Are these the best carbon rim brake pads out there? I dunno. Are these a million times better than the stock pads that came with the wheels? YES!
Are they kind of expensive? Yes. But we bought those very expensive carbon wheels, so...
Do they ware out more quickly than aluminum rim pads? Yes. As a 70kg/155lbs rider, I get ~8000km/5000mi from a set. And that is with occasional serious descents. Not terrible.
How do the work? When it is dry, they are phenomenal. Plenty of power. I keep them towed in, and not a lot of squeaking. Although, when they get very hot, they can sometimes scream. When it is wet, well, there are a lot of internet reviews of carbon rim brakes in the wet. Definitely give yourself more time to stop. But compared with the stock pads, I am at least confident I will stop. The sand a road grit gets embedded in the pads and very negatively impacts breaking. Lightly sanding the pads after the ride brings them right back. I don't know how much of the loss of wet braking power is due to the water and how much to the road grit.
Been using these exclusively for about past five years after trying a couple different options. Pads have held up well and provide reliable and smooth braking with no unnecessary noises. Good grip in the rain and well tested once coming down west side of Vail Pass in the rain. I average around 70 miles a week commuting and recreational riding, with a couple trips a year to Colorado.
These pads have great feel and awesome stopping power. I ride a lot of hills so pass a very important to me. Havent had any fade on descents, even 17% technical grades. Great pads, would recommend them, and will buy them again!
I recently upgraded to Di2 Ultegra. The brakes squealed at high speed braking so I gave these a try. Perfect Upgrade! Since then I got a set for 2 other of my bikes and for my girlfriend as well. These are a must have component.
SwissStop pads were OEM on my Focus and the original pads lasted over 2,500 miles. They stop well in wet & dry conditions. A little pricey compared with Kool Stops but when it came time to replace my original pads there was no question that they'd be SwissStops. Happy with the stopping power--no problems.
Seems I upgrade to Swissstops as soon as the original pads that come on my bikes wear out. These things seem to stop well, last long and have great break feel on my bikes with either campy chorus or shimano DA brakes. Might not be quite as long lasting as Campy pads, but good enough.
Got a four pak. Enough for both front and rear brakes. The pad materials and their construction
look just perfect for my planned usage. Have not as yet installed, but will soon before the 100 miler coming up
in October.
I've switched all my bikes to these pads. Other pads I've had seem to pick up small metal particals and other stuff that gets embedded in the rubber and then wears the rims. Not these. So they are very friendly to your rims and won't wear them out as fast. Seem to have very good stopping power too. I cycle about 6k miles a year. But almost all on dry days. On the few wet days, these still work well.
