I have a new old bike. It's a Trek 720 Multitrack , which was given to me by an old lady, who kept it inside, and hardly ever rode it. I've had it about a year, but I've only been riding it since May of this year , 2010.
I replaced the tires about two weeks ago, because I saw signs of DRY ROT, the rubber in the side-walls was peeling away from the threads of fiber.

Last Saturday, I went down a big hill (maybe you saw the video), and I couldn't really stop in time, I had to snake past a stopped car on the right. (It was a tee intersection with the side road on the left)
I even put my foot on the curb to help stop.

My question is, could the brake pads have dried out, the same way the tires did?
This bike is a 1992 or 1993 model, so the brake pads are 17+ years old. This bike is so old, it has cantilever brakes!

Should I invest in a new set of brake pads?

Brake shoes are synthetic rubber based too.
Kool Stop Salmon compound are a favorite upgrade.

Cantilever brakes are fitted on new bikes too, Today.

plain post , or nut or bolt hold them on is a type
dividing cantilevers into sub groups .

yes the rubber in the brakes does harden over time. you might improve them by taking sandpaper to their surface but the best thing to do is to replace then and clean your rims with rubbing alcohol.

Think of them as hardening in a way similar to the eraser on a wood-and-graphite pencil.

Rim brake pads are usually a synthetic rubber based product with various items added to increase friction and decrease wear. They do harden with time which decreases friction level so 17 year old pads are definitely best replaced.

So far as I know this is not true of disc brake pads which are more closely related to similar automotive pads. The big killer for these is oil or grease contamination.

OK,

I just got back from the LBS. I have in my posession two new pairs of brake pads.

Well, I have one pair of Kool Stop Red (part # KSW-EC2R),

and a pair of Scott Mathauser cantilever brake shoes, which are NOS. Apparently, Scott Mathauser is out of business, but I had a set of his brakes shoes once, and they stop the bike something remarkable. I may be running into a problem if they are dry, too. But I can always go back to the LBS and get another pair of Kool Stop's. (although they only have grey, I got the only pair of red, and they didn't have salmon).

I'm going to do a web search for "scott mathauser" , and then I'm going to install these items on my bike.

https://www.bikepro.com/products/brak..._math_pad.html


Scott/Mathauser Is Back In The Brake Business
https://www.allbusiness.com/retail-tr...4154343-1.html

Quote:
"BOISE, ID—Ed "Scotty" Scott's family is reviving the company he founded and making its well-known red Scott/Mathauser brake pads available again, as well as other Scott products. Scott died last year.

"Scotty had Parkinson's Disease and had a hard time keeping the business going the last few years. With the debt climbing because things slowed down, the family decided to pull the plug on it after he died last year," said Tim Bushnell, Scott's stepson and a partner in the revived business.

But that has changed.

"After cashing out some shareholders in the business and getting everything in order we decided to re-launch the business. We have been shipping brake pads for the past six months and hope to have reestablished relationships with all of Scott's old distributors by spring," he said.

Family members are joined by minority shareholder Michael Kilburn, who has been with the business for the past 12 years. He is overseeing production at the company's new assembly and warehouse facility in Boise.

Scott/Mathauser's black, alloy, finned brake-pad holders are almost as well known as the trademark red brake-pad compound it used.
..."

I should have just got two sets of Kool Stops. I think the NOS Mathausers are dried out. Although they just might need a light sanding with a piece of 120 grit sandpaper.

The Old brake pads were glazed and pitted.

IMO with V-brakes you should find the pads less critical.

Much easier to set up properly, too.

Kool Stop Salmons use the Scott-M compound.

On my recent project, I bought some avid sd7 v brakes and a lever (lever change is necessary for canti-> vbrake change). Back I left the cantis with the hold pads. I can't even lock up the wheels with them. Not sure yet if I want to buy pads or get some v brakes for the back since I rarely use the back brakes.

I do recommend v brakes, lot easier to set up and use, although at this point I think I have the canti setup steps down decently. Improperly spaced cantis will also negatively affect braking.