Review: Koll Stop Salmon Brake Pads

[Ahneida Ride]

Well , as the distinguished members of this forum have suggested,
I replaced my Campy pads with Kool Stop Salmon.

The verdit. They work great in wet and dry conditions. Brake
squeel is migitated and my rims are now free of black crud.
Excellent modulation.

I tested em decending Okemo Mt. (Vt.) in the rain and they performed
admirably.

They are pretty much a no brainer and 1/2 the price of Campy !
Perhaps the only no brainer in the bicycling arena.

The only downside is the color. But I have an Orange Bike !!!!

Ps. It may take 50 miles for em to settle in.


:rolleyes:

[dbrk]

Nice goin', Ahneida! While it takes some aesthetic temerity to just say yes to the salmon colored Kool Stops, boy oh boy are they the ticket. These things make average brakes far, far better and the best brakes better. What is not to like? But the color...

dbrk

[Bill Bove]

I like the color, and I've got 'em on a pink bike. The visable parts get dirty and turn black after you ride them for a while anyway.

[PBWrench]

The only thing worse is the green pads which are designed for ceramic rims but also recommended by Nimble for their carbon wheels. Kinda clashes, but they stop great!!

[collinsc]

I have been a fan of the black compound Kool Stops for a long time, and any of you express the differences I might find in switching to the salmon variety?

A recent bit of wet in this July has me doubting the effectiveness of the blacks in the rain, so I am open to change. You'll have to convince me that the color is worth the performance, however.

[slowgoing]

As far as performance in the rain goes, the worst characteristic I encounter is brakes that are inconsistent. As you apply the brakes, they don't catch at all, and then they do, and all of the sudden your back wheel is sliding out to the side (or worse, if it's your front wheel). Are the Kool Stop pads better as far as this goes?

[bcm119]

Salmon pads' color quickly turns to dirty gray after a few hundred miles, so I always considered it a moot point.
Their wet weather braking performance is a much less severe version of what Slowgoing describes- there is still a slight delay in full braking when wet, but they don't suddenly grab like other pads. The "squeegee" design helps at first, but this extra forward lip is soon worn down and the power delay increases a little, but still by far the best/safest wet pad out there.

[PsyDoc]

I installed the black Koolstop pads and noticed that they appear to be a bit wider than stock DA pads. As such, if I place the center of the pad in the center of the machined braking surface, then there is a little bit of pad that hangs above and below the machined braking surface of my DT Swiss RR 1.1 rims. Because that just did not seem right, I moved the pad up a bit so that there is no part of the pad below the machined braking surface. As for the part of the pad that sticks up above the machined braking surface, there is plenty of clearance between the pad and the tire such that the two should never meet. Is any part of your brake pads below the machined braking surface? I have heard that Campy brake pads are curved to follow the curvature of the rim and I wonder why other companies have not followed suit.

[shaq-d]

i bought some dual compound (black and salmon) pads and, ironically, i can't wait for my current black pads to wear out, just to try what the bruhaha over kool stop is about.

sd

[dgauthier]

Well , as the distinguished members of this forum have suggested,
I replaced my Campy pads with Kool Stop Salmon.

The verdit. They work great in wet and dry conditions. Brake
squeel is migitated and my rims are now free of black crud.
Excellent modulation.
( . . . )
Perhaps the only no brainer in the bicycling arena.
:rolleyes:

Thanks so much for the info. I am curious, however: if the salmon pads brake well in the wet *and* the dry, why do the black pads exist at all? Do some people demand poor wet braking? It makes me think the black pads must perform better in the dry. Or does the salmon color really offend some people that much?

Big Mac and dbrk and others have alluded many times to the tremendous stopping power of the salmon pads, without coming right out and saying whether the salmon pads *brake better in the dry* than the black pads. So which is it? Do the Koolstop salmon pads brake better in the dry than the Koolstop black pads?

[NateM]

I think the Salmon pads will wear faster than the black,they are a softer compound. For riding in the rain I have a high regard for their stopping ability.If you have ever used them on carbon wheels in the wet, you will notice this right away.They almost work.

[MadRocketSci]

Big Mac and dbrk and others have alluded many times to the tremendous stopping power of the salmon pads, without coming right out and saying whether the salmon pads *brake better in the dry* than the black pads. So which is it? Do the Koolstop salmon pads brake better in the dry than the Koolstop black pads?

I'd love to know the answers to these questions too. My concern is heat dissipation. It sounds like the salmon pads are softer and higher wearing, and give more friction. In wet weather, you don't need to worry much about your rims heating up. Water is a great coolant. However, the oem campy pads and koolstop black pads may resist heat better. This is important to people who need consistent brake modulation on long descents. Any one with experience going down serious mountain roads with salmon pads care to comment?

[Ahneida Ride]

1,) Does Kool stop Salmon equate with KS Black in dry conditions ?

I have no idea, never used KS Black. I am not a fan of Campy Black.
Too much brake crud on the wheels !

I'd like to know the answer myself. And if the answer is yes, then
perhaps the KS hybrid salmon/back pads are superior.

2.) How do KS perform in Steep decents in dry conditions ?

Dunno...... But I wiill find out soon and will report back.
But, I can report that steep wet decents are handeled well
by the KS Salmons.

[bcm119]

I used to descend a mountain above Santa Barbara - 7 miles near 10% - with the salmon pads in hot, dry weather. They heat up pretty good, but I never had any problems. I was concious of the heat and tried to minimize the build up, but I'd do that with any brake pad on that mountain. I only run 7 bars in my tires, so I never worried about blowouts. And they never left any residue on the rims. Despite the marketing as a "wet" pad, they are simply a superior compound for all conditions.