Rim Brake Pads

We keep a range of rim brake pads from Kool Stop and Shimano to stop you and your bike on a dime.
Rim brake pads differ in overall design, and the use of brake-compound. Let’s discuss these varieties.

Design:
There are three primary rim brake designs on modern bikes: Caliper, V-brake, and Cantilever.

Caliper brakes are most commonly found on road bikes, and are made up of an arch-shaped assembly going over the tire. They use smaller pads which have a threaded end, onto which a series of convex, concave and flat washers are secured by a nut.

V-brakes have a different design, and are more common on gravel and mountain bikes. Two arms attach to the frame, either side of the rim, pointing upwards, with a cable running horizontally across to bridge the two. V-brake pads are longer than caliper brakes, with the same series of convex, concave and flat washers secured by a nut on the end of the pad assembly.

Finally, cantilever brake pads can appear similar to V-brakes, but mount to specially designed “studs” on the frame, and rather than the arms pointing upwards, they point both up and outward. Instead of a single horizontal cable linking the two arms, a straddle-cable forms an “arch” between the two, with the main brake cable anchoring halfway along to actuate the system. Cantilever brake pads, (instead of a threaded section with convex and concave washers) use a non-threaded post, which slots into the brake arm.

Caliper and V-brakes can also in some cases use a replacement cartridge, rather than replacing the entire pad assembly when they wear out.

Brake Compound:
The brake pads displayed here consist of either standard black, salmon, or mixed compounds.
The standard black compound is softer, quieter and less abrasive, though marginally less effective at bringing you to a stop, particularly in wet conditions.
The salmon compound (named for its colour, not its content!) will give you more powerful stopping, but may be more prone to braking-noise, and abrase your rims faster. If you ride in wetter conditions, the salmon compound is preferable.
The dual-compound pads, which use a mixture of both, provides a great best-of-both-worlds solution for those riding in fairly standard conditions.