I recently acquired a Mercier Galaxy and it is a great bike to me, however, the brakes are not that great. I want to start by replacing the pads with some Kool Stop pads. My question is which ones do I purchase? Do I need the holder? I attached some pics of the brakes in hopes that someone can assist. Thanks.

Might consider a pair of dual pivot brakes (tektro or shimano tiagra on ebay).

Curious, is that a new bike? It looks new and "made in China" sticker would lead me to think it must be fairly recent, but the current Bikes Direct version of that bike lists and shows dual caliper brakes.

Like f4rrest, I would look to replace those with a dual pivot. You may still wish to upgrade the pads, in which case the Koolstop "Dura" type is typical replacement for shimano style brakes and will work for most Tektro and Nashbar calipers.

The amount of tire clearance in your pictures makes me wonder if you might need a longer reach brake. I would measure first, scroll down here: Installing and Adjusting Caliper Brakes to the section titles "Reach".

The Kool Stops come with everything you need, they are bolt-on just like your current pads. I just installed these: Amazon

A lot of people will say Salmon, which are made for wet weather but perfectly good for all-around. I rarely ride in wet so got the dual. Plus, they come with an extra pair of salmon pads. I haven't even ridden with them yet, but my stock pads sucked and were embedded with aluminum shards.

I have the salmon pads and they are outstanding.

Yes they are. There was a distinct difference in braking power on my bike after I installed them.

Peel off that 'made in china' sticker. You'll get more street cred.

Thanks. I will be looking into the dura's from Amazon.

I just traded for the bike and the person that traded to me said he purchased the bike in 2012 but only rode it for 5 miles. I have his electronic receipt as well.

LOL! I'll get to work on that...I have to represent the 'hood!

Removed the "Made in China" Sticker...looks better IMO!

It might just be me, but it looks like the rim doesn't have a machined braking surface. If that's the case, getting kool stop pads may not have the drastic increase that you are looking for. I know that I had a bike with rims like that, and it was just stupid. Maybe once the paint/ano wears off, the braking will be better.

In any case, I have salmon and black, but ride only in the dry, so I've only used the black. The salmon pads are just sitting waiting for the blacks to wear out.

Good eye. That could be an issue.

OP, take a look at the specs here: Road Bikes - Mercier Galaxy

It looks to me as if at the very least the brakeset and wheels have been swapped out with lesser units and both would contribute to poor braking. While the pad upgrade will still help, going back to dual pivot brakes and bare, machined braked surface rimmed wheels should also significantly improve your stopping ability.

Sandpaper would accelerate the process.

Yup, it's what I'd do. Take off the tires, turn on some tunes, and have at it with some fine sandpaper.

I haven't ridden it that much since I got it. I think I need to ride it some more before I tear it apart and sand down the rims. I'll get some of the salmon kool stop pads and give them a try first. If I don't notice a difference, whether big or small, I'll look into some newer brakes.
Thanks for all your tips and suggestions.

Help me understand. Years ago (not so many actually) road rims didn't have machined brake tracks. The tracks were either anodized or not. Nobody complained about braking due to the surface. Now it's like folks won't even consider riding on a rim without a machined track. Still I can't tell any difference. What is it all about.

Kool Stop International - High Performance Bicycle Brake Pads Since 1977

I think it's two different things:

The machining itself gives the pad a more even surface to align to which gives smoother, consistent braking. A un-machined surface could do that, but this adds consistency.

As for coatings, some like hard anodizing and ceramics were said to improve braking in certain conditions. But not all, and sooner or later they start to wear off. Others, like color anodizing and paint do nothing or make braking worse so the sooner they wear off the better. So machining those right off the batt helps those in both respects.

And of course, machining is removing material, so you get a lighter rim out of it. If memory serves that must appeal to you.

Are there any other kinds of brake pads out there for this type of brake system other than Kool Stop? I looked on Google and it lists the Dura Ace kind, however, they do not seem to have the hex-nut style blocks like what I currently have now?
I really am trying to save money so upgrading to something like Tektro is not in the cards right now.
Thanks for checking out my post.

Those are the ones that you want, the dura ace style. They don't look like the hex-nut style because hex is ugly, and we like pretty allen bolts on our bikes.

I would definitely upgrade the front brake calipers to dual-pivot ones, like Tektro or Shimano Tiagra, as someone suggested earlier.