Kool Stop brake pads really do work



J

[email protected]

Guest
A couple of years ago, I was given a 1949 Raleigh Lenton Sport. It was
all original except for the tires and grips.

I slapped a new saddle on it (to replace the broken Brooks), replaced
the shifter and cable, and removed the grease that had been injected
into the AW hub. It then became my commuter bike.

Being the cheapskate I am, I didn't replace the brake blocks. The
god-knows-how-old brake pads on the steel wheels made for poor stopping
in the dry and a positively scary trip in the rain.

After reading Sheldon Brown's glowing comments regarding the Kool Stop
salmon pads, I finally ordered up some Kool Stop pads from Harris
Cyclery. Today was my first ride with them. Even in the morning rain
they were phenomenal. I couldn't believe that just changing the pads
would make such a big difference but I was wrong. The Kool Stop pads
really do live up to their reputation and are just the ticket in rain
country.

John Thurston
Juneau, Alaska
 
[email protected] wrote:
> they were phenomenal. I couldn't believe that just changing the pads
> would make such a big difference but I was wrong. The Kool Stop pads
> really do live up to their reputation and are just the ticket in rain
> country.

You think they are good now, try changing your steel rim for an aluminum
alloy one. That'll make an even bigger difference.

--
K.
 
[email protected] wrote:
> A couple of years ago, I was given a 1949 Raleigh Lenton Sport. It
> was all original except for the tires and grips.
>
> I slapped a new saddle on it (to replace the broken Brooks), replaced
> the shifter and cable, and removed the grease that had been injected
> into the AW hub. It then became my commuter bike.
>
> Being the cheapskate I am, I didn't replace the brake blocks. The
> god-knows-how-old brake pads on the steel wheels made for poor
> stopping in the dry and a positively scary trip in the rain.
>
> After reading Sheldon Brown's glowing comments regarding the Kool Stop
> salmon pads, I finally ordered up some Kool Stop pads from Harris
> Cyclery. Today was my first ride with them. Even in the morning rain
> they were phenomenal. I couldn't believe that just changing the pads
> would make such a big difference but I was wrong. The Kool Stop pads
> really do live up to their reputation and are just the ticket in rain
> country.
>
> John Thurston
> Juneau, Alaska

My experience is to the contrary! They have embedded grit and scrape up the
rims and cause flats, not to mention slowing me down!!!
--
Phil, Squid-in-Training
 
Phil, Squid-in-Training wrote:
> [email protected] wrote:
>
>>A couple of years ago, I was given a 1949 Raleigh Lenton Sport. It
>>was all original except for the tires and grips.
>>
>>I slapped a new saddle on it (to replace the broken Brooks), replaced
>>the shifter and cable, and removed the grease that had been injected
>>into the AW hub. It then became my commuter bike.
>>
>>Being the cheapskate I am, I didn't replace the brake blocks. The
>>god-knows-how-old brake pads on the steel wheels made for poor
>>stopping in the dry and a positively scary trip in the rain.
>>
>>After reading Sheldon Brown's glowing comments regarding the Kool Stop
>>salmon pads, I finally ordered up some Kool Stop pads from Harris
>>Cyclery. Today was my first ride with them. Even in the morning rain
>>they were phenomenal. I couldn't believe that just changing the pads
>>would make such a big difference but I was wrong. The Kool Stop pads
>>really do live up to their reputation and are just the ticket in rain
>>country.
>>
>>John Thurston
>>Juneau, Alaska
>
>
> My experience is to the contrary! They have embedded grit and scrape up the
> rims and cause flats, not to mention slowing me down!!!

Ummmm.... don't you *want* your brake pads to slow you down?

Mark
 
Király wrote:
> You think they are good now, try changing your steel rim for an aluminum
> alloy one. That'll make an even bigger difference.

I certainly considered doing that, but I just didn't feel like spending
the cash.
I decided I try the $6 brake pads before the $50 wheel.

John Thurston
Juneau, Alaska
 
Phil, Squid-in-Training wrote:
>
> My experience is to the contrary! They have embedded grit and scrape up the
> rims and cause flats, not to mention slowing me down!!!

