etherhuffer 

I have a bunch of old pads, some more rock like than others..... Ages ago we used to use a file and just rough them up and use again. Any thoughts? And....nothing compares to new Kool Stops. So this is an exercise in not throwing stuff away, which I should do!

Steelman54 

Rock is a poor braking compound, so I'd pitch 'em.

Gary12000 

i found it hard to find period looking pads when i looked recently, got some salmon colored ones which will work, but not a fan of the color, its of course a safety issue, if they still work why not use them? do they have an expiry date? , if they are rock hard well then your just filling your drawers. its hard to know what will be sought after, he quality stuff for authentic rebuilds may be useful to someone.

Velo Mule

Kool stop makes pad inserts that look close to the original pad that would fit into the aluminum pad holder. You can have a the correct brake pad look with a new, better material pad.

Here is a link to their Mafac pads

Mafac replacement inserts

I wish I didn't throw away some of the pads that I did.

ehcoplex

I've got the black Kool-Stop pads for the Mafac Raids on my PX-10 and TBH they seem to brake as well as the salmon pads on the cantis on my Cannondale. We'll see how it goes when it gets wet.....

verktyg 

Pictures?

I have a 6" flat bastard file that I lay flat on my workbench to freshen up old brakes pads. Removing 1mm+ off the face dresses them up to a flat surface again. You could use 80 grit sandpaper too. The real reason is that as rubber ages, the surface hardens making the pads useless for anything but rim polishing!

When you get below the hard surface you might find some soft rubber that may work OK. I even take up to 0.5mm off of NEW pads to get below the hard surface created by vulcanizing or other heating used during molding process.

Newer pads like Kool-Stop brand are made of polymers that are less susceptible to aging. The red pads work well for stopping in wet condition but most styles are available in general purpose black material too, MAFAC replacements:


Most red Universal brake pads were useless for anything. They had a high percentage of some kind of fiber mixed into the rubber and as they aged and became hard they tended to become crumbly!



BITD we concluded that there were 3 kinds of MAFAC brake pads in the replacement pipeline. They came stapled to cardboard displays. The oldest versions were at least 1/2 fiber and the rubber was so hard you could break them up in your fingers! ZERO braking power! 000!!!

Some later ones had less fiber but were still junk! The best were softer rubber with far less fiber. In the 70's when they were new they were some of the best stopping pads out there. Even occasionally used them on Campy brakes! Some of those old MAFAC pads can still be dressed up.

Food for thought n this old Canon camera ad:



BUT, how much do you value your health and well being?

To me SAFELY STOPPING is everything!

Even if the brake pads are going on a wall hanger, you have no idea whether someday some fool will try to ride the bike and "Look Mom - No Brakes".

It never ceases to amaze me how may penny wise and pound foolish cheapskates there are in the world of bike collectors (not directed at any one in particular - just my opinion)

I'm as guilty as most others... I have a junk box with things like lights and reflectors that I took off of old bikes many years ago. Also a box of old Weinmann, Dia-Compe and Universal parts dating back to the mid 70's.

My niece is OCD about contributing anything to landfills but safety related items that are way past their sell by date should be recycled or disposed of. The life expectancy of 20-50+ year old brake pads when new was never more than 5 years! They've always been considered "consumables" in the bike business!

BTW the term "modulation" was never more than a LAME excuse for brakes that didn't stop well! Any rider in a peloton who didn't know how to control their braking shouldn't have been in the pack in the first place.

Good riding (and stopping)

verktyg

SurferRosa

If they're Campy, I tend to use them no matter the age. Otherwise, I usually buy new kool-stop salmons.

Mad Honk 

Advertise them as cinderized brake pads and they will fly out of your shop! You likely will need a legal disclaimer before letting them leave your shop. Smiles, MH

joesch

Im not sure of the vintage of these Campy brakes and pads but they do still work pretty well.
I was told they were period correct for a 70s bike and can not find the pad for sale now looking on ebay and amazon and google. Maybe some of you all have them or know some details on the heritage ?

etherhuffer 

I did that in the past, did it again. Pulled out the flat bastard file and ran it down a few pads. Voila! Soft rubber/compound about a mm down. I got some of the early Velo Orange cantilever pads with red compound. Man, those things suck up and embed debris like crazy. Filed off a bit there too. All said, for serious riding its still new pads for me, but for dept store bikes the kids ride around here dressing the old pads will help.

thumpism 

Those ^ pads actually look like Modolo sintered pads from the '80s but yours are obviously Campy branded, so no clue there.

Nice drop bolt on that one caliper.