Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

forum
road.cc bike forum

New Carbon wheels - what brake pads?

by Jeroen0110
Sat, Feb 28, 2015 18:28
9

Hi all,

Looking for some recommendations based on your wisdom of personal experience..

I'm building a new bike and I've ordered frame/groupset/carbon wheels and just had a thought - do I need to replace the brake pads that come with the groupset (105 5800) before even using them? Presumably the ones that come as standard wouldn't be optimal for use with carbon rims I would have thought.

I can't seem to find a definitive answer wether you need carbon-specific pads or wether simply not to use the same pads (whatever you're using) on other (aluminium) rims.

I see some odd advertised as carbon specific but there are handfuls of people on other forums that use "normal" pads on carbon and seem to be fine, but I can't help but think that it's worth spending a few quid more to have the right stuff if indeed it gives better stopping power.

Swissstop yellows come up a lot and I've found a pack of 4 for £25 online which seemed reasonable, but not sure if I have faith in the brand - I changed from Swissstop Black to cheap old Aztecs on my commuter and they were actually BETTER in dry and wet, despite what brand loyalists and marketing may have you believe.

Dura ace pads seem popular too at about £13 a pair.

Any experiences to share?

Your thoughts spared greatly appreciated.

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

Add new comment

9 comments

Avatar
FullGas | 9 years ago
0 likes

Swissstop Black Princes. Your carbon rims are going to brake like alumninum when dry and a lot better when wet. Also, if it maters to you, it's all that trek factory racing team ride with.

Avatar
2 Wheeled Idiot | 9 years ago
0 likes

If they have an aluminum brake track (like in the picture) you should use any standard brake pads....koolstop salmon's are good IMO and dirt cheap compared to swisstop.
But the standard 105 brake pads will be good on those rims.

Avatar
Jeroen0110 | 9 years ago
0 likes

Yes small price to pay to save a faceplant.

Weird re pic, but here you go:

http://www.ciclosbarajas.com/images/Ofertas_navidad_carretera/F4R_CLINCH...

Avatar
2 Wheeled Idiot | 9 years ago
0 likes

The heat would probably only make a difference on mountain descents but is it worth risking your face and general health all for the sake of £10-15....
If you cannot find any recommended brake pads for your rims I've heard good things about Reynolds blue pads.

PS. Picture hasn't worked.

Avatar
Jeroen0110 | 9 years ago
0 likes

Ordered 38s as not to look too wild...thought any bigger would be OTT, not like I'm TDFing it...

Avatar
Jeroen0110 | 9 years ago
0 likes

I hear you on the heat on the rim, makes sense. I was never going to use the pads on two different wheels, so that shouldn't be a problem.

Do you suppose the heat would only make a difference on a decent or would it play a factor in an average ride too? It just seems so wasteful not to use the original pads, but hey I've got a winter bike so they'll get used eventually.

Attached a pic of the wheels for you.

Frame matches the colour 3

Avatar
Jeroen0110 | 9 years ago
0 likes

Thanks for pointing me to that thread, hadn't seen that one!

Crikey why pay more ey? That was a lot cheaper than I'd expect to pay. There's some Clarks pads available for silly money, I'm sure plenty of brand snobs turn their noses up at cheap stuff, but hey if it works...

Avatar
2 Wheeled Idiot | 9 years ago
0 likes

You definitely need to use carbon brake pads if the brake track is carbon. This is because the compound is different and reduces heat on the rim, too much heat can cause the rim to delaminate or warp.
Also brake blocks that have been on ALU rims can pick up tiny shards of metal, these will wreck the carbon rims causing extensive damage.
You need to find which brake pads are recommended by the manufacturer of your rims, they are sometimes specially made for the rim and provide the best braking feel and reduces wear etc.
Which wheels have you bought?

Avatar
londoncommute | 9 years ago
0 likes

There's a recent debate on it here:

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40042&t=13018050

Seems the dirt cheap Lifeline one's come up well.

Latest Comments