Alternatives to Campagnolo rim brake pad holders?

[Mr B]

Trying to install a new set of pads on my 2017 Chorus 11 (v2) rear brakes has proved impossible. The front brake was simple enough, but the rear caliper is a pain in the arse.



The metal pad-release tab is tucked in so close to the bike that prising it up (even with wheels off, cables slack, caliper squeezed in, you name it) without either ruining the paint or completely uninstalling the pad holders is not possible.
The whole bloody point of pad holders is that you don't have to set your brakes up again every time you install new pads.

These things are effing stupid and I hate them. What can I replace them with?

[Mark McM]

If you want to stick with Campagnolo parts, you can use Veloce pad holders. These use Shimano style pads and retaining screws:




Alternatively, you could find some older (no longer produced) pre-skeleton pad holders, that didn't use clips.



For aftermarket, There are several options.

Jagwire Pro C Lite:




Koolstop Campi SR pad holders and pads. (Note: these only work with Koolstop's Campagnolo style pads):

[gfk_velo]

I hate to point it out ... if you are fitting new pads, you will probably have to reset the brakes anyway.

You might as well drop the shoes out.

[Mr B]

Originally Posted by gfk_velo

I hate to point it out ... if you are fitting new pads, you will probably have to reset the brakes anyway.

You might as well drop the shoes out.

That's a given, but if I have to just do that the once, versus every single time, then some modification or a component change is desirable.

Fear not, upon dropping out the holders, all became clear.
The spring tab is part of a stamped metal collar that sits between the base of the mounting stud and the pad holder.



A quick wiggle with pliers and the pesky little spring tab is gone, effectively turning these pad holders into the same style as the Jagwires that Mark very helpfully posted earlier. During reassembly I included the tab-less stamped collar to ensure no engineering tolerances were messed with. The pads are a very tight fit so I'm not worried about backing them out by accident.



Glad I messed with these before spending $30-$40 on new pad holders!

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by gfk_velo

I hate to point it out ... if you are fitting new pads, you will probably have to reset the brakes anyway.

I hope that's not the case; that would appear to defy what I understand to be the purpose of the spring clips.

Previous generations of Campagnolo brake pads and holders relied on friction to keep the pads fro falling out. Hence, the fit was very tight, and the pads often had to be pried out of the holders (often damaging the pads). If the reason the pads were to be replaced was because they worn out or otherwise no longer working correctly, that wasn't a problem. But with the advent of carbon rims, it often because necessary to switch pads when switching wheels. I believe the purpose of the spring clips was to provide positive pad retention, without the need for a tight friction fit, allowing pads to be swapped without damaging the pads or removing/adjusting the holds. So the pads shouldn't be so tight that you have to remove or adjust the holders to replace them.

Interestingly, I have a set of Campagnolo brakes whose pad holders have these spring clips. The original OEM pads were very tight, and very difficult to remove. But I actually prefer Koolstop's Campagnolo compatible pads. The fit of Koolstop pads isn't quite as tight, and it much easier to swap between different pads.

[Mr B]

Originally Posted by gfk_velo

I hate to point it out ... if you are fitting new pads, you will probably have to reset the brakes anyway.

To this point - Ordinarily I just wind back the cable adjuster at the caliper to account for the previous pad wear, and don’t need to reposition the pad holder itself. That to me is the purpose of the holder/cartridge combo, as opposed to one-piece brake shoes with the mounting stud built in - blows my mind when I see cantilever brakes set up with those (and they’re always Kool-Stop pads on Paul$) - cantis are hateful enough to set up as it is, why would anyone hobble themselves like that?

[pdmtong]

forget dealing with the spring clip.

remove wheel. wiggle the end of a small screwdriver in the end. pry the pad out.

push the new one in and let the spring clip click to secure it