Finding good quality V Brake Pads

chopper_elec

100 W
Joined
Jun 13, 2012
Messages
241
Location
Victoria, Australia
Hey all,

As I am trying to work with the stock V brake setup on the my Chopper Bicycle on the front and back, i'm wondering if anyone can advise on some higher performance pads that I could use to help the braking performance a bit?

Due to the setup I wasn't too keen on retrofitting a disc brake setup at the moment, and i'm just using the standard pads that came with the bicycle that are as soft as an Eraser lol
 
I've used a lot of "cheap" and "stock" pads, and most of them are about the same, but they tend to be very hard compounds. I had one set of Koolstop salmon off a BMX once, and they worked a bit better than most of the others like Shimano and Avid, and me other brand names I cant' recall just now, but not that much better.

Mostly just making sure the rims are true and adjusting the pads perfectly parallel and close to the surface, and using the *correct* type of brake lever for the type of brake arms used will do quite a lot. Also, using aluminum rims vs steel ones seems to make a huge difference.

The Avid pads and arms Iv'e got on two bikes ATM work quite differnetly simply because of wrong lever on one of them--on CrazyBike2 they're being pulled by a cheap plastic ebrake lever from some ebike kit, and barely work at all, but on the Fusin Test bike they're bien gpulled by a Shimano V-brake/shifter combo lever, and I could probably flip the bike if I squeezed hard and fast enough--I can easily skid it if I squeeze too hard slowly. Same with the cheap Tektro arms/pads on the rear brakes on the same bike. On both, the rims are true enough to put the pads maybe half a millimeter away from teh surface with no brake rub; on CB2 I can't put them evne 1mm away because the rim is that un-true.

I'm sure there are lots of better pads than what I've had, but I'm not sure which would be best. I usually just use whatever came with whatever junk bikes I get from people that don't want anymore.
 
Koolstops for sure. Using the black/red ones atm and am pretty happy with them. I would be a bit careful with some other pads. The mini v-brakes i had on my bike ate my rims in less than 1000km. They were tektro ex3's i think? Clark pads i got from crc or wiggle were too hard and near useless in the wet as well.

But whatever brakes you use, once your rims get out of true they will start squeaking and losing power however the koolstops still bite when it matters so i am glad i paid a bit more for them.

Apparently ceramic rims are much better for vbrakes but I havent tried them and i would probably upgrade my fork and get discbrakes if i was going to spend more money on something.
 
chopper_elec said:
As I am trying to work with the stock V brake setup on the my Chopper Bicycle on the front and back, i'm wondering if anyone can advise on some higher performance pads that I could use to help the braking performance a bit?

Due to the setup I wasn't too keen on retrofitting a disc brake setup at the moment, and i'm just using the standard pads that came with the bicycle that are as soft as an Eraser lol

Here's another vote for Kool Stop salmon compound pads. They have the highest friction coefficient available, they are gentle to your rims, they wear a long time, and they work better in wet conditions than anything else available. Scott Mathauser pads are very similar, and similarly good, if you can find them.

To get powerful braking takes more than good brake pads, though. You need clean aluminum rims in good condition, a smooth non-corroded cable running in housing with gradual sweeping bends and flat square ends, and a rigid lever with the right pull ratio. In your case, the distance from the center of the lever pivot to the center of the cable end button should be in the 30mm range. And the pads need to be set up right-- high on the rim near the outer edge, face of pad parallel to face of rim, toed in about 1mm to 1.5mm.

If your brakes are junk, get better ones.

What kind of bike is it?

Chalo
 
Thanks for the comments, its a cruiser bike.

I measured out the rear brake pads were 70mm on the 20" wheel and the fronts were 60mm on a 24" wheel so I thought of upgrading them to 72mm since they will fit.

I was wondering what anyone would think of these:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/4-Pairs-8Pads-Red-72mm-V-Brake-Pads-Shimano-XTR-/190690692439?pt=Cycling_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2c660d0d57#ht_861wt_1270
 
chopper_elec said:
Thanks for the comments, its a cruiser bike.

I measured out the rear brake pads were 70mm on the 20" wheel and the fronts were 60mm on a 24" wheel so I thought of upgrading them to 72mm since they will fit.

I was wondering what anyone would think of these:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/4-Pairs-8Pads-Red-72mm-V-Brake-Pads-Shimano-XTR-/190690692439?pt=Cycling_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2c660d0d57#ht_861wt_1270

The length of the pads makes no noteworthy difference. It's all about the compound. I guarantee you that stubby little Kool Stop Continental pads would work better than what you have, even though they are short.

The pads at your link are probably junk. Most good brake pads contain carbon black or red iron oxide (rust) as fillers, and are colored accordingly. There are a few decent grey pads, but they don't rival K-S black or salmon compounds. Most fruity colored pads, like fruity colored tires, are novelty items.

Chalo
 
chopper_elec said:
I appreciate the heads up. I will be sure to check out a set of koolstop salmon pads then. If I had the choice should I try go for a wider pad in the same spot anyway? I would guess they may last a bit longer too as a result.

The images here are from sheldonbrown.com (Harris Cyclery of West Newton, Massachusetts).

