Kool Stop Salmon pads best for all around?

I've got grey KS Continentals.

I can lock either end at will, get no noticable rim wear and the set of
4 was $8 on Ebay.

They just work and are one less thing I have to think about.

Search to 'brake pad treatment 2' and 'stop on a quarter'
In tech archives

writes:

The heat sink item tells me that they are still unclear on where
braking heat goes. It does not go into the brake pad. The pad is
an insulator whose "built in heat sink" is like Matthauser's cooling
fins on the back of his pads, imaginary.

Yeah, but dang they looked hip! ;-)

For me thae salmon simply last a lot longer.. and unlike the new
compounds they don't grab grit to wear out your rims .. seriously I
have a set of wheels I built in '93 never had a problem with the rims
getting scored.. two years ago I tried the new compound pads within
200 miles I had serious scratches forming..threw away new pads and
re-installed some salmon pads no new wear..

The black Koolstops I used to use had deep scoring through the *pad* where
dirt got embedded and dragged through and out of the soft compound. There
was never any embedded stuff.

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

Matt O'Toole wrote:
Since almost no bike shops ever carry the Salmon ones, and claim to have
"never hearda that," I've usually had the black ones. Why bike
shops aren't more proactive in offering the best products is beyond me.
Could this be why they're losing business to mail order?

We stock LOTS of brake pads on a self-service wall. We
notice that we ship salmon to riders who specifically ask
for them by phone or email but almost never sell them over
the counter, that is, given a choice, the overwhelming bulk
of riders choose black pads.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

Thanks to all, may give Salmon a try next time, everything's working pretty
well right now.

Rick

In article ,
says...

I have a set of the black Kool stop pads on my road bike, generic (probably
Techro) brakes but they work fine and the Kool stop pads make a difference.
Kool Stop markets the Salmon colored as for use in wet weather, but Sheldon's
site/Harris Cyclery like the Salmon pads for all use.

All comments welcome on those that have used both the black and salmon pads
on
a road bike.

I think the Salmon ones work better, especially in the wet, but the black
ones are probably the next best thing. They're light-years ahead of
Shimano pads. I have the black ones on my MTB now.

Since almost no bike shops ever carry the Salmon ones, and claim to have
"never hearda that," I've usually had the black ones. Why bike
shops aren't more proactive in offering the best products is beyond me.
Could this be why they're losing business to mail order?

Matt O.

Matt: There's an alternative explanation. Our shop sells both Salmon and
Black, but for vanity reasons, it seems a lot of our customers prefer the
black. But here's the kicker- as much as I read about the differences
between the black and salmon pads, well, I've gone through quite a few of
each on my road bike (I don't avoid riding in the rain) and... forgive me
for saying this... but... I don't find a difference. Actually, I *think*
it's possible that the black ones wear faster, but I'm not going to be
convinced of anything until I see some actual testing.

Still, for as little as a full complement of KoolStop pads cost to keep in
stock, it does seem silly that a shop doesn't sell both colors. Well, maybe.
Thinking about this some more, I'm remembering that we stopped ordering
salmon Campy-compatible pads because they absolutely, positively would not
sell, ever... even when there was no other pad in stock for a customer. The
campy person just has to have black, at least in our store. Go figure.

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA

Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:


Matt: There's an alternative explanation. Our shop sells both Salmon and
Black, but for vanity reasons, it seems a lot of our customers prefer the
black. But here's the kicker- as much as I read about the differences
between the black and salmon pads, well, I've gone through quite a few of
each on my road bike (I don't avoid riding in the rain) and... forgive me
for saying this... but... I don't find a difference. Actually, I *think*
it's possible that the black ones wear faster, but I'm not going to be
convinced of anything until I see some actual testing.

It's more of an issue of how much the pads wear the rims than how fast
the pads wear. When I ride with a group in the rain I can often hear a
distinct difference in brake noise (you know *that* noise) when we brake
multiple times in quick succession. Other pads seem to be still making
that "grit" noise long after mine stopped.

I had some original Shimano black cantilever pads that were about the
worst. I would take them off and find lots of aluminum shavings embedded
in them, often with a little hard piece of grit in the middle.

I think hard pads like KS salmons tend to squeal more, but I'll take
that over rim eating.

On Thu, 16 Feb 2006 07:04:39 GMT, "Mike Jacoubowsky"
wrote:



Matt: There's an alternative explanation. Our shop sells both Salmon and
Black, but for vanity reasons, it seems a lot of our customers prefer the
black. But here's the kicker- as much as I read about the differences
between the black and salmon pads, well, I've gone through quite a few of
each on my road bike (I don't avoid riding in the rain) and... forgive me
for saying this... but... I don't find a difference. Actually, I *think*
it's possible that the black ones wear faster, but I'm not going to be
convinced of anything until I see some actual testing.

Still, for as little as a full complement of KoolStop pads cost to keep in
stock, it does seem silly that a shop doesn't sell both colors. Well, maybe.
Thinking about this some more, I'm remembering that we stopped ordering
salmon Campy-compatible pads because they absolutely, positively would not
sell, ever... even when there was no other pad in stock for a customer. The
campy person just has to have black, at least in our store. Go figure.

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA


Hi Mike,
do you have an opinion on the newest Shimano Dura-Ace pads? The ones
that come stock with the 7800 brake calipers.

I know the older 7700 pads are bad news, but what about the new ones?
How do they compare to the KS salmons?

My guess is that you are one person who would have some experience
with these new pads. So, what do you think?

Thank you,
Jeff

On Thu, 16 Feb 2006 09:09:05 -0500, Peter Cole wrote:

Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:


Matt: There's an alternative explanation. Our shop sells both Salmon and
Black, but for vanity reasons, it seems a lot of our customers prefer the
black. But here's the kicker- as much as I read about the differences
between the black and salmon pads, well, I've gone through quite a few of
each on my road bike (I don't avoid riding in the rain) and... forgive me
for saying this... but... I don't find a difference. Actually, I *think*
it's possible that the black ones wear faster, but I'm not going to be
convinced of anything until I see some actual testing.

At least you make the effort to offer the well-reputed model.

It's more of an issue of how much the pads wear the rims than how fast
the pads wear. When I ride with a group in the rain I can often hear a
distinct difference in brake noise (you know *that* noise) when we brake
multiple times in quick succession. Other pads seem to be still making
that "grit" noise long after mine stopped.

I had some original Shimano black cantilever pads that were about the
worst. I would take them off and find lots of aluminum shavings embedded
in them, often with a little hard piece of grit in the middle.

They're awful. The sound they make is scary, like your rims are being
shaved at an alarming rate -- which they are. I went through a set of MTB
rims in 18 months with original Shimano pads, then five years from the
next set w/ KS salmon, under the same riding conditions.

I think hard pads like KS salmons tend to squeal more, but I'll take
that over rim eating.

Maybe, but any change in regular braking habit and wear pattern can cause
squeal -- just like with a car or motorcycle. The black KS pads on my MTB
can squeal like crazy after a couple of months of nothing but short trips.
A dry spell after a lot of wet winter conditions will do it too. I
haven't noticed the salmon ones to be any worse (or better). Play on the
brake studs seems to make a difference too though.

Matt O.