Submitted by
dubthang
a Cross Country Rider
from Portland, Maine Date Reviewed: June 14, 2009
Favorite Trail:
any
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$15.00
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
look cool, great braking power, angled tip to clean rim
Weaknesses:
none
Similar Products Used:
Avid pads, Shimano pads, other Kool Stop pads
Bike Setup:
old school xc - '93 Bianchi running the new style Avid Shorty cantis.
Bottom Line:
These are the best pads I have ever owned for canti brakes. They have great power in the dry and the wet. They are easy to set up, just use a card stock's width for the toe, and there will be no squeal. I had the stock Avid pads on my new Shorty cantis, and they were awful. Kool Stop pads are one of the best upgrades one can make for their bike. It is the first upgrade I always make for mine and my friends bikes.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
yashimoto16
a Cross Country Rider
from NY, USA Date Reviewed: January 10, 2009
Duration Product Used:
6 months
Price Paid:
$10.00
Purchased At:
pricepoint
Strengths:
Plow slanted design cleans the braking surface. Look good.
Weaknesses:
wet/mud just like any other pad i guess
Similar Products Used:
stock pads
Bike Setup:
Specialized Hard Rock COMP FS
Bottom Line:
These things can really take the heat especially in dry conditions. I have full faith in these babies.
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
Submitted by
schmitty8225
a Weekend Warrior
from Oviedo, Fl, USA Date Reviewed: November 23, 2008
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$10.00
Purchased At:
Price Point
Strengths:
Breaking Power. Mudd Shedding
Weaknesses:
None
Similar Products Used:
Stock Pads
Bike Setup:
Mojave 2.0 with Bontrager Mustang ASYM Wheelset
Bottom Line:
First time I used these brakes, I went out on the trail and I rode through some extremely thick mud. I couldn't make it through the mud but when I turned around to go back I was still able to stop easily. The brakes just pushed the mudd of with its slanted design. The brakes are clearly marked which side to go and the direction to face so installing them is easy.
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Submitted by
taputah1
a Cross Country Rider
from Lehi, UT Date Reviewed: July 14, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Wasatch Crest
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$20.00
Purchased At:
Niagra
Strengths:
Great stopping power, easy setup (all pad replacing)
Weaknesses:
None yet
Similar Products Used:
stock stuff on XT's, tektros, and LX's.
Bottom Line:
I bought some new SD7's and heard monstrous stories about the pads, so I bought the Kool Pads. Even though I can't say how the stock pads differ (I never used them), these pads are awesome. I love my brake experience. I am not a fan of disc's and with these I don't feel too worried. One thing I noticed right off was that after about 100 yards of riding and braking to test my install, my rims were shiny and silver again. The plow edge of my brakes had all kinds of crap on it. These pads are great.
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Submitted by
sjpendleton
a Cross Country Rider
from Los Angeles, CA Date Reviewed: July 5, 2008
Favorite Trail:
Anything with lots of climbing
Duration Product Used:
2 Years
Price Paid:
$10.00
Strengths:
Good stopping power if you can endure the noise
Weaknesses:
Noisy unless toed in to the point that brakes are completely mushy
Similar Products Used:
Avid, Jagwire
Bottom Line:
I wanted to like these. They had burly stopping power when I set them up and my brakes were great. Unfortunately, they started squealing almost immediately. I kept toeing them in but the squealing kept going. I tried a brake booster but it didn't help. I even switched brakes during this time. The only way I could get rid of the horrible noise was to toe them in so far that my brakes were complete mush. I switched to some Avids and the squeal went away immediately.
Other reviewers didn't seem to have the squeal problem, so it may be my fork or some other random element I wasn't able to change. I suspect the reverse arch on my Manitou fork might have something to do with it, but I'm not going to change my fork to use these pads, especially when others work fine.
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Submitted by
Dave S
a Weekend Warrior
from Franklin, NH, USA Date Reviewed: April 30, 2008
Old Mongoose full suspension w/Koski v-brakes, Jagwire teflon cables, Avid FR-5 levers, Bontrager Maverick rims
Bottom Line:
These pads are slightly more expensive than average @ $10/pair. But, they are EASILY worth it. Despite my Clydesdale status, this is far and away the most stopping power I've ever had on this bike. The modulation, which was already quite good with this setup, enters into the realm of "incredible". One-finger stops are easy and beautifully controllable on all terrain, no matter what sort of schmutz you have on your wheel. There is no grinding of foreign matter into the wheel's alloy surface. Their claim that water, muck, and sand get sluiced away are absolutely true. Setup, due to the pad's design, is dead simple and accomplished in 5 minutes with only an Allen wrench. Stopping is always dead silent. Do you want the very best v-brake pads? Look no further. I can't recommend these enough!
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Submitted by
Daniel A
a Weekend Warrior
from Orlando, Florida, USA Date Reviewed: August 29, 2007
Favorite Trail:
Santos
Duration Product Used:
Less than 1 month
Price Paid:
$12.00
Purchased At:
Bikeworks - Orlando
Strengths:
Unbelievable Stopping Power
Weaknesses:
Almost made me go over the handle bars on my virgin ride...
Similar Products Used:
Pro Max
Bottom Line:
These pads are just unbelievable. When I bought my bike I went with V-brakes to save total bike weight (and money) but was worried about the stopping power, especially in offroad and wet conditions. These pads are just as good as most diskbrake setups. After I installed them I tested them and almost ended up over the handle bars. The most important part though is how little force it takes to actually stop the bike. They are also about 1/2 larger than my old pads.
No more yanking on the levers like a madman, just a gentle pull and voila you stand still.... (with you hopefully on the bike).
I can't rave enough about these... Even if these were $30 bucks a pair, i'd still get them over - no questions asked.
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Submitted by
Josh Rogoff
a Cross Country Rider
from Ft. Lauderdale, FL, USA Date Reviewed: August 10, 2007
Favorite Trail:
Washing Machine
Duration Product Used:
3 months
Price Paid:
$12.00
Purchased At:
LBS
Strengths:
Incredible stopping power, great modulation, quiet. Tears through mud, water doesn't slow it down.
Weaknesses:
A little squeeky at first, so you're not sure if you installed with with proper toe, but give then 20 minutes out on the trails and they are broken in.
Similar Products Used:
Avid RW2...there really stink!
Bike Setup:
2001 GT aggressor hardtail. 2007 LX crank, RD, XT FD, Mavic crossrides, panaracer fire XC, Rock Shox Judy, Crank Bros candy SL, Sram 970 casette and chain.
Bottom Line:
Awesome stopping power wet or dry, best v-brake pad I've ever used, puts most disc brakes to shame, but not all. The wet stuff is where discs really come in handy, but a v-brake set-up with these pads is just as good, not to mention the weight saved. Max flaming turds for me!
Value Rating:Overall Rating:
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