Seriously.
Which is what I need to do.
Stop.
Like on a dime.
I need to grab me a hand full of carbon lever goodness and lock up them tires making them smoke and scorch the asphalt beneath.
I need all the braking power known to man in order to bring me back down from super sonic speeds.
Okay, not really.
About the super sonic part.
Though being sub-sonic ain't too shabby either.
Okay, not really,
About the sub-sonic part too.
Anyways, I go forward so I need to stop.
Now ever since I got into this road bike business, I haven't been too impressed with the way I slow down.
I figured my old brakes were like super old and the compound in the pads had gotten all hard and brittle and that was why my brakes were not of superior quality.
To be fair, I was coming of mechanical disc brakes and those puppies rocked my world coming off of V brakes and the ever popular Banshee Brakes.
So as much as I waste my hard earned cash on stuff trying to make me faster, I figured it was time to waste my hard earned cash on stuff trying to make me stop:
That's right sports fans!
Neutralizing Swiss Green Stopping Goodness(NSGSG)!
First of all, these things are not as expensive as folks make them out to be.
Okay, they are.
Almost about the same as a set of pads would cost me for my car, but I get stuff at cost don't you know.
They were about fifteen bucks more than a set of cheapo replacement pads would have been and probably less than real honest to goodness Italian Original Equipment(IOE) replacements would have set me back.
Anyways, I figured stopping was pretty darn important so I decided to give them a try.
Changing them out are easy.
First you insert a screwdriver into that pad holder thingy and pry the old pads out being careful not to harm the Italian alloy goodness:
The Swiss Stop greens are a little smaller surface area wise compared to the O.E. stuff:
I was a bit surprised by that figuring more is better.
Surface area I mean.
To install them you just add some soapy water and push them into the alloy goodness.
The pads themselves are not as green as you think or see in pictures:
They are a dark sort of forest green and when you change them out you can't see the difference unless you look really good.
The green pads are supposed to be "high performance" and that makes em perfect for my "high performance" riding style.
Or stopping style.
Or something.
Supposedly they are formulated to wet weather so I'm hoping that translates into giving my calipers what amounts to a version of Italian alloy kung-fu grip.
The awesome ability to stop on a lira.
Or Euro.
Or something.
Well I didn't get to try them out for it's like all dark and spooky outside and I just got like a twelve pack sucked out of me so I'll wait until tomorrow to test the legendary stopping power of these pads.
Hopefully it will rain and we'll get a real review.
Okay, hopefully not.
About the rain I mean.
Oh, and don't forget, you have like a day or so to get in your Anything but Something for the Great Flat Tire Mug Giveaway.
The absolutely free! one.
4 comments:
I am surprised that you needed to use a screwdriver to remove the old pads.
I find that they usually slide out with a bit of pressure and the new ones just slide in without any problems...
Good luck with them...they work pretty well on the Tifosi..about the same stopping power as the Dura- Ace on the Felt.
As long as it is dry, which is mostly is where I am, I have good luck with setting up brakes, whether road, canti, or V, so that they can lock up the tires without squeals or vibration, and that's all you really need. But add water and I have a hard time making any but my ultegra pads work halfway well.
Why not Kool Stops?
[reall]
Trevor, my thumbs hung their heads in defeat trying to slide them out. Finally I did a Googlio search and found that method.
JRA, I don't know if it's leverage or what but it takes large effort to stop. Come to think of it, I don't remember ever locking these brakes up.
Steve A., well, I decided I did not need a Pedestrian Warning Device(Kool Stops) on this bike.
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