Just finished a mini upgrade of sorts for the brakes. I changed my OE Tektro brake pads with a pair of Kool Stops bought from BOTS Bangalore for Rs 2500 (two pairs). I don't know what the model is called precisely but it has V-type Holder written rather prominently on the packaging. I was advised this particular model by the BOTS team's Gautam.
The first thing that you notice about these pads is that they are quite large. Much larger than the Tektros. This is supposed to be an advantage as it gives you more surface contact. Next, of course, is the dual colour. The black part of the brake is supposed to be more effective in dry weather while the salmon side is for wet conditions. We shall see how effective that is in real life in a few weeks from now. But the online reviews of these brake pads is very very good. Also, they are made in America, if that makes any difference.
I am happy to inform that I did the installation or swap myself. I had watched a few videos some umpteen number of times. Incidentally there aren't too many of them on youtube. But finally realised that a basic swap is no rocket science. Anyone with a size 5 Allen key and a pinch of common sense can do it. I also chose to do it on the Friday night itself so that I could do a proper road test of my skill on Saturday and could seek Someswar's help over the weekend if things went out of control.
I first changed the front two brakes. Getting the pad to go behind the fork was a little tricky. They are seriously long and were fouling against the forks. But it can be overcome quite easily. Was reasonably satisfied with its stopping power inside the room and thought the pads were touching the rim more or less simultaneously and are equidistant from it. These are the two basic checks one needs to do after installation. Now it was time to test it out on the road. I went out despite the road being a little wet from the evening norwester. The excitement of the situation got the better of me. I had two things to test here. A. My mechanic skill. B. The stopping power of the new brakes.
I think I passed both the tests. On the road I engaged only the front brake a few times without engaging the rear brakes (so that I could understand the new brakes' stopping power). Of course, being only the front brake I didn't apply full force on them. But I think the stopping power is very adequate and much improved over the stock Tektros. It didn't squeal much. Will have to check this out more carefully tomorrow when I go for a full road test.
Back home I mustered enough courage to now swap the pads on the rear wheel as well. It didn't take too long either. And from the room test it seemed they are working fine. Both are equidistant and are engaging on the rim simultaneously. I didn't go out for a road test to check both of them working together. That is being kept aside for tomorrow morning's ride.
I have kept the Tektros nicely packed and marked. I intend to take them for the Darjeeling trip. It may not be entirely impossible to fry the brakes on the descent. I clubbed them together for rear and front wheels. I also put a thread between the spacers/washers exactly as they were separated on either side of the brake pad clamp (I am hoping that's the word). This is to counter my forgetfulness about such details.
Overall I am very satisfied with today's performance of mine as a mechanic. Actually it is important to know these basic roadside fixes if one aspires to be a serious tourer in future. I will now write a detailed how to. Although there are a couple of videos on the internet, they leave a lot of unanswered issues that you discover when you actually go to instal the pads. I shall address them in my how to.
How To Change A Cantilever Threaded Post Brake Pad
If you are reading this it is good to inform you that there are various types of brake systems in cycles. I am describing what I have. A rim brake (as opposed to disc brakes). And to be more specific a cantilever brake with threaded post (there is another type called smooth post).
The brake pad has three parts. A threaded post with a hex nut and several spacers, a metallic holder and a rubber shoe. The rubber shoes are generally changeable. That is, if the rubber shoe gets damaged or thinned out due to repeated friction then you can just change the rubber.
First you disengage the brake. After that I took off the existing Tektro brake pad. For this I used a long Allen key size 5 (on street side I may not have that long Allen key and must make do with the smaller multitool). In fact that's all the tool you need. While taking off one has to be careful about all the spacers and washers attached to the post. They will come off the post as soon as you take off the nut. Depending on the brand, these spacers will vary in number. The Tektro had more number of spacers than the Kool Stop. Now these spacers will be on either side of the clamp to which the brake pad is attached. You should note how the spacers are arranged on the existing system and from there get an idea as to how to arrange them in your particular cycle.
