Brake Blocks

Tue, 15 Feb 2005 22:36:38 -0000,
<[email hidden]>, "Neil Smith"

Quoted message said:

Dear All,
I have cantilever brakes. Fine though they are modern brake blocks are
welded around an metal post, so you often find out you have worn blocks when
they have damaged the rim. It is impossible to get standard brake pads that
are held in place by clasps. What can I do apart from replacing the brakes?
Neil

Change them sooner, IOW, before the metal starts hitting the rim. Most
brake blocks have a "wear line" molded into them. If you hear the
metal scraping sound, get new pads immediately.
--
zk

Neil Smith said:

I have cantilever brakes. Fine though they are modern brake blocks
are welded around an metal post, so you often find out you have
worn blocks when they have damaged the rim. It is impossible to
get standard brake pads that are held in place by clasps. What can
I do apart from replacing the brakes?

You can keep an eye on your pads' condition, that's what. Almost all
decent quality brake pads have some kind of wear-indicating feature,
such as grooves molded into the pad's surface. When these are worn
away, it's time for new pads.

"Standard" brake pads have not had crimped-on holders for 20 years or
more. Pads molded around an aluminum internal bar are structurally and
thermally superior, as well as more compact where clearance is an
issue.

There are only two kinds of brake pads for cantilever brakes: those
with threaded posts, and those with unthreaded posts. There are many
options for replaceable-element pads with threaded posts. Kool-Stop
makes a smooth post pad called "Quik Klaw" that can be replaced without
having to readjust the brake:

http://koolstop.com/brakes/index.html#Anchor-The-39677

It's worth noting that a long-wearing pad compound like Kool-Stop's
"salmon" formula will keep pad changes pleasantly infrequent unless you
routinely ride in wet, gritty conditions.

Chalo Colina

All sound advice which I have been applying for years but you forget to
check brakes, inevitably and -? I am mystified as to why the make brake pads
like that. Are there V-brakes, other than De0re, which have intelligently
designed brake pads?
"Chalo" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Neil Smith said:

I have cantilever brakes. Fine though they are modern brake blocks
are welded around an metal post, so you often find out you have
worn blocks when they have damaged the rim. It is impossible to
get standard brake pads that are held in place by clasps. What can
I do apart from replacing the brakes?

You can keep an eye on your pads' condition, that's what. Almost all
decent quality brake pads have some kind of wear-indicating feature,
such as grooves molded into the pad's surface. When these are worn
away, it's time for new pads.

"Standard" brake pads have not had crimped-on holders for 20 years or
more. Pads molded around an aluminum internal bar are structurally and
thermally superior, as well as more compact where clearance is an
issue.

There are only two kinds of brake pads for cantilever brakes: those
with threaded posts, and those with unthreaded posts. There are many
options for replaceable-element pads with threaded posts. Kool-Stop
makes a smooth post pad called "Quik Klaw" that can be replaced without
having to readjust the brake:

http://koolstop.com/brakes/index.html#Anchor-The-39677

It's worth noting that a long-wearing pad compound like Kool-Stop's
"salmon" formula will keep pad changes pleasantly infrequent unless you
routinely ride in wet, gritty conditions.

Chalo Colina

Neil Smith said:

Are there V-brakes, other than De0re, which have intelligently
designed brake pads?

I now remember that the Scott Mathauser company is making brakes and
pads again after a long period of inactivity.

Scott Mathauser pads used to be the best available, and I'm sure some
will insist they are still so. They use a compound that is similar if
not identical to the more recently introduced Kool-Stop "salmon"
formula, and their pads all provide a great depth of usable thickness.
The cheaper ones all use a crimped-on holder, which you will no doubt
appreciate.

Here's a link from a dead company, describing these once-dead but
lately revived pads:

http://www.bikepro.com/products/brakes/brakepads/scott_math_pad.html

Your LBS may be able to get them for you. If not, one of the several
excellent shop owners who post to rec.bicycles.tech would probably be
able to fix you up.

Chalo Colina

Chalo Colina said:

Quoted message said:

Are there V-brakes, other than De0re, which have intelligently
designed brake pads?

Quoted message said:

I now remember that the Scott Mathauser company is making brakes and
pads again after a long period of inactivity.

Quoted message said:

Scott Mathauser pads used to be the best available, and I'm sure
some will insist they are still so. They use a compound that is
similar if not identical to the more recently introduced Kool-Stop
"salmon" formula, and their pads all provide a great depth of usable
thickness. The cheaper ones all use a crimped-on holder, which you
will no doubt appreciate.

Quoted message said:

Here's a link from a dead company, describing these once-dead but
lately revived pads:

http://www.bikepro.com/products/brakes/brakepads/scott_math_pad.html

Quoted message said:

Your LBS may be able to get them for you. If not, one of the
several excellent shop owners who post to rec.bicycles.tech would
probably be able to fix you up.

It was my experience with Scott/M brake pads that they were miserable
when run to high temperature because the melted and caused a large
change in braking force as their material changed in firmness. I have
samples of ones with melt tracks and have a witness to the time I
skidded the front wheel in a descent as they got grabby while banked
into a turn. It was the only recoverable front wheel skid I
experienced on clean dry pavement. I attribute this to being leaned
over just enough so that the combination of lean angle and braking
broke out the front tire and that releasing the brake occurred at less
than the washout lean angle. It was not a comfortable experience and
I never used them again. My high speed descending friend was amazed
as I that I did not crash.

It was from an endorsement like yours that I tried them. Mine look
exactly like the "ECONOMY BRAKE PADS" on the web page above. In
contrast, I never had problems with Kool Stop Continental pads of
which I have worn many to the metal since.

Jobst Brandt
[email hidden]

Quoted message said:

Chalo Colina said:

Scott Mathauser pads used to be the best available, and I'm sure
some will insist they are still so.

It was my experience with Scott/M brake pads that they were miserable
when run to high temperature because the melted and caused a large
change in braking force as their material changed in firmness.

<snip>

Quoted message said:

It was from an endorsement like yours that I tried them. Mine look
exactly like the "ECONOMY BRAKE PADS" on the web page above.

I never had a lick of trouble from mine back when I used them, but at
that time I lived in Austin, Texas (and therefore had no convenient
mountains to zoom down). I did plenty of hard braking, but I had no
occasion to do any braking that was both hard and prolonged.

In my experience, Scott Matthausers had uniquely strong and consistent
friction qualities, and they lasted an unusually long time before
wearing out.

Quoted message said:

In
contrast, I never had problems with Kool Stop Continental pads of
which I have worn many to the metal since.

Kool Stop pads are excellent, and I use them on all my bikes now. The
OP, however, has a problem with pads like Continentals that are molded
around metal cores.

Chalo Colina

Chalo said:

Kool Stop pads are excellent, and I use them on all my bikes now. The
OP, however, has a problem with pads like Continentals that are molded
around metal cores.

Kool Stop V-brake pads are nice:

http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/brakeshoes.html#vrefill

And the Dura brake shoes are nice for road bikes. They come with two
sets of brake pads:

http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/brakeshoes.html#duraholder

--
Warren Block * Rapid City, South Dakota * USA