Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Cork Brake Pads

Anyone ridden with cork brake pads ? I'm trying to get my hands on some..

are you using carbon rims?

i got a follow up question.

carbon rims with aluminum braking surfaces (zipps, to be specific). normal pads or cork?

normal
I wonder if he couldn't resist the prominent lew racing ad thats been up for the past few weeks.

i just want some cork pads to try out..is it that big of a deal ? and I couldn't find much of them. Thanks.

They're not going to work as well, they are only used on carbon rims b/c they dissipate heat faster.

Any high end shop should have them in stock. Why do you want to try them?

They're not going to work as well, they are only used on carbon rims b/c they dissipate heat faster.

no, they dissipate heat much worse, they just dont eat carbon braking surfaces like a normal pad.
ZIPP makes a rubber pad for carbon rims, it's a little better, but let's face it, carbon resin is a pretty **itty braking surface to begin with. It can only get so good.

I've never heard of anyone trying this but since they're developed for coated carbon surfaces, I'd image they would absorb aluminum slivers from a standard machined braking surface and thus last a far shorter period of time. In general, it sounds like an idea someone on this board would have and a solution for a problem that certainly doesn't exist. Just get some salmon kool stop pads and live your life.

no, they dissipate heat much worse, they just dont eat carbon braking surfaces like a normal pad.
ZIPP makes a rubber pad for carbon rims, it's a little better, but let's face it, carbon resin is a pretty **itty braking surface to begin with. It can only get so good.
Yeah, right. From Wikipedia on F1 brakes:
Brakes
Brake discs on the Williams FW27.

Disc brakes consist of a rotor and caliper at each wheel. Expensive carbon-carbon (the same material used on the Space Shuttle) composite rotors - introduced by the Brabham team in 1976 - are used instead of steel or cast iron because of their superior frictional, thermal, and anti-warping properties, as well as significant weight savings.

You might want to search for airplane brakes as well.

Yes, ive held a F1 brake rotor in my hand that was carbon fiber. Amazing ****.

The other side of that is that carbon carbon brakes don't work worth a damn when they're cold. You would never see brake temps on a bicycle high enough for carbon brakes to work even half as well as a traditional rim brake.

The other side of that is that carbon carbon brakes don't work worth a damn when they're cold. You would never see brake temps on a bicycle high enough for carbon brakes to work even half as well as a traditional rim brake.


lol..you think regular bike brakes get hot while youre riding around not using them?

i use them on aluminium rims purely because that's what came with the bike and i haven't worn them out yet.

if i squeeze hard enough i can still lift the rear [and endo into the back of a car if i squeeze too hard].

i guess that means they work.

quite frankly, braking is a can of worms. [even without the brake/brakless arguements].

fsnl
sparky

Yeah, right. From Wikipedia on F1 brakes:
Brakes
Brake discs on the Williams FW27.

Disc brakes consist of a rotor and caliper at each wheel. Expensive carbon-carbon (the same material used on the Space Shuttle) composite rotors - introduced by the Brabham team in 1976 - are used instead of steel or cast iron because of their superior frictional, thermal, and anti-warping properties, as well as significant weight savings.

You might want to search for airplane brakes as well.

You need to research bike brakes a little more... lol

The carbon braking surface on F1 brakes and the surface on carbon bike wheels is totally different.
I have carbon wheels on my road bike and I've used cork pads and zipp pads (made by koolstop)

Stick with normal pads on alum rims, cork really sucks on it and zipps only kinda suck on it.

braking on carbon rims is ****tier all the time.. no matter what. it just doesnt have the same feel.

I am grateful to subsistbmx for bringing up this thread. I wasn't aware such brakepads existed. I will now switch all my bikes to such pads (I hope to find them for cantis as well). That's because I am big on environment friendliness. With the Nokian "Deserve Them" environ friendly tires, I am improving my environ footprint.

It would be nice if chains and sprockets were made of some environment-friendly steel alloy. To be honest, simple carbon steel would be the most acceptable. I wonder if any bike-part company focuses on such issues.



