roseml

In your experience, is the performance and durability of more expensive name brand rim brake pads significantly better? Or should I just go with the pads that cost the least amount of money?

Davet

Cheap pads generally aren't very good, IMO the best brake pads are the Kool Stop brand.

kcblair

Yep, KoolStop pads for me. KB

roseml

Kool-stop pads are outrageously expensive compared to other brand pads if you have to replace them with any regularity, compared to other brand pads. Why do you guys think that they are worth it? Did you compare their performance/durability to other brands?

caloso

They stop my bike better than cheaper pads. I'm normally a pretty cheap guy, but this is one area where I'm willing to spend a little extra coin to, you know, avoid injury or death.

2manybikes

Kool stops are the best. They stop the bike better. IMO.

79pmooney

"does-brand-rim-brake-pads-matter"

Depends on how badly you need to stop. For a stoplight at the bottom of a steep hill, yes. For the time trial up Mt Washington, no. For commuting most of the time, no, For commuting when someone cuts you off making a right turn, it just might.

Ben

roseml

So the difference is purely in stopping power, not in how long the pads last?

Bill Kapaun

Cheap pads may work well enough if your brakes exert enough force on them to stop you "soon enough".
Else, a better pad may be well worth the extra cost.
Keep in mind, many of the riders go a whole lot faster than some of us, where disproportionately greater stopping power is needed.
Try going down a hill twice as fast as normal and stopping in the same distance.

Many of us just use Kool Stop because we know they work. Brake pad expense is zilch compared to the price of many of our bikes.
I guess if you want to save some money, you could put cheap pads on the rear only.

roseml

That depends on how often you have to replace them.

Bill Kapaun

IF you can't afford good pads, then buy cheap ones and quit sounding like a 12 year old.

roseml

It's not about being able to afford anything, it's about wasting money or not. About how many miles do you go on a set of kool-stop pads?

evan326

If I had to spend $26 each month for confidence in my brakes that wouldn't be a waste of money to me. I just got some, but I'm sure they will last longer than that.

nfmisso

Thousands of miles. I only use my brakes when I have too, and I ride most of my miles on paved bike trails so braking is rarely required. Koolstops perform better than any other pad I have tried - my method of selection is to start cheap and move up in cost until I find something that works for me. Koolstops work.

That said, the OEM pads on Avid SD-5 V brakes work well also, and have not been replaced yet. The pads that came with Tektro CR720 cantis were not good, Koolstop replacements are good.

When pads need replacing, they are replaced with Koolstops.

I have purchased cheap MTB pads assemblies just for the M6 spherical washers, and tossed the pads....

2_i 

Swissstop pads are also good. For pad durability, you should also consider mounting decent rim brakes. Lousy brakes eat up pads faster than good. The degree to which the pad longevity matters obviously depends on whether your riding is incidental or regular.

cellery

Rim brake pads are amongst the cheapest parts of your average bike to replace. I have spent more on low grade bar tape. They are also the most important safety feature of your bike. To me, this makes the price of high quality pads a no brainer. A set of koolstops that will decrease braking time by 30-50% over stock Shimano, that will last 4-5 years at 120+ miles of road riding in traffic per week at cheaper than the price to take your significant other out to Olive Garden - to me, is worth the chance that it could keep me from colliding with a car. There is a good reason you received a high number of Koolstop recommendations immediately after starting the thread. It's not placebo effect.

dsbrantjr

I dislike pain and medical bills, and I place a pretty high value on my skin, bones and skull contents, so I don't cheap out on safety-related items, including brakes.

Vintage Raleigh

I had a set of Campagnolo pads on a commuter for 10 years

JanMM

I've found Avid pads to be good. Have had good luck with Kool Stop, too, maybe better than Avid, or maybe I have been influenced by all the Kool Stop chreerleaders. (I have been know to lead cheers for Kool Stop on occasion.)

speshelite

Get hydraulic disc brakes. The stop 7 meters sooner than rim brakes in the wet.

Sirius1

So when I rebuilt my bike a few years ago I went to forums to get input and found the same advice: KoolStop. With as many positive comments as I heard, I felt that was the way to go, and glad I did. They work very well.

As to price, it's been a while. I just went to 2 online vendors and see 2-pad sets of KoolStops for under $10. There are lots of other brands both below and above that, but around the $8-15 range is where most seem to be. Unless you need something more exotic for carbon wheels or something. Generally for me I'd say 10 bucks is worth it to get a known and reliable result.

Shimagnolo

Then you have apparently never heard of SwissStop.

Sy Reene

+1 on Campy pads.. they just work. As a backup set I have a packaged set of Swisstop BXPs (blue) ready to go, which i'm also a fan of.

speshelite

Rim brakes don't stop in the wet.

It's like asking what WWE diva could beat up Mike Tyson in his prime.

Joke thread is a joke.

Dirt Farmer

What kind of riding are you doing that you're going through pads at such a great rate?