Kool Stop "Thinline" pads are the default for linear pull brakes. They are long, but their friction material is very thin, like the name says. Salmon compound is surprisingly long wearing, but these are the quickest to wear out of all Kool Stop pads because of their thin profile and narrow pad face.
thin-thread.jpg


"Supra 2" and "Eagle 2" pads can work in linear pulls, and they have much thicker blocks of friction material. They may not retract enough to remove the bike's wheel without deflating the tire first, which is why they are considered to be cantilever brake pads rather than linear pull pads.
supra2.jpg


The best compromise for durability and fit with linear pulls is the "MTB" pattern pad. It's about the same length as the Thinline, but much wider across. It has similarly thin friction material, but a lot more area to wear down. This pad may not fit on a short rim sidewall. The picture shows the dual compound version, but you can get all salmon compound too. This is the one I'd use in your case.
mtb.jpg


"Continental" pads are not as adjustable, and their deep thickness can cause problems with modern brakes. But sometimes their very short length allows the brakes to retract fully when no other pad does. Their friction material is ridiculously thick, such that I have never seen one of these pads worn down to the point of needing replacement.

continental.jpg


Chalo
 
Hey mate,
That was really nice of you to post that up.

I ended up getting these Kool Stop Salmon Pads.

I noticed they don't quite match up to any in the pictures
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/370622300971?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649#ht_1517wt_1270

I am sorry I tried copying in the image link but ebay doesn't allow it anymore.
 
chopper_elec said:
I ended up getting these Kool Stop Salmon Pads.

I noticed they don't quite match up to any in the pictures
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/370622300971?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649#ht_1517wt_1270
.

Those are the all-salmon version of the salmon-and-black ones in my descriptions. In my opinion there are no better pads for high friction, easy setup, and long wear.

Chalo
 
Chalo said:
chopper_elec said:
I ended up getting these Kool Stop Salmon Pads.

I noticed they don't quite match up to any in the pictures
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/370622300971?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649#ht_1517wt_1270
.

Those are the all-salmon version of the salmon-and-black ones in my descriptions. In my opinion there are no better pads for high friction, easy setup, and long wear.

Chalo

Thats awesome thank you so much. Goodbye cheap stock pads (i'll keep em for spares lol)

Just a quick Q for you regarding your avatar, that is an epic hat.
 
BikeFanatic said:
That was a good lesson in brake pads, thanks charlo.

Likewise, I thought the comparisions between the models were fantastic. I can't wait to test them out. I'll end up going over the handlebars they'll be that awesome haha.

Can't wait to try them out, i've been reading a few youtube tutorials on how to correctly install them.

I will need to correct a misligned rim at the moment as the brake is touching at one point on the wheel.

Should be just a case of loosening one side and tightening the other. Hopefully my spoke wrench will arrive this week. yay
 
I cannot for the life of me get the Koolstop pads to stop screaming at the top of their lungs. Are there any other options out there?
 
Rifle said:
I cannot for the life of me get the Koolstop pads to stop screaming at the top of their lungs. Are there any other options out there?

Squealing can really be a bitch. After exhausting all the toe-in/out I can reasonably apply, if they still squeal I start looking for harder material. I’ve bought a few cheap China eBay pads which are hard enough to minimize squealing. But I’ve also bought some which were too soft and drove me nuts.

Hit or miss, never know what you’re gonna get from China but I just started trying a bunch and a few seem to work better (less squeal) than others.

PS - many riders WANT noisy brakes to alert pedestrians. I kinda get that but I tend to use automotive horns when I need it rather than having my bike scream like a Banshee when applying brakes.
 
Sometimes I found squealing to be dirty rims, and cleaning them off with ammonia fixed the problem or at least reduced it.

Sometimes I found the brake arms didnt rfit the bosses tightly enough, so they wiggled around a teensy bit. I usually had to replace the brake arms to fix that cuz I never could make shims that really fit right.

Other times I found the problem was actually my fork not being stiff enough, where the bosses could flex and the arms would move. I'd never found a real solution for that (except on steel ones where I could weld up stiffeners), until Waynebergman sent me a stiffener arch, whcih I've got installed on the SB Cruiser's front fork and which also significantly improves braking forces.
 
Rifle said:
I cannot for the life of me get the Koolstop pads to stop screaming at the top of their lungs. Are there any other options out there?

Before you ditch them, try switching them around so the long end is in front. They'll still need proper toe-in.

Stubbornly squealy cantilever and V-brakes are usually a result of slop on the pivot bosses due to loose fit or excessive wear.
 
Kool Stop is selling these inserts, they fit any system I'd guess.
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ca/en/kool-stop-v-brake-dual-compound-pair-of-inserts/rp-prod164591
 
Chalo said:
Stubbornly squealy cantilever and V-brakes are usually a result of slop on the pivot bosses due to loose fit or excessive wear.
Sometimes they are caused by broken axles, too:
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=67833&p=1404532#p1404020
I'd been having brake squeal for months that I couldn't fix with any method, using Koolstop pads for both sets of brakes on that wheel.

Now, I only get just an instant's squeal as I apply the brakes, and it's very quiet. I have not adjusted them at all yet, just reinstalled the wheel with the new axle.
 
I have been using Kool Stop Ebike pads for 2000kM and found them really good for stopping , and longevity . The pads are inserts so no need to replace the whole assembly .71F7srX5s7L__SX355_.jpg
 
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