Brake pads

andyh01

Hey,

I have a 4 month old road bike trek 2.1 105 compact I commute 10 miles a day round trip so covered aprox 200 miles and I've already having to replace the front brake pads I swapoped them over from the rear at moment as mainly use front brakes.
Just wondering is this normal>? Seems expensive if having to replace pads every month will speak to shop I brought it from see if they'll replace.

What is a long lasting brake pad?

Thanks
Andy

alfablue

Unfortunately, to some extent at least, longer lasting means harder, means less "brakey". In the winter you probably need softer pads anyway. I use Koolstop which are better than most standard pads. I do about the same mileage as you and I think I will get 3 - 6 months depending on season (I think the paste that is formed with grit on wet rides wears both blocks and rims faster). I think you need to use both brakes though, that will reduce load on the front (though the front will always wear quicker because your weight will always put more load on the front under braking).

andyh01

3-6 months slightly vetter than one!
I thought that was the point to get the weight transfer :oops: guess I use the back more too
Is there any difference between the red and black koolstop or just colour?
Also I am righht in thinking they're universal fittings as I have this at moment and looking to just replace the pads;
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=61805

roger_merriman

AndyH01 wrote:

3-6 months slightly vetter than one!
I thought that was the point to get the weight transfer :oops: guess I use the back more too
Is there any difference between the red and black koolstop or just colour?
Also I am righht in thinking they're universal fittings as I have this at moment and looking to just replace the pads;
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=61805

yup that should work, on the whole I found the cheap pads that come with bikes tend to, not last very long and not stop terribly well.

oddly better quality ones seem to manage to last longer and stop quicker.

alfablue

The reds (called Salmon) are for wet / winter, black, "normal", they also do red/black ones.

passout

I got some Kool Stop pads from Spa Cycles recently - they came with spare inserts. They work well - as above.

nigglenoo

I have had very bad experiences with Tektro pads, they destroy rims in short order when used in wet/dirty conditions, Shimano pads are only slightly better, but Koolstop Salmon or Dual Comound are very much better in this respect, so the fact they only last an average length of time is worth it IMO, as by far the biggest expense is going to be replacing rims or wheels. Others have told me SwissStop green pads are the very best, but I have not tried them yet. They are normally sold in sets of four, so not as expensive as they first appear when searching on line.

andyh01

Genius,

I've spoke to LL where I got the bike from explained the situation and they've said that "they shouldn't wear down as quick as this pop the bike down and we'll swap them" as it;'s a bit of trek they're going to post a set out to me - if these arrive that be amazing service!!

Might order a set of the koolstop salmon soft compond those andsave the replacements for the dryer weather!

jejv

roger merriman wrote:

oddly better quality ones seem to manage to last longer and stop quicker.

Yup, that's our experience with Koolstop Salmon or Salmon/Black vs. Tektro/Shimano/Clarks.

The reason I switched all our bikes to Koolstop pads wasn't braking performance - that was OK already, with the Clarks pads, but because of swarf pickup by the pads & the rim wear that causes.

I've never found lumps of rim swarf in the Koolstop pads, like I have with Clarks, Shimano, Tektro. Some people do, but it stopped for us.

As others have said Swisstop green are supposed to be good too, both for braking and swarf pickup.
Never figured out whether Koolstop Salmon or Salmon/Black was better.

There probably are other good pads out there that don't collect swarf, brake well in the wet, and wear well, but Koolstop Salmon & Swisstop green have plenty of good reports.

Bordersroadie

Another vote for swissstop greens, replacing Tektro pads which used to get filled with small pieces of aluminium, make a grinding noise on wet and dirty rides and didn't actually stop the bike very well. The greens are the opposite in all of these respects. Money well spent.

prawny

Swissstop greens all the way, better braking and longer lasting.