After you decide how many spacers should be on which side, you take the correct pad for the particular side of the cycle (these are marked Left or Right and the direction is also shown with an arrow) and engage the threaded post to the clamp and tighten the bolt. That's all that is there to it. But ...........
There are quite a few buts. First you have to ensure that the rubber sits only on the rim. Particularly the top edge of the rubber should be in line with the top edge of the rim where it touches the tyre. The pad should not touch the tyre. What I did is, I did not tighten the nut all the way. I left about one rotation and adjusted the pad properly first ensuring it was parallel to the rim and then did the final tightening. I also used a rubber band at the back of the pad to ensure proper shoeing (so that the brakes don't squeal). While tightening the bolt one has to hold the pad tight with the other hand otherwise it will also move a little up or down forcing you to rearrange its precise position.
That's all there is to changing the brake pad. I am not sure if this makes sense to any newbie. I wrote it down so that I myself can refer to it next time when I need to change it.
How To Change A Cantilever Threaded Post Brake Pad
If you are reading this it is good to inform you that there are various types of brake systems in cycles. I am describing what I have. A rim brake (as opposed to disc brakes). And to be more specific a cantilever brake with threaded post (there is another type called smooth post).
The brake pad has three parts. A threaded post with a hex nut and several spacers, a metallic holder and a rubber shoe. The rubber shoes are generally changeable. That is, if the rubber shoe gets damaged or thinned out due to repeated friction then you can just change the rubber.
First you disengage the brake. After that I took off the existing Tektro brake pad. For this I used a long Allen key size 5 (on street side I may not have that long Allen key and must make do with the smaller multitool). In fact that's all the tool you need. While taking off one has to be careful about all the spacers and washers attached to the post. They will come off the post as soon as you take off the nut. Depending on the brand, these spacers will vary in number. The Tektro had more number of spacers than the Kool Stop. Now these spacers will be on either side of the clamp to which the brake pad is attached. You should note how the spacers are arranged on the existing system and from there get an idea as to how to arrange them in your particular cycle.
After you decide how many spacers should be on which side, you take the correct pad for the particular side of the cycle (these are marked Left or Right and the direction is also shown with an arrow) and engage the threaded post to the clamp and tighten the bolt. That's all that is there to it. But ...........
There are quite a few buts. First you have to ensure that the rubber sits only on the rim. Particularly the top edge of the rubber should be in line with the top edge of the rim where it touches the tyre. The pad should not touch the tyre. What I did is, I did not tighten the nut all the way. I left about one rotation and adjusted the pad properly first ensuring it was parallel to the rim and then did the final tightening. I also used a rubber band at the back of the pad to ensure proper shoeing (so that the brakes don't squeal). While tightening the bolt one has to hold the pad tight with the other hand otherwise it will also move a little up or down forcing you to rearrange its precise position.
That's all there is to changing the brake pad. I am not sure if this makes sense to any newbie. I wrote it down so that I myself can refer to it next time when I need to change it.
Review After First Road Test
Today is Saturday. I had changed the pads last night. Missed the morning session but went out later during the day for a short test ride of about 3/4 kilometers. Went up the Lake Gardens flyover and came back. The brakes are working fine. Is there any improvement? Initially I thought so. But perhaps got used to it after a few stops. On very hard stops at high speeds there was some squealing. But that might be a new brake issue rather than shoeing in. I did not do any particular cleaning or rubbing of the new rubber before installation. And frankly I don't mind that very little squealing. But if it is a fault of fitment I will want to correct it. A mechanic should always strive for perfection.
Today is Saturday. I had changed the pads last night. Missed the morning session but went out later during the day for a short test ride of about 3/4 kilometers. Went up the Lake Gardens flyover and came back. The brakes are working fine. Is there any improvement? Initially I thought so. But perhaps got used to it after a few stops. On very hard stops at high speeds there was some squealing. But that might be a new brake issue rather than shoeing in. I did not do any particular cleaning or rubbing of the new rubber before installation. And frankly I don't mind that very little squealing. But if it is a fault of fitment I will want to correct it. A mechanic should always strive for perfection.
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