I know, I know, by all western standards, I am crazy.

You need to research bike brakes a little more... lol

The carbon braking surface on F1 brakes and the surface on carbon bike wheels is totally different.
I have carbon wheels on my road bike and I've used cork pads and zipp pads (made by koolstop)

Stick with normal pads on alum rims, cork really sucks on it and zipps only kinda suck on it.

braking on carbon rims is ****tier all the time.. no matter what. it just doesnt have the same feel.
I do not think so.
I was referring to this general statement:
"carbon resin is a pretty **itty braking surface to begin with"

I am grateful to subsistbmx for bringing up this thread. I wasn't aware such brakepads existed. I will now switch all my bikes to such pads (I hope to find them for cantis as well). That's because I am big on environment friendliness. With the Nokian "Deserve Them" environ friendly tires, I am improving my environ footprint.

It would be nice if chains and sprockets were made of some environment-friendly steel alloy. To be honest, simple carbon steel would be the most acceptable. I wonder if any bike-part company focuses on such issues.



I know, I know, by all western standards, I am crazy.

completely bat**** actually and not just by "western standards" whatever the **** that means. There is no reason to think that cork brakes are any more enviormentally friendly then all rubber ones on any level. This of course completely ignores the waste arising from cork pads(or high carbon steel parts) that have to be replaced more frequently.


I'm still curious as to why subsistbmx@hotmail.com "just wanted to try out cork pads". Please enlighten us.

completely bat**** actually and not just by "western standards" whatever the **** that means. There is no reason to think that cork brakes are any more enviormentally friendly then all rubber ones on any level. This of course completely ignores the waste arising from cork pads(or high carbon steel parts) that have to be replaced more frequently.


I'm still curious as to why subsistbmx@hotmail.com "just wanted to try out cork pads". Please enlighten us.

Lighten up maaaaaaan, the cork trees just want to be a part of the hot fixed gurr action.

I do not think so.
I was referring to this general statement:
"carbon resin is a pretty **itty braking surface to begin with"


Yea, wikipedia is cool and all, but I paid through school by welding chassis in a race shop, in NASCAR country (yeehaw), and it's evident your understanding of carbon braking surfaces is, well, obviously internet based.

Long explanation short, carbon F1 rotors aren't the same as a zipp surface- not even close. The fibers in auto rotors are woven and bound with ceramics, not plastic resins like bike rims. Plus, in the larger racing picture, F1 cars favor huge weight savings over huge stopping power. They're high zoot, but not particularly "good".

In the bike realm, I'll let others chime in, again, with their experience, but I really doubt anyone riding 404s is going to rave about stopping power with cork pads. Again, it's about application. Road racing brakes only need to stop so well.

Yea, wikipedia is cool and all, but I paid through school by welding chassis in a race shop, in NASCAR country (yeehaw), and it's evident your understanding of carbon braking surfaces is, well, obviously internet based.

Long explanation short, carbon F1 rotors aren't the same as a zipp surface- not even close. The fibers in auto rotors are woven and bound with ceramics, not plastic resins like bike rims. Plus, in the larger racing picture, F1 cars favor huge weight savings over huge stopping power. They're high zoot, but not particularly "good".

AfterThisNap you sound like a cool dude. Entire time I was reading this thread I was about to type both of your responses before I read them. Mind if I ask you what you do now?

I am grateful to subsistbmx for bringing up this thread. I wasn't aware such brakepads existed. I will now switch all my bikes to such pads (I hope to find them for cantis as well). That's because I am big on environment friendliness. With the Nokian "Deserve Them" environ friendly tires, I am improving my environ footprint.

It would be nice if chains and sprockets were made of some environment-friendly steel alloy. To be honest, simple carbon steel would be the most acceptable. I wonder if any bike-part company focuses on such issues.



I know, I know, by all western standards, I am crazy.


last i heard cork trees were becoming endangered from over harvesting. hell, harvesting rubber doesn't even kill the tree...

cant you just be happy with all the gas you arent using?

