Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Langster 08, which brake pads?

Got a Specialized Langster 08, love it, but the standard brake pads seem to be a bit poo. Anybody know which inserts will fit the existing blocks, or should I forget that idea and just get new blocks?

kool stops

kool stops

+1

OK thanks, but do the dura ace or campag style ones fit? Or is it neither?

These are what I'm talking about:

http://www.stocksy.co.uk/images/langster/1.jpg
http://www.stocksy.co.uk/images/langster/2.jpg
http://www.stocksy.co.uk/images/langster/3.jpg

Those don't really have the same shape as the pad holders in my Centaurs, so my educated guess would be either Dura-Ace or "other."

Ordered some dura-ace kool stop salmon, I hope they fit.

Thanks all.

If they don't work, just get some blocks. It's annoying having to readjust your brakes, but at least you'll know that they're going to fit.

so many questions that could be answered at any bike shop...

so many questions that could be answered at any bike shop...

I know, it's almost as though this were some sort of 'forum' where people were permitted to post questions and have discussions about bicycles! Imagine that.

But no, you're quite right, in future if I have any kind of question about bicycles, I'll travel the 20 miles to my LBS. After all, it's not as though there were some sort of community of knowledgeable cyclists that I could ask without leaving the comfort of my own home.

well, if you went to a shop, you could have someone tell you what you need and then get it, without wondering if people on an internet forum notorious for wrong and/or bad answers were giving you the right info.

plus, didn't shipping on a set of brake shoes more than double the cost?

get the bmx/mtb pads
http://harriscyclery.net/merchant/370/images/large/bmx.jpg


I know, it's almost as though this were some sort of 'forum' where people were permitted to post questions and have discussions about bicycles! Imagine that.

But no, you're quite right, in future if I have any kind of question about bicycles, I'll travel the 20 miles to my LBS. After all, it's not as though there were some sort of community of knowledgeable cyclists that I could ask without leaving the comfort of my own home.

owned

I've used MTB V-brake pads in road dual pivot calipers. I also have a Langster, and used V-brake ads on the stock brakes. Once you get them to fit, which is a tight squeeze, if you don't toe-out the pads, a fair bit, they will SQUEAL. If I recall correctly, some/most v-brake pads will be too long in the back, to clear your fork blades. Unless you add a spacer/washer on the brake bolt, where the brake bolts onto the fork, at the crown, to create the space/clearance for the longer pad.

IF you do decide to go this route, on what I am assuming is a stock Langster fork, and its brake. I have successfully fit a v-brake pad from Shimano's BR-R550 cantilever brake. They only fit because they were shorter in the back, than the front. ie: almost equally long at the front as they are in the back. You'll have to experiment, to find the right pad, or just add a spacer. But I feel that would only make your brakes squeel/flex more.

BUT you do get noticeably MORE braking power with V-brake pads. You will probably have to toe your pads out/in, to keep them quiet.

I know, it's almost as though this were some sort of 'forum' where people were permitted to post questions and have discussions about bicycles! Imagine that.

But no, you're quite right, in future if I have any kind of question about bicycles, I'll travel the 20 miles to my LBS. After all, it's not as though there were some sort of community of knowledgeable cyclists that I could ask without leaving the comfort of my own home.
BLASPHEMER! BAN HIM!

from what i've heard, road brake pads are made for lots of low power stopping, meaning lots of time where the pads are rubbing the rim. MTB brake pads (presumably the ones on V-brakes) are made for high power stopping (less rubbing on rim). as such, MTB pads will wear out more quickly when used on a road bike.

it makes sense to me, but i don't know how much more quickly the V-brake pads will wear when used in a road application.

I dug out some old leftover MTB brake pads for one of my bikes as an interim measure and then forgot about them. They were fine and it was months later that I even realised. Unless you're a gear freak, they work fine. It's just a bit of rubber on a metal pin, as long as it fit's, it'll work.

I have to use asbestos pads and cross drilled rims.

I just replaced the pads on my 07 Langster. The Dura Ace pads work just fine.

Just put the pads on the bike this evening, they fit and make a world of difference. So much so that I jammed on the front brake and forgot to keep pedaling. Locked up the back wheel, did a huge fishtail and my first (unintentional) skip-stop. It probably looked cool but I almost soiled myself :lol: