Just put some on my road "I'm late!" bike.

I was so unprepared for the difference in stopping power they almost bucked me over the handlebars when I put my normal pressure on the brake levers.

Mama likes.

(I think maybe my brakes were in worse shape than I thought.)

Also, now I know what Christmas present my utility commuter is gonna get...

They are excellent pads. Just wait until you see the difference in the rain.

Nah, kool stops are just that good! Welcome to the repeat buyers club.. I have them on 90% of my bikes now.

Did you get the Salmon ones? They are pink. Really good for wet riding. Though Eugene gets a lot less rain than I do. Kool Stop makes other kinds too.

Of course! I'm pretty sure I'd get the full-on BF shunning if I didn't go for the salmons after hearing so much about them.

I also had to do my part to make sure we didn't get more rain - my backordered rain pants finally arrived, and the deluge we had been getting a week and a half ago immediately stopped. It's been looking dicey today, but I'm sure with my new wet-weather brakes to put through their paces, it will remain dry.

How are they in cold?

I tried Kool Stops on one of my bikes and pretty soon installed them on all 4 of my bikes. They make a world of difference in stopping power and also are much cleaner than Shimano pads, which would turn my rims black after riding in the rain.

I have not had any noticeable reduction in stopping power. I have salmons on one bike and dual compound (black/salmon) on another.

Now you understand the hype. Even my English 3-speed stops* in the rain now!

- Scott


* Well, okay, at least it slows down.

another fan-boy. much more confidence on snowy/icy days.

I have them on my bike too, for the same reasons, stopping power in wet conditions, and they are cleaner than standard pads. I think the grooves are smaller, so they tend not to pick up pea-size gravel that standard pads do. Those little rock pieces get in the grooves and can grind into the brake surface of your rim.

The other plus would be better heat dissipation in the longer pads. Don't know if that is really much of a factor unless you are going down some big hills.

I think the only pads better than the salmon Kool Stop Eagle 2's are the old Matthauser pads. They now come in plain cheap holders, but they still work well (stop well and last reasonably long). Pretty expensive, though. You can get these cheap Japanese-made Matthauser pads made to fit Shimano road holders for real cheap from Excel in Colorado. I ordered a bunch but haven't tested them yet, as I'm still wearing thru some cheap but quite good BBB pads on the front, Eagle 2's on the back. The Eagle 2's are nearing the end, and they'll be replaced by Kool Stop Euro's. And then the Japanese Matthausers go on, so they're lined up for testing some time in January.

As far as heat dissipation, I think it would make more sense to use a deep-section rim for that. A Deep V, I would think, would dissipate far more heat than a longer pad.

Luis

NB Kool Stop made the pads for Matthauser. so really a distinction without a difference..

They're kool even in the cold.

I love my cools stops on the commuter. Ice? Snow? Rain? Grease? Doesn't matter they stop me no matter what and they have almost the same stopping power as my hydros on a good day. Best investment for rim brakes there is.