stock brake pads

[TwickersDave]

Are the brake pads that come on new bikes any good, or should they be changed for better after-market pads? On bikes I'm looking at there would be OEM brakes, Shimano non-series and Shimano 105.

 

[RebornBumbler]

They seem to be regarded as good from Tiagra-up on Shimano it seems, but your own thoughts will depend as much on what you're used to...

Personally I wasn't impressed with the stock (possibly Tektro?) pads supplied with my Felt, but then I was used to huge replacement Aztec parts on my V-braked hybrid.

Anyway, I've since replaced with Aztec Road Plus cartridges/pads, and they're now much more to my liking.
There are a number of other alternatives that plenty of people like - Kool Stop, Clarkes, Mavic, SwissStop as well as Shimano's own.

 

[slowmotion]

I'm a big fan of Clarks pads. I had bad results from KoolStop Salmons (£18 for four tiny blocks of rubber) . It was refreshing to get excellent braking from run-of-the-mill pads.

 

[smokeysmoo]

Stock pads, (Shimano), are generally $hite and IME just go to mush in the wet.

I only use Swissstop Green nowadays as they simply work wiithout question, they are dear though which is why I suspect some guys are using Clarkes ones now.

Koolstop are also excellent pads, I've used Salmons in the past without issue, but again they are a bit pricey.

At the end of the day though what price do you put on the reliability of braking performance?

 

[TwickersDave]

Thanks for the feedback. I'm getting my first new road bike this week with 105 brakes. All the bikes I've had test rides on have not felt great when breaking from on the hoods. Maybe these types of brakes just aren't as powerful as the v-brakes on my Sirrus and it is something I'll just have to get used to. I'll see how I find them after a couple of rides then maybe look at changing them - I don't fancy London commuting with poor brakes!

 

[jazzkat]

When the pads in my 105 equipped bike wore through the rims before they wore out I figured something was wrong - surely the pads are supposed to wear first!
So I swapped to koolstops and I am about to put in my second set of pads with virtually no wear on the replacement rims. I'm happy with the stopping power too.

 

[TheDoctor]

I tend to use Clarkes - pink at the front, black at the back, although I'm not too precious about they.
Shimano pads aren't too bad IME, but Tektro are shockingly awful by comparison.

 

[bpsmith]

Just Tektro pads, or the brakes themselves too? I think that my Defy 1 has Tektro brakes, and I am guessing pads too? I have always felt that the brakes are poor, but would changing the pads alone work or should I swap the brakes too?

 

[John the Monkey]

Depends - I've never liked the pads that come in Tektro brakes (a set of road ones, CR-720s and Oryxes, so far) but IRD put really good pads in their CAFAM cantilevers.

Pads are a cheap upgrade to many brakes - sticking Fibrax Extreme in the holders on the Tektro brakes I've tried improved them markedly, although the brake still needs to be set up properly, with intact housing &c &c.

Fibrax have a range called "Science" that I'm trying in the CAFAMs at the moment - they seem very good too.

 

[TheDoctor]

Just Tektro pads, or the brakes themselves too? I think that my Defy 1 has Tektro brakes, and I am guessing pads too? I have always felt that the brakes are poor, but would changing the pads alone work or should I swap the brakes too?

Brakes are variable IMHO. I've got a Tektro on the back of my hack, but after a few near misses I've now got a Shimano front brake - Sora IIRC. It's way better, using the exact same blocks, cables and levers.

 

[MikeW-71]

My Defy 2 has Tektro calipers and pads. The pads were utter rubbish, and scary in the wet. Replaced them with Clarks pads for a 200% improvement, they are also lasting more than 4 times as long so far.

Defy Advanced has 105 brakes and these stock pads are fantastic in the dry and a wearing very well. Not as good as the Clarks in the wet though.

 

[mrbikerboy73]

My Defy 2 has Tektro calipers and pads. The pads were utter rubbish, and scary in the wet. Replaced them with Clarks pads for a 200% improvement, they are also lasting more than 4 times as long so far.

Defy Advanced has 105 brakes and these stock pads are fantastic in the dry and a wearing very well. Not as good as the Clarks in the wet though.

+1 on that. The Tektro brakes on my Defy 1 were shockingly bad so I bought some 105 calipers and pads and I noticed a massive improvement.

 

[bpsmith]

That's exactly what I was thinking for my Defy 1. Better leave it for this month though, as already bought wheels, tubes, tyres and cassette. Nice to know that it's a worthy upgrade.

 

[mrbikerboy73]

That's exactly what I was thinking for my Defy 1. Better leave it for this month though, as already bought wheels, tubes, tyres and cassette. Nice to know that it's a worthy upgrade.

It's was definitely worthing it. They were £50 from Merlin Cycles, money well spent

 

[TwickersDave]

Plenty of ideas here for replacement pads.

Any comments about my point on braking when on the hoods seems to be poor compared to v-brakes?