brake pads...

[prbikey]

hi there

newbie to forums hello, normal bike user.

basic brakes question, did a search, saw some koolstops mentioned, not sure if they are overkill for me

got an apollo XC26 bike from halfords, new v brake pads required...

i presume i have something like this factory fitted http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Bike-v-brake-...sure_cycling_bikeparts_SR&hash=item2a0a67ae46

just fairly tame riding, pavements, country roads. maybe 50 miles per week.

if i could fit both pairs for £15 (say £20 inc postage) would be nice.

right now, the brake lever stop point is pretty spongy (i put metal brake levers on, so no play in levers). would be nice to get this a bit more exact

i mean these look reasonable ? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/All-Weather-E...sure_cycling_bikeparts_SR&hash=item2eb2642827

i presume these slidey ones http://www.simpsoncycles.co.uk/section.php/195/1/v_brake
wouldnt fit on mine. unless its worth changing to sliding ones

is there a diff between red/black ? one softer ?

thank u.

 

[Gerry Attrick]

Hi PR and welcome to CC.

Good brakes can never be considered overkill. You could do much worse than go for Koolstop salmons. I have them fitted to most of my bikes. They stop superbly well in any weather. OK, they may wear a little quicker than some others, but over the lifetime of the bike (and you!), the extra cost will be pennies. The bonus is they a very rim friendly.

I stress I have no connection with Koolstop or any shop. I recomend them purely on my experience of many types of pads.

 

[prbikey]

hi thanks Gerry. do you know what would be considered slightly harder than the salmons ? tbh they will probably last a long time for me anyway. wonder if the spongy effect is caused by my non-elite bike, or if thats the pads

 

[Gerry Attrick]

You would certainly not get a "spongy" effect through using KS salmons. I'm not familiar with the spec of Apollo bikes, but such effects are usually caused by poor quality brake levers or V brake arms. Sorry to be brutal and I don't mean to offend, but some bikes are built to a budget and component quality suffers accordingly.

 

[prbikey]

thats ok no brutalness taken. might be able to checkwhere the spongy effect comes from just by looking at the moving mechanics. pref not the cable stretching itself

 

[Gerry Attrick]

Unless ythe cable is seriously damaged, then that would not be the source of sponginess. Are the brake levers plastic? If so, look no further.

 

[prbikey]

the original ones were plastic, but I've put on some "diadem" metal levers. probably budget, but are nicer to press