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Best brake pads...

Old 04-27-18, 06:03 PM
  #1  
Khb
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Best brake pads...

I expect there will be a wide variety of opinions ;> But for 1970's vintage mavic center pull brakes, what works best for you? Why? ;>
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Old 04-27-18, 08:04 PM
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Koolstops are good and they are available in black if you do not want the salmon colored ones on your bike......
with new Koolstops you do not have to compromise with braking performance like you will usually do with NOS brake pads that have most likely dried up and hardened with age.....
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Old 04-27-18, 08:21 PM
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I don't think you will get very many different opinions. We're mostly Koolstop fans around here, though I will admit to putting some almost-modern shimano v-brake pads on an old pair of Weinmann sidepull brakes with a great improvement in stopping power.
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Old 04-27-18, 08:37 PM
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Really the only choice is Kool Stop red or Kool Stop black. They are as far as I know the only pads available that fit the original holders. Yeah, you could use modern post type pads, but I prefer not to use dorky looking modern pad holders on vintage brakes. If for some reason I used modern pads, they'd be Kool Stop anyway.

AFA the Kool Stops I like the black because they work well and don't ever squeak. Reds are kind of cool if you live in a rainy area. The stopping power in the wet feels almost the same as it does in the dry.

The original pads worked well, but that was 30 years ago. They were very similar to the Kool Stop black. Any still around are too dried out to be usable.
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Old 04-27-18, 08:54 PM
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+1 black koolstops
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Old 04-28-18, 05:55 AM
  #6  
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Khb -

Kool Stop blacks. Details here.
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Old 04-28-18, 06:01 AM
  #7  
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Originally Posted by bertinjim
Khb -

Kool Stop blacks. Details here.
Good ref as I did not realize the 4.dot pad was also offered ...

Conclusion: Kool Stop makes an excellent product which performs well and does so looking as if it got there with the original brakeset. If you have any variety of MAFAC which takes the 4 dot pad, this may be exactly what you are looking for. If you tour in wet weather, possibly consider the orange compound Kool Stops instead and forego that black pad originality for even better performance.
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Old 04-28-18, 06:06 AM
  #8  
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I vote for salmons. if you don’t like the color, just color the salmons with a sharpie! Of course ya don’t color the braking surface, but if your rims are true and brakes are tuned correctly, you won’t ever see the evil salmon lurking in the shadows...
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Old 04-28-18, 08:26 AM
  #9  
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For a slight bit of variety,
Mathauser, using Koolstop pad material.

I have a set of Mathausers on my lightly ridden Gitane, and they are good after 20 plus years.
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Old 04-28-18, 09:37 AM
  #10  
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Nothing but KoolStops on my bikes.

One of my scarier experiences was descending 4th St. in Del Mar (10% grade, slightly misty/foggy conditions) with Campag. sidepulls and brand-new Shimano pads. I could slow the bike only gradually. KoolStop pads didn't look quite as cool, but handily solved the safety problem.
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Old 04-28-18, 09:50 AM
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My Old Campag Side pulls have a Kool stop pad in their pad holders..

If you don't want to use replica 4 dot pads in the Mafac pad holders you can use one of their plain post cross pads
or TRP 'adjust in place' pads that offer an easy toe in adjustment..
I got those^ for my Mafac cantilever brakes, put salmon compound inserts in them,
they use the Shimano Dura type.





....
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Old 04-28-18, 10:23 AM
  #12  
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Kool Stop salmon here in wet Seattle. Even those pads are sometimes slow to stop, so caution is always needed.
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Old 04-28-18, 10:23 AM
  #13  
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I've used Koolstops, I would also like to try Yokozuna pads.
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Old 04-28-18, 10:41 AM
  #14  
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On my Campag NR sidepulls, I tried the Koolstop red and black. While both stopped much better than the OEM 20+ yr old pads, I could not get rid of the brake squeal and didn't want to bend the arms. I tried the new production Campag pads ( Velomine) and these stop as well as the Koolstops in my experience, and don't squeal, so are what I am using. I didn't try these in wet conditions on severe downhill however, so your experiences may differ.