In one of the TDF histories I read it mentioned that riders would often switch to cork pads for the mountain stages because the compounds being used for the normal pads tended to catch fire on the descents.

Yeah, I was confusing what I had read. I was reading why one carbon specific brake pad was better than another b/c it transferred heat better.

lol..you think regular bike brakes get hot while youre riding around not using them?

Nope. Nor did I imply that.



Plus, in the larger racing picture, F1 cars favor huge weight savings over huge stopping power. They're high zoot, but not particularly "good".


When carbon brakes reach their proper operating temperature they have a higher coefficient of friction than any metal rotor does. Saving rotational weight is just a bonus.

last i heard cork trees were becoming endangered from over harvesting. hell, harvesting rubber doesn't even kill the tree...

cant you just be happy with all the gas you arent using?

Cork trees, and the animals living in them are endagnered by *under* harvesting, the groves are either turned into field or left to grow wild.

Cork trees, and the animals living in them are endagnered by *under* harvesting, the groves are either turned into field or left to grow wild.

seems like you might be confusing the cork oak (quercus suber), (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cork_Oak) where wine corks come from with the cork tree (phellodendron), (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phellodendron) which is an invasive species.

i've always assumed that cork brake pads are made of the former, but i could certainly be wrong.

completely bat**** actually and not just by "western standards" whatever the **** that means. There is no reason to think that cork brakes are any more enviormentally friendly then all rubber ones on any level. This of course completely ignores the waste arising from cork pads(or high carbon steel parts) that have to be replaced more frequently.


I'm still curious as to why subsistbmx@hotmail.com "just wanted to try out cork pads". Please enlighten us.

wow. this is pretty funny. I didn't imagine such great response. I was just simply curious, hopefully I won't get recognized on the street and get beat-up for wanting to try cork pads. oh and thanks for making my name a link.

It did it automatically and most of that wasn't directed at you. I still am in the dark as to how this desire to try cork pads arose. It just seems so random like you;re just sitting their and you say to yourself. "Hey they make these pads that suck but you have to use them to prevent damaging your cf braking surface. I know why don't I use them with my aluminum braking surface that doesn't require them then I can get both crappy braking and shortened pad life.**** yeah."

I mean is there really no reason behind your madness, no desire to protect colorful powdercoat at the expense of safety, no furtive use of fancy carbon wheels, it's just a completely random whim?

From my own experience, the cork doesn't work for $hit on a carbon brake surface.
In fact, reynolds composites specifically says that if they find out I've been using cork pads, my warranty's voided.

I've used the koolstop black's, the corima cork pads, and am currently using some swisstop yellow king's. The king pads are real expensive but they stop almost as well as rubber on aluminum except they will squeal like a dead pig. The koolstop's are somewhere in between but quiet. The corima cork pads will slow you down and keep slowing you down, you never really stop. Either way, all of the pads on my carbon rims will not initially "grab". It will coast a tiny bit before they grab and start stopping.

It also depends on the type of wheels too cause some wheels have a bare carbon surface, some of em have a cosmetic surface, and some of em even have a thick layer of gloss over the cosmetic surface, in which case you're braking your pads against a layer of PAINT.

wow. this is pretty funny. I didn't imagine such great response. I was just simply curious, hopefully I won't get recognized on the street and get beat-up for wanting to try cork pads. oh and thanks for making my name a link.

That rant was intended for me - but really, someone just peed in his latte :D

Re. the link thing: do you get lots of spam at that e-mail address?

It did it automatically and most of that wasn't directed at you. I still am in the dark as to how this desire to try cork pads arose. It just seems so random like you;re just sitting their and you say to yourself. "Hey they make these pads that suck but you have to use them to prevent damaging your cf braking surface. I know why don't I use them with my aluminum braking surface that doesn't require them then I can get both crappy braking and shortened pad life.**** yeah."

