best brake pad for antique chrome rims
 

Hi, I've been wondering what the best brake pad for and antique with chrome rims. The pads I have squeal and leave a black trail on the rims. Thanks, Mike

Kool Stop Continental

Kool Stop International - High Performance Bicycle Brake Pads Since 1977

If it doesn't have Stop in the name, it ain't gonna give your rim a tame. Ok bad rhyme but KoolStop or SwissStop make the finest brake pads and really are the only ones you need to worry about. Kool Stop is great because they do just about every kind of vintage pad including some really odd rare stuff you probably won't see ever if at all (aside from maybe on VeloBase.com or the C&V forum) but for the modern stuff SwissStop is my go to.

Nothing makes steel rims stop particularly well. To make them stop at all use Fibrax pads. Available from Yellow Jersey or from English vendors. If you won’t use a brand that is not well distributed in US, does not have a large cheering squad in US, Koolstop Continental is next best.

Best pad for a chrome rims ridden in the rain downhill - a big mattress over the object in front of you. Even Mafac Racers, some of the best ever caliper brakes, barely stopped those wet rims. First wheel revolution after application - nothing. Next rev - a little. (I cut my teeth riding a Peugeot UO-8 in New England.)

Thanks everyone, looking like I've got some shopping to do. I have a 1986 Sear FreeStyle bike with a Sturmey Archer SC3 hum and chrome wheels I refurbed for my wife and I have put hand brakes on it to make sure it is safe for her to ride. Thanks again, Mike

I've got the pink Koolstop pads on my Peugeot AO-8. They work well in the wet and dry, and the pads are available in the right size for the Mafac brakes.
They do squeal a bit though.

You'll find the KoolStop Salmon pads to be very good upgrades. You may still have a bit of squeal since there are factors other than pad material that affect it. Squeal can be much reduced by toeing in the pads a bit and ensuring the calipers do not have excessive slop.

Good luck.

If it rains, it's best to brake ahead of time to wipe the water off the rims.

If you ride steel rims in the rain, save your money. No brake pad will stop you well. :) Sorry ... I have nightmares about some close calls in the rain with my first couple of bikes, back when I was told aluminum rims were for racers (1972).

I try to never ride in the rain or wet streets if possible. It gets too dangerous with all the crazy people out there.

They are not crazy, they are patriots (of a now defunct country that lost a major war but patriots none the less)...Sorry I just had to.

Most folks don't intend to ride in the rain though, it sometimes just happens. Hence why we really don't see steel rims anymore. Maybe good for a disc brake bike but even then aluminum rims are so much better. However it can be tough to modify a vintage bike like that but at least with Kool Stops you will have a better chance of stopping./