seatclamp, rather than more modern calipers where the cable outer fits into the top of the caliper itself?

Answers to any/all of the above much appreciated.

antikythera

I can strongly recommend the Salmon Koolstops pads. They should provide a noticeable improvement with little outlay.

dhope

+1 on Koolstops

cjcp

Another vote for Koolstops, although I'm using Clark's atm - a bit cheaper - and been happy with them.

I'm not very good with switching kit and old frames, but would the forks be compatible with caliber brakes? Do they have braze-ons and the space for the brake bolt at the top of the forks?

I think crosstop levers are compatible. Think I've seen them on Speshes.

Edit: I think v-brake pads are longer than caliper pads, so won't fit in the brake shoe.

bigmat

cjcp wrote:

Another vote for Koolstops, although I'm using Clark's atm - a bit cheaper - and been happy with them.

I'm not very good with switching kit and old frames, but would the forks be compatible with caliber brakes? Do they have braze-ons and the space for the brake bolt at the top of the forks?

I think crosstop levers are compatible. Think I've seen them on Speshes.

Edit: I think v-brake pads are longer than caliper pads, so won't fit in the brake shoe.

The cheaper V-brake pads that have their own fixture (rather than sliding into a shoe) should be OK. I picked up some second hand Centaur calipers and the guy was running them with mountain bike pads as he found the increased size gave him improved stopping power.

flimflam_machine

Thanks for the recommendations folks, in combination with a bit of googling, you've answered most of my questions. The V-brake pads that I have are KoolStops so I'll give those a go. Sheldon seems to think that V-brake pads with calipers are fine, see the picture here

BigMat wrote:

The cheaper V-brake pads that have their own fixture (rather than sliding into a shoe) should be OK.

Any reason why the ones with separate pad-holders and inserts wouldn't work?

cjcp wrote:

I'm not very good with switching kit and old frames, but would the forks be compatible with caliber brakes? Do they have braze-ons and the space for the brake bolt at the top of the forks?

Centre-pull calipers are basically a U-brake mounted on a horseshoe shaped brace that is mounted like other calipers i.e., with a single bolt through the fork crown. So I could change to modern dual-pivot calipers but I'm reluctant due to cost, aesthetics and potential problems with clearance, especially around a mudguard.

flimflam_machine wrote:

4. Are crosstop levers any good? Are they compatible with centre-pull breaks where the cable outer ends at a cable hanger at the headset/seatclamp, rather than more modern calipers where the cable outer fits into the top of the caliper itself?

A bit of googling reveals that they are compatible, but I'd probably need to switch to aero levers first to get the appropriate under-bar-tape cable routing necessary.

bigmat

flimflam_machine wrote:

Any reason why the ones with separate pad-holders and inserts wouldn't work?

The only issue would be that the pad-holders that came with the brakes would be too small for V-brake pads, but I can't see why you couldn't retro-fit some V-brake pad holders.