How does grit scraping the rims cause flats?

- Frank Krygowski
 
On Tue, 9 May 2006 18:50:00 -0400, "Phil, Squid-in-Training"
<[email protected]> wrote:


>
>My experience is to the contrary! They have embedded grit and scrape up the
>rims and cause flats, not to mention slowing me down!!!

And how exactly have the brake pads caused flats?

Jeff
 
Jeff Starr wrote:
> On Tue, 9 May 2006 18:50:00 -0400, "Phil, Squid-in-Training"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>>
>> My experience is to the contrary! They have embedded grit and
>> scrape up the rims and cause flats, not to mention slowing me down!!!
>
> And how exactly have the brake pads caused flats?
>
> Jeff

Oy... rhetorical smilies don't translate well...
--
Phil, Squid-in-Training
 
On Wed, 10 May 2006 00:31:10 -0400, "Phil, Squid-in-Training"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Jeff Starr wrote:
>> On Tue, 9 May 2006 18:50:00 -0400, "Phil, Squid-in-Training"
>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>
>>> My experience is to the contrary! They have embedded grit and
>>> scrape up the rims and cause flats, not to mention slowing me down!!!
>>
>> And how exactly have the brake pads caused flats?
>>
>> Jeff
>
>Oy... rhetorical smilies don't translate well...

If your original post was an attempt at humor, it failed miseably. For
a moment I thought it might be an attempt at humor, but seeing nothing
funny, I dismissed that idea.

If somebody does research, at a later date, they will take your post
as being serious. Which helps no one.


Life is Good!
Jeff
 
John Thurston Wrote:
>(snip) The god-knows-how-old brake pads on the steel wheels made for
> poor stopping in the dry and a positively scary trip in the rain.
>
> I finally ordered up some Kool Stop pads from Harris Cyclery. Today was my
> first ride with them. Even in the morning rain they were phenomenal.
> I couldn't believe that just changing the pads would make such a big
> difference but I was wrong. The Kool Stop pads really do live up to
> their reputation and are just the ticket in rain country.

I put Kool Stops on a bike with steel wheels and they do seem to help,
so I am a fan.

However (maybe because of the .tech part of this newsgroups name) I
just want to point out that the only thing your experience shows is
that new Kool Stop pads work much better than god-knows-how-old (maybe
57 years old?) pads of unknown composition and origin. I don't think
this particular experience is any evidence that Kool Stops are any
better than any other new pad.

Joe LoBuglio
 
Jeff Starr wrote:
> On Wed, 10 May 2006 00:31:10 -0400, "Phil, Squid-in-Training"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> Jeff Starr wrote:
>>> On Tue, 9 May 2006 18:50:00 -0400, "Phil, Squid-in-Training"
>>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>>
>>>> My experience is to the contrary! They have embedded grit and
>>>> scrape up the rims and cause flats, not to mention slowing me
>>>> down!!!
>>>
>>> And how exactly have the brake pads caused flats?
>>>
>>> Jeff
>>
>> Oy... rhetorical smilies don't translate well...
>
> If your original post was an attempt at humor, it failed miseably. For
> a moment I thought it might be an attempt at humor, but seeing nothing
> funny, I dismissed that idea.

Interesting. So if there was nothing funny, why did you think for a moment
it might be an attempt at humor? Brake pads = slowing down, ergo why would
I not want it to do so?

> If somebody does research, at a later date, they will take your post
> as being serious. Which helps no one.

Warning! Unfunny thread!

Hopefully that'll set 'em straight. wink wink nudge nudge chuckle

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training
 
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

In article <R%d8g.10469$8q.645@dukeread08>,
Phil, Squid-in-Training <[email protected]> wrote:
>Jeff Starr wrote:
>> On Tue, 9 May 2006 18:50:00 -0400, "Phil, Squid-in-Training"
>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>
>>> My experience is to the contrary! They have embedded grit and
>>> scrape up the rims and cause flats, not to mention slowing me down!!!
>>
>> And how exactly have the brake pads caused flats?
>>
>> Jeff
>
>Oy... rhetorical smilies don't translate well...


