Have v brakes improved in the last 10 years

[Sweep]

Thanks des and brucey.

I have 2 sets of the rhino pads bought for eventual fitting to the expedition bike, but haven't got round to fitting them yet.

If by chance you have views brucey on the relative merits of the Clarks and rhino pads I'd be interested.

[Brucey]

the Rhino pads set up easier (because of the heel shape) and are slightly firmer and slightly more hard-wearing. They suit rims with narrow braking tracks better than most too. The elite/gold inserts give slightly better power and wear quickly to start with (esp in the wet) because they have lots of slots in.

BYW you can recut the slots (BTW there is a good way to do this) when the insert is half worn, thickness permitting. The inserts usually wear thin on the top edge first (if set correctly, with non-PP brakes); the last set I changed on my own bike were less than 0.5mm thickness along the top edge, so I had my money's worth....

BTW I just searched for Clarks CPS501 on ebay and these inserts start at £2.80 a pair inc postage.

cheers

[reohn2]

What's the difference in rim wear with these different brake blocks? Swissstop green seem to give low rim wear, but are not made any more. I haven't tried BBB but they seem worth a try.

The BBB Tristop(Techstop for DP road calipers) are very rim friendly,don't pick up road grit and grid away at rims causing rim swarfe embedded into the pad,wear little faster than other pads IME.
You can get just the inserts or pads and holders:-
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BBB-Tristop-C ... SwmfhX2VJK

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BBB-TriStop- ... xycmBS17oM
NOTE,Those prices are for both front and rear brakes ie; 4 pads or pads and holders.

The clarks cps513 are slightly cheaper though I've no experience of them:-
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Clarks-72mm- ... SwnF9Y7Nr4

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CLARKS-Repla ... Sws0JabzzR
NOTE,Pads and holders price is for two pairs.Pads only price is for one pair of pads.

[PH]

BTW I just searched for Clarks CPS501 on ebay and these inserts start at £2.80 a pair inc postage.

cheers

Ta, just ordered a couple of pairs, I'll be needing them within the next few weeks.
I'll then have tried all the pads mentioned in this thread (So far) I'd put the BBBs and Koolstop Salmon on a par, the BBBs win on value. I wasn't that impressed with the Rhinos, probably better than the standard black pads, but IMO not as good as those above.

[Sweep]

the Rhino pads set up easier (because of the heel shape) and are slightly firmer and slightly more hard-wearing. They suit rims with narrow braking tracks better than most too. The elite/gold inserts give slightly better power and wear quickly to start with (esp in the wet) because they have lots of slots in.

BYW you can recut the slots (BTW there is a good way to do this) when the insert is half worn, thickness permitting. The inserts usually wear thin on the top edge first (if set correctly, with non-PP brakes); the last set I changed on my own bike were less than 0.5mm thickness along the top edge, so I had my money's worth....

BTW I just searched for Clarks CPS501 on ebay and these inserts start at £2.80 a pair inc postage.

cheers

The heels I take it go at the back brucey, judging by the, er, word, "heel" and the way my holders are labelled left and right (when viewed from the "back" of the bike (as in sitting on the saddle)?

Are these supposed to create natural toe-in when fitting, avoiding the need for the traditional bit of cardboard/fag packet?

With regard to slots (and apologies, you have very probably been here before) I assume that they are there to clear debris from the pads?

Some pads do seem to be as much slot as pad which, being a mean sod, does concern me somewhat.

As you say, there is often (and very definitely in the Rhinos) a pretty substantial amount of compound below the bottom of the slots. I am somewhat reluctant to go cutting pads as I know my DIY limits, so I wonder how much worse the braking would be if I just ran the pads smooth for a fair while once the slots had disappeared?

I stress, if it's relevant, that I am always pretty good with cleaning rims and pads and checking pads for debris, digging out any swarf with a penknife.

[Brucey]

BITD (and I'm talking about 40 years ago) some brake blocks had fabric reinforcement moulded into the rubber so that once the knobbles/grooves were worn away, you could end up with something that wasn't rubber (and wasn't grippy either) bearing against the rim. Modern brake blocks are not like that; all the insert types I have seen are solid rubber and can be worn down until the holder is just about to touch the rim.

If the slots are worn away then several things happen

1) the initial 'bite' of the brake block is reduced (the movement plus reduced area of a slotted block usually gives a bit more bite)
2) the ability of the brake block to clear debris is reduced (so there is more chance that grit will drag for longer against the rim and/or get embedded)
3) the braking action on wet rims is impaired
4) the ultimate power of the brake (in dry conditions) may be increased slightly.

On balance I would rather have slots than not in most cases, and this goes double for long pattern brake blocks. The main reason they are not cut deeper when brake blocks are new is that there is too much squirm with deep grooves which gives an effect that is the converse of 4) above. It is normally safe to recut slots (up to about 1.5mm deep) to within ~1mm of the holder. In terms of reducing the wear area two diagonal slots might reduce this by 5% which is probably worth it to get some of the benefits listed above.

cheers

[MikeF]

What's the difference in rim wear with these different brake blocks? Swissstop green seem to give low rim wear, but are not made any more. I haven't tried BBB but they seem worth a try.

The BBB Tristop(Techstop for DP road calipers) are very rim friendly,don't pick up road grit and grid away at rims causing rim swarfe embedded into the pad,wear little faster than other pads IME.
You can get just the inserts or pads and holders:-
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BBB-Tristop-C ... SwmfhX2VJK

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BBB-TriStop- ... xycmBS17oM
NOTE,Those prices are for both front and rear brakes ie; 4 pads or pads and holders.

The clarks cps513 are slightly cheaper though I've no experience of them:-
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Clarks-72mm- ... SwnF9Y7Nr4

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CLARKS-Repla ... Sws0JabzzR
NOTE,Pads and holders price is for two pairs.Pads only price is for one pair of pads.

Thanks very much.

[belgiangoth]

Thanks all. I wonder if I can just replace the bolts...

[Brucey]

Thanks all. I wonder if I can just replace the bolts...

usually it is just the allen key nuts that corrode. These can be replaced with non-rusty ones by a friendly LBS (if you ask nicely), painted, or replaced with stainless steel dome nuts. The latter requires that you use a 10mm spanner not an allen key though.

cheers

[MikeDee]

Are Swiss Stop pads better than Kool Stops?

[tatanab]

Are Swiss Stop pads better than Kool Stops?

Some say yes, some say no. I prefer the SwissStop green which it seems are no longer available for V brakes unless you are able to use the Viking Pro version. I have both the normal V brake and Viking in use. http://www.swissstop.com/brakepads/rimbrakes/

[peetee]

Its a funny thing but years ago when I first tried v' s I thought " wow, these are good!" And just the other week when I removed the v' s and replaced them with canti's I thought "wow, these are good!" Perhaps its the combination of v levers and canti calipers that does the job.

[Brucey]

any half-decent brake with new cables is likely to be better than a brake with old cables.

Bad cables are like little thieves, secretly robbing you of braking power....

[edit; and I meant to say a half decent brake would be one with the correctly matched levers....]

cheers

[Freddie]

Bad cables are like little thieves, secretly robbing you of braking power....

That is quite amusing and poetic. You should make it your signature.