Advantages: Excellent performance in wet/muddy conditions, rim friendly, good wear rates Disadvantages: Pricier than the competition
This review is for the dual compound cartridge pads. They are black/salmon in colour.
A bit of History
The real secret of the Kool Stop's superior braking power is the salmon compound. Originally it was developed by Scott-Mathauser, and was recognised as the finest brakepads available, both for it's superior stopping power and durable compound. Kool Stop was under contract to Scott-Mathauser to manufacture their pads.Kool Stop obtained the rights to manufacture the salmon pads when Scott-Mathauser went out of business. The secret of the pads is that they contain iron oxide (i.e. rust), and work on the same principle as sintering does for disc brakepads. They dramatically improve wet weather braking performance as well as wear.
Features of the Kool Stop Pads
Along with the salmon compound, the pads also feature ...
Advantages: Last for ages and easy to fit Disadvantages: None
I've used the Avid BB7 mechanical for over three years now & have been satisfied using these sintered (Gold) pads. The setup was both the stock 160mm rotor & 185mm rotor. Even in pouring rain the 160mm plus these Avid pads stop the bike with great modulation. Now I have one installed for the front for my XC bike which stops like a dream. Occasionally dirt and oil may require you to clean them by either soaking the pads in alcohol & sanding a thin layer. In either case, the pads last a long time and the break-in period is fast! (Just pour water on the rotor, go down the hill and brake hard couple times)
These brakepads can vary from dealer to dealer but mainly the retail for around £15, there are various online stores that they can pe purchased from including "Evanscycles.com" and "chainreactioncycles.com" ...
Advantages: Good breaking power Disadvantages: nothing
I recently bought a set of replacement pads for my AVID Juicy 3 brakes. These came in at £15 for a pair for the front. They seem to vary in price by a few pounds, thi was from a well known online MTB shop in the lakes.
Being a disc brake novice I didn't have a clue how to fit them so rather than break them or waste time finding out I got a mate to do it for me.
Other than the actual fitting the one thing I did do was to lightly rub down the pads before fitting them. I was told this is a good idea as it reduces the chances of the pads glazing over and gives you better breaking power earlier on, guess this is like I used to do with my standard V-Brakepads. I think that is roughly 1000 miles of use on my old pads. I tend to change them early as I did with V-brakes, not sure that is necessary with discs though (not at this price ...
