V Brake pads for road use

[Frantisek Kotzwara]

For general summer road use with cantilever brakes do the more pricier and longer pads such as those of Kool Stop and Shimano offer any greater performance or durability than cheaper and shorter ones, such as those from Clarks? Is there any difference in the amount they wear the rims? Are there any other reasons why one should choose cheap pads over expensive or vice versa

 

[Mike Ayling]

Some of the more upmarket pads claim to be softer and wear the rims less but the down side is that the softer pads wear out quicker.
In any event brake pads are comparatively cheap bike components!
Mike

 

[rogerzilla]

Good brake pads are actually harder so they don't embed grit and chips of metal from the rim. Somewhere I have a photo of a well-used Kool-Stop salmon pad and a nasty red Clarks pad, which is superficially similar. The salmon pad has a smooth clean braking surface. The Clarks pad is full of glittering hard lumps. Guess which one ate a rim prematurely?