_ I got the joke and enjoyed it. Don't let the humorless stop
you... This place could use a few more jokes and a lot less
posturing.

_ Booker C. Bense


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In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...
>
>
>A couple of years ago, I was given a 1949 Raleigh Lenton Sport. It was
>all original except for the tires and grips.
>
>I slapped a new saddle on it (to replace the broken Brooks), replaced
>the shifter and cable, and removed the grease that had been injected
>into the AW hub. It then became my commuter bike.
>
>Being the cheapskate I am, I didn't replace the brake blocks. The
>god-knows-how-old brake pads on the steel wheels made for poor stopping
>in the dry and a positively scary trip in the rain.
>
>After reading Sheldon Brown's glowing comments regarding the Kool Stop
>salmon pads, I finally ordered up some Kool Stop pads from Harris
>Cyclery. Today was my first ride with them. Even in the morning rain
>they were phenomenal. I couldn't believe that just changing the pads
>would make such a big difference but I was wrong. The Kool Stop pads
>really do live up to their reputation and are just the ticket in rain
>country.

Wet steel brakes poorly even with great pads. You would get better results
if you had aluminum rims.
-------------
Alex
 
Phil said:
[email protected] wrote:
> A couple of years ago, I was given a 1949 Raleigh Lenton Sport. It
> was all original except for the tires and grips.
>
> I slapped a new saddle on it (to replace the broken Brooks), replaced
> the shifter and cable, and removed the grease that had been injected
> into the AW hub. It then became my commuter bike.
>
> Being the cheapskate I am, I didn't replace the brake blocks. The
> god-knows-how-old brake pads on the steel wheels made for poor
> stopping in the dry and a positively scary trip in the rain.
>
> After reading Sheldon Brown's glowing comments regarding the Kool Stop
> salmon pads, I finally ordered up some Kool Stop pads from Harris
> Cyclery. Today was my first ride with them. Even in the morning rain
> they were phenomenal. I couldn't believe that just changing the pads
> would make such a big difference but I was wrong. The Kool Stop pads
> really do live up to their reputation and are just the ticket in rain
> country.
>
> John Thurston
> Juneau, Alaska

My experience is to the contrary! They have embedded grit and scrape up the
rims and cause flats, not to mention slowing me down!!!
--
Phil, Squid-in-Training
Click to expand...
I have found them great, much better than othrs and much easier on rims.
 
Alex Rodriguez wrote:

> Wet steel brakes poorly even with great pads. You would get better results
> if you had aluminum rims.

Agreed. One could also say that hydraulic disc brakes would give me
even better results.

The point is that for a *very* small outlay of cash (1/10 the cost of
an aluminum wheel) I was able to make a dramatic improvement in the
braking performance.

John Thurston
Juneau, Alaska
 
On Wed, 10 May 2006 10:10:42 -0400, "Phil, Squid-in-Training"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Jeff Starr wrote:
>> On Wed, 10 May 2006 00:31:10 -0400, "Phil, Squid-in-Training"
>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>> Jeff Starr wrote:
>>>> On Tue, 9 May 2006 18:50:00 -0400, "Phil, Squid-in-Training"
>>>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> My experience is to the contrary! They have embedded grit and
>>>>> scrape up the rims and cause flats, not to mention slowing me
>>>>> down!!!
>>>>
>>>> And how exactly have the brake pads caused flats?
>>>>
>>>> Jeff
>>>
>>> Oy... rhetorical smilies don't translate well...
>>
>> If your original post was an attempt at humor, it failed miseably. For
>> a moment I thought it might be an attempt at humor, but seeing nothing
>> funny, I dismissed that idea.
>
>Interesting. So if there was nothing funny, why did you think for a moment
>it might be an attempt at humor? Brake pads = slowing down, ergo why would
>I not want it to do so?
Why, because you occasionally post nonsense. I know I'm wasting my
time but, I'll try to explain it. It is this part of what you posted
"My experience is to the contrary! They have embedded grit and
scrape up the rims and cause flats".
So, where's the humor in that part of your post? The second part about
slowing down, doesn't dismiss the first part.

