Swissstop Green + blocks

markiegrim
markiegrim Posts: 136
edited April 2014 in Road beginners
I know lots of people on this forum recommend these pads as replacement for stock cheapos in cartridge blocks, but my Trek 1.5 did not come with cartridges in the calipers so going to have to replace with whole blocks

Any advice for or against this? Assume they will sit nice and tight in the callipers? Better idea than replacement brake callipers (i.e upgrades)?

Thanks

Example:
http://www.merlincycles.com/swissstop-f ... 64938.html

Comments

  • wongataa
    wongataa Posts: 1,001
    I recently bought these as my brakes did not have cartridges (Tiagra callipers). They work well for me and better than the stock pads I replaced.
  • flasher
    flasher Posts: 1,734
    They will work fine, but don't forget you need 2 pairs, it can get pricey.
  • markhewitt1978
    markhewitt1978 Posts: 7,614
    You sure they don't have cartridges? In any case a cartridge + holder is pretty much identical to a full block so they will fit no problem.

    You'll have to adjust your brake distance more than likely - I do that on about every ride anyway. And getting the alignment right can be tricky with only one pair of hands.
  • southdownswolf
    southdownswolf Posts: 1,525
    When I upgraded my Sora pads, I bought some cheap Aztec cartridge/pads from Halfords, then replaced the pads with Swissstop Green. This cost me the same as buying the Swissstop with cartridges, plus the bonus of having spare pads in an emergency.
  • DeVlaeminck
    DeVlaeminck Posts: 8,763
    Swisstop Blue are the new daddies
    [Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]
  • Miles253
    Miles253 Posts: 535
    I have campy brakes, shall I just replace the whole cartridge or just buy the inserts? I can't seem to find any of the high performance campy blocks. (Sorry for hijack:p)
    Canyon Roadlite AL-Shamal Wheels-Centaur/Veloce Group
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  • pinarellokid
    pinarellokid Posts: 1,208
    I wouldn't bother with Swiss stop green,,, they tore my rims up, upon cleaning I kept finding metal filings stuck in them, swapped back to normal Campag pads and the metal filings stopped,, I won't be using them again
    Specialized S Works SL2 . Campagnolo Record 11spd. rolling on Campag Zonda wheels

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  • crankycrank
    crankycrank Posts: 1,830
    Miles253 wrote:
    I have campy brakes, shall I just replace the whole cartridge or just buy the inserts? I can't seem to find any of the high performance campy blocks. (Sorry for hijack:p)
    Just get the inserts. No need for new cartridges. Koolstop Salmons are another good option and are easy on rims. http://www.koolstop.com/english/campi2000.html or http://www.koolstop.com/english/campi2011.html
  • Miles253
    Miles253 Posts: 535
    Great thanks, are Kool stop as good as Swissstop? Theyre certainly cheaper :)
    Canyon Roadlite AL-Shamal Wheels-Centaur/Veloce Group
    Canyon Ult CF SL- Spin Koppenberg-Ultegra group
  • crankycrank
    crankycrank Posts: 1,830
    Miles253 wrote:
    Great thanks, are Kool stop as good as Swissstop? Theyre certainly cheaper :)
    In my experience Swisstop are slightly better in wet and dry, but only slightly. Others may have different experiences but it may just have to do with the type of alu used in the rim and your local road sh*te. Both work great. Take note that the Swisstops come in packages of 4 and Koolstop are 2 but KS's still usually work out a little less expensive when buying 4 pads.
  • Miles253
    Miles253 Posts: 535
    Well noted, thanks.
    Canyon Roadlite AL-Shamal Wheels-Centaur/Veloce Group
    Canyon Ult CF SL- Spin Koppenberg-Ultegra group
  • kajjal
    kajjal Posts: 3,380
    In my experience weighing about 100KG, swisstop greens are better in the wet and actually stop the bike where as 105's are very poor. In the dry the 105's were better for me but the swisstops are OK.
  • Bozman
    Bozman Posts: 2,518
    Miles253 wrote:
    Great thanks, are Kool stop as good as Swissstop? Theyre certainly cheaper :)


    I found Kool Stop salmon the worst pads I've ever used, I bought some after folk recommending them on here, but after my first trip out in the wet using them I swapped them out for an old set of BBBs and ordered the usual Swissstop.
  • MrJoe23
    MrJoe23 Posts: 21
    Bozman wrote:
    I found Kool Stop salmon the worst pads I've ever used, I bought some after folk recommending them on here, but after my first trip out in the wet using them I swapped them out for an old set of BBBs and ordered the usual Swissstop.

    I had the same experience, used Swissstop Green, when they needed replacing tried Kool Stop Salmons, in the wet they simply didn't slow me down, let alone stop me, now using Swissstop Blue pads which are the new go to pads
  • markiegrim
    markiegrim Posts: 136
    I wouldn't bother with Swiss stop green,,, they tore my rims up, upon cleaning I kept finding metal filings stuck in them, swapped back to normal Campag pads and the metal filings stopped,, I won't be using them again

    But this is one of the reasons I am wanting to replace the cheapo pads that came on my bike...they seem to pick up bits of Al filings, dirt, flint etc and cause scraping to the rims (can't afford new rims/wheels any time soon!)

    i.e. I'm hoping the Greens are an improvement on that front..in fact thats more of a concern to me than any improvement in braking performance per se..so hoping your experience with greens/rims is not the norm
  • mr_evil
    mr_evil Posts: 234
    markiegrim wrote:
    But this is one of the reasons I am wanting to replace the cheapo pads that came on my bike...they seem to pick up bits of Al filings, dirt, flint etc and cause scraping to the rims (can't afford new rims/wheels any time soon!)

    i.e. I'm hoping the Greens are an improvement on that front..in fact thats more of a concern to me than any improvement in braking performance per se..so hoping your experience with greens/rims is not the norm
    I have some Swissstop greens on my bike, and just took them off for thorough cleaning after the winter. They had accumulated a total of one fragment of metal between all four of them, which is far better than any other pad I've tried, including the popular Koolstop salmons. I do scrub the rims clean every week, which reduces wear quite a lot.
  • markiegrim
    markiegrim Posts: 136
    Tx mr evil. Reassuring