I mean is there really no reason behind your madness, no desire to protect colorful powdercoat at the expense of safety, no furtive use of fancy carbon wheels, it's just a completely random whim?

sometimes people are just curious about something new to them. i don't know that the OP or the other guy really knew whether or not they were crappy, that's why they asked for information. it doesn't strike me as that odd.

well one of them should have known since it was the unanimous opinion of this thread when he posted. Of course he has some misguided reason for wanting them. But I would expect no less from the type of person who uses "western standards" as a generic catch all for stuff he doesn't believe in.

As far as subsistbmx I just can't understand being curious about something completely different and more expensive then the norm and instead of googling it or anything just going out and trying to buy it with no more knowledge then that it exists. Look at the original post. Procurement seems to be the major purpose of the thread.

well one of them should have known since it was the unanimous opinion of this thread when he posted. Of course he has some misguided reason for wanting them. But I would expect no less from the type of person who uses "western standards" as a generic catch all for stuff he doesn't believe in.

As far as subsistbmx I just can't understand being curious about something completely different and more expensive then the norm and instead of googling it or anything just going out and trying to buy it with no more knowledge then that it exists. Look at the original post. Procurement seems to be the major purpose of the thread.

Dude, all that anger... not cool.

anger? I think you're confused. Far from angering me your thoughtless "partially natural products must be better then man made ones for the environment" attitude amuses me. Same goes for your use of the phrase western values as though it actually means something. They both show a high level of caring and determination unaccompanied by thought or knowledge that could, if directed elsewhere, be dangerous. Your post-modern hippie shtick is thankfully just a hilarious a farce of more efficacious environmentalism and quite amusing.

they will squeal like a dead pig.

So are they, dead silent then?

*ba da bum*

People should get over dutret's getting pissed off by the general sillyness of the world and appreciate his posts. Once you disregard the insults and the punctuation (or lack thereof) usually he makes a lot of sense and is informative. There, I said it.

People should get over dutret's getting pissed off by the general sillyness of the world and appreciate his posts. Once you disregard the insults and the punctuation (or lack thereof) usually he makes a lot of sense and is informative. There, I said it.

Dude! So... patronizing! Let's hope dutret doesn't notice :D

So, how's cycling in BP these days? Last time I was there at the end of winter, there was this layer of dead leaves that made the city roads in many places much less attractive. Other than that, it's one of the best cyclists' city (after Helsinki, of course).

So are they, dead silent then?

*ba da bum*

I mean right before it dies...

somewhat one topic [ish]:

i'm not sure if it was the cold or the moisture in the air or something, but this morning, mine were squealing like fu<kers.

fsnl
sparky

So, how's cycling in BP these days? Last time I was there at the end of winter, there was this layer of dead leaves that made the city roads in many places much less attractive. Other than that, it's one of the best cyclists' city (after Helsinki, of course).
Is it? Hungarians keep whining about how ****ty everything is, and we really like to whine about the sucky bicycle situation. Personally, I love the "wild west" situation... everyone disregards me (police and drivers included), I can go wherever I want and fend for myself. Right of way exists only on paper, but I compensate by weaving into every space I fit into. Fair enough, I think. Thank god policemen never fine us.
If only the roads weren't so utter crap... potholes all over and even some cobbles for good measure

Weather has been great almost all winter and now it's super nice so everything is pink and rosy:)

Is it? Hungarians keep whining about how ****ty everything is, and we really like to whine about the sucky bicycle situation. Personally, I love the "wild west" situation... everyone disregards me (police and drivers included), I can go wherever I want and fend for myself. Right of way exists only on paper, but I compensate by weaving into every space I fit into. Fair enough, I think. Thank god policemen never fine us.
If only the roads weren't so utter crap... potholes all over and even some cobbles for good measure

Weather has been great almost all winter and now it's super nice so everything is pink and rosy:)

Such wonderful posts warm my heart.

Can't wait to cycle around in BP, bringing my life in possibly serious danger. Helsinki has definitely spoiled me. Luckily, I do go back to my hometown in Croatia, where cycling is virtually unknown, and sudden death on the road is more of a certainty than an option. I still get shivers down my spine when I recall some of my adventures from last summer.