>
>> If somebody does research, at a later date, they will take your post
>> as being serious. Which helps no one.
>
>Warning! Unfunny thread!
>
>Hopefully that'll set 'em straight. wink wink nudge nudge chuckle

I have no problem with and enjoy well written humor. It's not about
"unfunny thread", it's about misinformation. Next time attach a smiley
face and everyone will know it is an attempt at being funny.

Do you get it now?


Jeff
 
Jeff Starr wrote:
> On Wed, 10 May 2006 10:10:42 -0400, "Phil, Squid-in-Training"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> Jeff Starr wrote:
>>> On Wed, 10 May 2006 00:31:10 -0400, "Phil, Squid-in-Training"
>>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Jeff Starr wrote:
>>>>> On Tue, 9 May 2006 18:50:00 -0400, "Phil, Squid-in-Training"
>>>>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> My experience is to the contrary! They have embedded grit and
>>>>>> scrape up the rims and cause flats, not to mention slowing me
>>>>>> down!!!
>>>>>
>>>>> And how exactly have the brake pads caused flats?
>>>>>
>>>>> Jeff
>>>>
>>>> Oy... rhetorical smilies don't translate well...
>>>
>>> If your original post was an attempt at humor, it failed miseably.
>>> For a moment I thought it might be an attempt at humor, but seeing
>>> nothing funny, I dismissed that idea.
>>
>> Interesting. So if there was nothing funny, why did you think for a
>> moment it might be an attempt at humor? Brake pads = slowing down,
>> ergo why would I not want it to do so?
> Why, because you occasionally post nonsense.

Gene and I share a common Floridian thread. ;)

I know I'm wasting my
> time but, I'll try to explain it. It is this part of what you posted
> "My experience is to the contrary! They have embedded grit and
> scrape up the rims and cause flats".
> So, where's the humor in that part of your post? The second part about
> slowing down, doesn't dismiss the first part.
>
>>
>>> If somebody does research, at a later date, they will take your post
>>> as being serious. Which helps no one.
>>
>> Warning! Unfunny thread!
>>
>> Hopefully that'll set 'em straight. wink wink nudge nudge chuckle
>
> I have no problem with and enjoy well written humor. It's not about
> "unfunny thread", it's about misinformation. Next time attach a smiley
> face and everyone will know it is an attempt at being funny.
>
> Do you get it now?

Yep.

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training
 
[email protected] wrote:
> Alex Rodriguez wrote:
>
>> Wet steel brakes poorly even with great pads. You would get better
>> results if you had aluminum rims.
>
> Agreed. One could also say that hydraulic disc brakes would give me
> even better results.
>
> The point is that for a *very* small outlay of cash (1/10 the cost of
> an aluminum wheel) I was able to make a dramatic improvement in the
> braking performance.
>
> John Thurston
> Juneau, Alaska

Would you say the benefit per dollar is the same between new brake pads and
new rims?

Although it's probably not appropriate, to get even better braking power, a
BMX trick is to smear tar or Coca-Cola on the rim. This gives you
ultra-grabby power and OTB potential with steel rims. But the drawback is
the requirement to reapply as it wears/washes off.
--
Phil, Squid-in-Training
 
"Jeff Starr" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Wed, 10 May 2006 10:10:42 -0400, "Phil, Squid-in-Training"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
SNIPPAGE
>
> I have no problem with and enjoy well written humor. It's not about
> "unfunny thread", it's about misinformation. Next time attach a smiley
> face and everyone will know it is an attempt at being funny.
>

Phil was doing his Jim Beam impression.

Jim's not funny, either.
 
In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] says...

>Agreed. One could also say that hydraulic disc brakes would give me
>even better results.

Only if you stayed with the steel rims. With aluminum rims, decent pads and
decent canti's or direct pull brakes, you get great braking.


>The point is that for a *very* small outlay of cash (1/10 the cost of
>an aluminum wheel) I was able to make a dramatic improvement in the
>braking performance.

I know what you meant. It was more of a future upgrade path idea. Good luck.
---------------
Alex
 
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