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Review on πŸ”₯ Kool Stop Supra 2 Linear Pull Pads Salmon Threaded Post - Enhanced SEO by Jimmy Koroye

Revainrating 4 out of 5

Great replacement for linear pull V brake pads

Kool Stop Supra 2 Brake Pads (Salmon) Salmon colored friction material advertised for wet/dry conditions but I find it works well in dry conditions. They are much thicker than the original black pads that came with the bike and appear to last longer. I use them on my road bike with 700x32 tires and Linear Link V-brakes. Kool Stop Pads have a slightly thicker edge on one side to automatically compress the pads during installation. I found the V-brakes on my bike to be pretty finicky. With the stock pads, my front brakes never squeaked, just thumped, but the rear squeaked/honked loudly. With the Kool Stop Supra 2 Salmon pads, my front wheels squeak/hum a lot when I step on the brakes. The rear ones are almost completely silent. After many adjustments, I found that I needed to lightly apply the rear brakes as the longer cable reduces downforce from the lever input (the force of lever compression is lost in the longer cable). The front brakes need more toe-in than the rear ones because the cable is shorter and therefore the front pads are easier to clamp faster than the rear ones. Essentially, toe-in allows you to gradually use a small portion of the pads to slow down and gradually bring the rest of the pad into contact with the wheel surface. However, these pads bring the wheel to a standstill much faster than with the original pads. . They leave orange stains and some orange rubber dust on my white alloy wheels, but I don't mind. I'm only interested in braking performance and these pads provide it. I can gradually squeeze the levers to gradually stop, or I can pinch the levers and lock up the wheels. After 100 miles of driving, my rims and tires look orange. The spherical washers are very smooth making them easy to adjust during installation and I only tightened the nuts to the spec on the box. The Kool Stop pads look like high quality pads and I would have no hesitation in trying a different set once my salmon pads wore out. I can try black pads to see if they last longer but that will be in the future. Overall: 4/5 stars, affordable, quality design and finish, great braking performance (what I was looking for), good wear, leaves orange stains/marks on white wheels, squeak can be reduced with proper pad adjustment. UPDATE: MAY 16, 2014 The pads have worn a bit but the grooves remain. The material leaves orange deposits on the rim and the actual friction surface absorbs a lot of dirt. They're good when dry, but I can make them appear greasy or fade on faster stops. In the rain, even new ones behave mediocre. It takes a technician braking early to flush the water out before I feel some friction. It's gotten to the point that I won't be driving in the rain anymore as it's not worth the risk (along with the reduction in friction on the front tires after losing the front car cornering a wooden bridge a few times). I plan to replace them with black pads and compare drying performance.

Pros
  • Free for training purposes
Cons
  • Has imperfections