Recommended KoolStops ?

Magnusfarce said:

I want to upgrade the brake pads / holders on my new bike, which uses
Shimano dual pivot calipers. My goal is lots of stopping power.

With dual pivot brakes, you should get more stopping power than you'll ever
need with any pads, unless they're really horrible. The main advantage of
the Salmon pads is that they don't pick up grit that will gouge your rims.

Quoted message said:

- The Continentals are cheap and clunky looking, but apparently work
well.

The Continentals are my favorite. I've also tried the Thinlines and Eagle 2.

Quoted message said:

The salmon or dual material looks like the best overall choice for
material.

Why would you want "dual material?"

Art Harris

Magnusfarce said:

Since brakes don't wear down real fast, I don't see a significant

advantage

Quoted message said:

to going the "holders" route.

Actually, they're quite handy. On V-brakes, the pad is somewhat thinner
than the cantilever or Continental pads. This leads to a shortened
replacement interval, particularly in off-road use where grit and mud
tends to kill brake pads. The holders allow you to replace the braking
material without disturbing the adjustment.

Jeff

Magnusfarce said:

Quoted message said:

The salmon or dual material looks like the best overall choice for
material.

Art Harris asked

Quoted message said:

Why would you want "dual material?"

I believe the dual-compound models are less prone to squealing than the
all salmon versions. Some brake systems have a big problem with this
when used with high-friction brake shoes.

Sheldon "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek" Brown
+-----------------------------------------------------------+
| In my opinion two characteristics disqualify skating |
| as vehicular travel. |
| The first is the necessary side-to-side swerving motion. |
| The second is the very poor braking deceleration. |
| I think that skating should not be allowed on either |
| pedestrian or vehicular facilities. -- John Forester |
+-----------------------------------------------------------+
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

Quoted message said:

I believe the dual-compound models are less prone to squealing than the
all salmon versions. Some brake systems have a big problem with this
when used with high-friction brake shoes.

Sheldon "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek" Brown

I've taken on the brake squeal that I have on my road bike as a
commuting aid. I think it might help alert car drivers to my presence
at intersections without the added weight of a dingy bell or bozo horn
or a Delta Air Zound :-).

--
I do not accept unsolicited commercial e-mail. Remove NO_UCE for
legitimate replies.

Sheldon Brown said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

The salmon or dual material looks like the best overall choice for
material.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Why would you want "dual material?"

Quoted message said:

I believe the dual-compound models are less prone to squealing than
the all salmon versions. Some brake systems have a big problem with
this when used with high-friction brake shoes.

It's been my experience that with freshly lubricated brake caliper
(with grease in its pivots) brakes lose their tendency to squeal. I
stumbled onto this by accident once when my brakes were squealing on
hard applications and it was also spring cleaning time at which time I
cleaned and re-lubricate components. No changes were made to the worn
pads, only the pivot shafts and washers were greased. It seems that
little bit of viscous damping is enough to have a significant effect.

[email hidden]

Magnusfarce said:

I want to upgrade the brake pads / holders on my new bike, which uses
Shimano dual pivot calipers. My goal is lots of stopping power. It appears
that KoolStop makes the pads of choice these days, but I'm not sure which
ones to get. After reviewing the KoolStop and Harris Cyclery websites, I'm
still not real clear about which ones to get.

- The Continentals are cheap and clunky looking, but apparently work well.
- The Dura Road Holders also look like a reasonable choice.
- The Supra 2 seems to be their top of the line pad, and my current
favorite.
- Finally, Sheldon Brown has said that he prefers the "BMX/Mountain" pad,
which I take to mean the MTB pad. I suspect that there may be clearance
issues with this pad.

Most of the KoolStop pads come with some form of the sperical washers for
fine tuning of toe-in. Some have the "pivot back adjuster" which I guess
does more or less the same thing. Which is preferable?

Since brakes don't wear down real fast, I don't see a significant advantage
to going the "holders" route. On that basis, the Supra 2 or MTB pad seem
the best choices.

The salmon or dual material looks like the best overall choice for material.

Well, anyway, this is where I'm at right now. The Supra 2 is the front
runner with the MTB right behind. Any advice?

I don't have an opinion as generally the performance of a
brake varies by swept area much more than puck size but when
Sheldon writes "BMX pad" he likely means Kool Stop's pad
that is 75mm long. ThinLines are 70 and Eagle II are 65mm
roughly. ( my distributor doesn't carry Supra)

For wear, if you wear them out before they are hard and
encrusted with debris, the BMX model is thicker.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

Quoted message said:

Sheldon Brown said:

Quoted message said:

> The salmon or dual material looks like the best overall choice for
> material.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Why would you want "dual material?"

Quoted message said:

I believe the dual-compound models are less prone to squealing than
the all salmon versions. Some brake systems have a big problem with
this when used with high-friction brake shoes.

It's been my experience that with freshly lubricated brake caliper
(with grease in its pivots) brakes lose their tendency to squeal. I
stumbled onto this by accident once when my brakes were squealing on
hard applications and it was also spring cleaning time at which time I
cleaned and re-lubricate components. No changes were made to the worn
pads, only the pivot shafts and washers were greased. It seems that
little bit of viscous damping is enough to have a significant effect.

More viscous grease might be the ticket to cure serious banshee brakes, but
at the expense of brake snappiness.

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

In said:

cleaned and re-lubricate components. No changes were made
to the worn pads, only the pivot shafts and washers were
greased. It seems that little bit of viscous damping is
enough to have a significant effect.

I think it's more the effect of reducing stick-slip than
viscous damping, but thanks for that idea. I have tried oil
with little effect, but never though about using grease
(even though it's obvious once presented).

Mike