V-Brake pads that don't freeze?
#1
Full Member
Thread Starter
V-Brake pads that don't freeze?
I normally get the standard black rubber brake pads for my bike. They work fine in most conditions, although they are not as good in rain as I'd like. But the real bummer for me is when the weather gets below, say, 15 degrees, they get so hard that they chatter when I stop. I have seen some kool stops that advertise themselves as "all weather." Does that mean that they don't get hard in the cold, or just that they grab better in the wet? Any ideas on how to get smoother braking in the cold? TIA
#2
Mad bike riding scientist
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 27,362
Bikes: Some silver ones, a red one, a black and orange one, and a few titanium ones
Mentioned: 152 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6219 Post(s)
Liked 4,218 Times
in
2,365 Posts
I normally get the standard black rubber brake pads for my bike. They work fine in most conditions, although they are not as good in rain as I'd like. But the real bummer for me is when the weather gets below, say, 15 degrees, they get so hard that they chatter when I stop. I have seen some kool stops that advertise themselves as "all weather." Does that mean that they don't get hard in the cold, or just that they grab better in the wet? Any ideas on how to get smoother braking in the cold? TIA
You might also want to look into a softer pad for winter riding. The cold makes the pads harder and allows them to skate across the rim rather than grab the metal.
Finally, you might want to look at the brake caliper itself. If the caliper is not stiff enough, it will be prone to vibration and squealing. Most good linear brakes are stiff enough but there are a lot of stamped steel brakes that are of very low quality.
__________________
Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
Likes For cyccommute:
#3
Full Member
Thread Starter
That may well be it. This past spring, I had to replace the back caliper because the spring was shot. So I may not have a problem this winter at all! Here's hoping...