Which Campagnolo brakes....?

[GrumpyGregry]

I've got Veloce/Campag race triple throughout.

The issue is with replacement Veloce pads and the limited choice and cost of replacement.

Take a file to the calipers and fit the Campag comptaible (not veloce) cartridge pads I have = £0
Replacement pads (non-cartridge type) £21
Complete replacement brakeset (F&R) in current Veloce which uses cartridge pads £28
NOS Veloce Skeleton D (dual pivot front, single pivot rear non-cartridge pads) £32
Current replacement brakeset (F&R) Centaur which uses cartridge pads £34

Bin the campag brakes and fit SRAM Apex in black £32

Which do you think is the way to go? Are Veloce calipers so over engineered that a bit of judicious filing won't be a problem?

 

[youngoldbloke]

I have 2007 Veloce Skeleton brakes. I use Aztec shoes and blocks - theywork fine. Are your calipers different? There are lots of compatible blocks available. No need to butcher or replace your calipers.

 

[raindog]

+1 for youngoldbloke's reply. I've got Athena Skeleton's on one bike and use any blocks/shoes I can get hold of. Couldn't even say exactly what I've got fitted on mine at the moment. Powerful and efficiant brakes they are too.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

for the record... My non-skeleton Veloce brakes come with pads that look like this

These also fit Mirage. The pre-2011 non skeleton veloce calipers are NOT compatible with any Campagnolo compatible cartridge style pads (half the retailers in the country have got this wrong on their websites btw) because the nut with such pads will not fit into the caliper arm slot which is only wide enough to clear the bolt that fits the above pads.

 

[youngoldbloke]

Those look identical to the original pads on my 2007 Veloce skeletons, replaced with the Aztecs above. Have you tried any other pads? Non Campag? Disco pads also fit mine.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Those look identical to the original pads on my 2007 Veloce skeletons, replaced with the Aztecs above. Have you tried any other pads? Non Campag? Disco pads also fit mine.

tried three brands of "campag compatible" inc Aztec and KoolStop cartridge pads, none of which fit. Shimano ones fit fine provided you do em up real tight.

 

[accountantpete]

I have some of those Campagnolo BR VL600 pads - 2 fitted but hardly used 2 new . £12 posted if that is any use.

 

[ColinJ]

for the record... My non-skeleton Veloce brakes come with pads that look like this

These also fit Mirage. The pre-2011 non skeleton veloce calipers are NOT compatible with any Campagnolo compatible cartridge style pads (half the retailers in the country have got this wrong on their websites btw) because the nut with such pads will not fit into the caliper arm slot which is only wide enough to clear the bolt that fits the above pads.

I'm always telling people to stop posting huge photos, but you must be the first person to post one that is too small!

youngoldbloke mentions Disco pads ... You can get new alloy cartridges plus blocks for £6.95 a pair (incl. delivery)from Disco Brakes - link. I've been using their products for a few years now and they are about 95% as good as the originals, which is good enough for me.

 

[youngoldbloke]

The Disco OBE-R01 one piece pads are very, very similar to the OE Campag ones (VL600?) that came with my Veloce brakes. They may be slightly thicker, and the bolts are shorter. But the Campag bolts and thick washer fit the Disco pads so you can use those. I use them on my winter bike and I can't detect much difference between them and the Campag pads.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

There's the rub. I want to use cartridge shoes and pads so I can improve the performance of the stock campag pads.

 

[ColinJ]

There's the rub. I want to use cartridge shoes and pads so I can improve the performance of the stock campag pads.

I've used Campagnolo components on 3 or 4 bikes now and I could lock my wheels on all of them when braking with just a couple of fingers and I don't need more braking power than that ...

Cleaning wheel rims which had accumulated oily muck off the roads was the best improvement to braking performance that I ever made.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

I've used Campagnolo components on 3 or 4 bikes now and I could lock my wheels on all of them when braking with just a couple of fingers and I don't need more braking power than that ...

Cleaning wheel rims which had accumulated oily muck off the roads was the best improvement to braking performance that I ever made.

Interesting and useful... for me it was koolstop salmons. Which I'd like to fit but can't, for the reasons explained above. The stock Veloce blocks seem, in the wet on freshly scrubbed rims, to have the stopping power of an old pencil eraser, wear fast, and leave the bike covered in black gunk.

 

[Alun]

Are your veloce pads secured by a bolt through the caliper into the pad itself, therefore the slot in the caliper is just wide enough for the diameter of the bolt?

The pads on my centaur brakes have a "sleeve" into which the bolt screws, therefore the slots in the calipers are wide enough to take the width of the sleeve.

If this is the case then by how much would you need to widen the slot to take "sleeved" pads? I'm guessing a couple of millimeters, in which case I'd do it, if it means that you can fit more widely available pads.

The veloce pads shown on the campagnolo site are cartridge pads, I'm assuming your are an earlier model which are one piece.

I'm impressed with the centaur brakes on my bike and even when I replaced the cartridge inserts with "Ashima" inserts they were still very effective. I'd go for these if you could get them to fit without too much filing away of metal. http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ashima-aluminium-standard-brake-blocks/

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Are your veloce pads secured by a bolt through the caliper into the pad itself, therefore the slot in the caliper is just wide enough for the diameter of the bolt?

bingo!

The pads on my centaur brakes have a "sleeve" into which the bolt screws, therefore the slots in the calipers are wide enough to take the width of the sleeve.

2012 veloce appear to be the same.

If this is the case then by how much would you need to widen the slot to take "sleeved" pads? I'm guessing a couple of millimeters, in which case I'd do it, if it means that you can fit more widely available pads.

I'm coming to that view. Given replacements are freely and cheaply available for little more than the price of a set of genuine veloce non-cartridge pads I think a spot of file based fettling on the current pair could see me right, and if it goes wrong, I'll just chuck the modded ones and put some new Centaurs on.

The veloce pads shown on the campagnolo site are cartridge pads, I'm assuming your are an earlier model which are one piece.

sfaik 2011 onwards the went cartridge.

I'm impressed with the centaur brakes on my bike and even when I replaced the cartridge inserts with "Ashima" inserts they were still very effective. I'd go for these if you could get them to fit without too much filing away of metal. http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ashima-aluminium-standard-brake-blocks/

very similar to the ones I already have ta, with koolstop pads in.

 

[youngoldbloke]

The slots in my 2007 Veloce calipers are 7mm wide. The bolts on the OE campag one piece pads are 5.8mm in diameter - the same as the Disco (Tiagra) one piece pads. The Aztec Road System Plus cartridge pads also fit - there is no sleeve.