On my Trek 500 with Tektro brakes, I run the Koolstop Cross pads/holders, which are a triple compound of red, gray and black. These work very well, but might not trip your vintage trigger. They use Dura Ace type pad.

Last edited by Pars; 04-28-18 at 10:46 AM.
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Old 04-28-18, 01:25 PM
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I like Clark red and Koolstop salmon.

Once my OEM pads wear out, and the ones I pull off of bikes, only those.
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Old 04-28-18, 01:36 PM
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Originally Posted by The Golden Boy
I've used Koolstops, I would also like to try Yokozuna pads.
Merry sales imports uses the Yokozuna brand name , so just find a shop with a merry sales account.

Being in South SF, Mr Merry's company warehouse is conveniently, close to the Oakland Container port.
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Old 04-28-18, 06:57 PM
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I justst ordered some generic black brake pads from Nashbar when I placed an order for various sundries.
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Old 04-28-18, 07:12 PM
  #18  
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As good as Kool Stops are, Jagwire pads seem just as good. I switched from Kool Stop salmon Eagle 2 pads to black Jagwire thin lines on my Univega hybrid because I needed more clearance with the wider tires I installed. No compromise in braking, wet or dry, clean or muddy. The Jagwire pads are a little cheaper.

If the original Suntour pads on my Ironman ever wear out I'll replace 'em with Jagwires. But the Suntour pads are nearly 20 years old and still remarkably effective. Never seen any brake pads last so long. Freaky.
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Old 04-28-18, 07:49 PM
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Handmade cork.

Because braking should just be a suggestion and not a verb.
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Old 04-29-18, 10:22 AM
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Originally Posted by iab
Because braking should just be a suggestion and not a verb.
Isn't that a trademarked advertising slogan used by some big Italian company?

If anyone isn't aware of it, let me provide some context for Mr. iab's comment....



Steve in Peoria
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Old 04-29-18, 01:23 PM
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Originally Posted by steelbikeguy
Isn't that a trademarked advertising slogan used by some big Italian company?
Nah. It's tearing off your rearview mirror and saying "The first rule of Italian driving. What's behind me is not my concern."
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Old 04-29-18, 01:35 PM
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French cars perhaps, but Ettorio Bugatti was Italian and once said “I make my cars to go, not to stop”....seems like the national culture!
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Old 04-29-18, 02:16 PM
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Originally Posted by Pars
On my Campag NR sidepulls, I tried the Koolstop red and black. While both stopped much better than the OEM 20+ yr old pads, I could not get rid of the brake squeal and didn't want to bend the arms. I tried the new production Campag pads ( Velomine) and these stop as well as the Koolstops in my experience, and don't squeal, so are what I am using. I didn't try these in wet conditions on severe downhill however, so your experiences may differ.

On my Trek 500 with Tektro brakes, I run the Koolstop Cross pads/holders, which are a triple compound of red, gray and black. These work very well, but might not trip your vintage trigger. They use Dura Ace type pad.
BITD, I always preferred the genuine Campagnolo pads on NR brakes also. They were kind of soft, but gave the best feedback and control. A few people used to use the red Scott-Mathauser campy replacement pads, and they tended to squeak then too.

I generally don't see a point to using the red pads unless you live in a rainy area like the PNW. Black ones stop close to the same, and you don't have to keep chasing after them to de-squeak them every few weeks. If it happens to be wet, squeeze harder. If pads are squealing, they're not fully working. That said I have the dual compound pads on two of my bikes. Best of both worlds. Not available for MAFAC holders.

BTW, the pithy saying I always heard when someone started rattling on about their brakes was: "Brakes only slow you down."
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Old 04-29-18, 03:14 PM
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My salmon Kool Stops don’t squeal, ever, and wear extremely well. Their braking improvement in dry weather is demonstrably better than others in my experience.
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Old 04-30-18, 10:59 AM
  #25  
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If I see salmon Kool Stops on a bike I assume either you, or your bike mechanic know what's up. I won't use anything else.
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