Ryde Grizzly vs Sputnik rims

[531colin]

My carbide Grizzleys were quite lightly used for a couple of years, that's all. At first the wear on the hard pads was pretty aggressive, with fine green dust, and stuff, then the rims polished up a bit and the wet braking was not very good, so I stuck salmon pads back on and never looked back. Got a couple of pairs of hard green pads, if anybody wants them...
I can take noticeable wear off a set of salmon pads on a wet day off-road, but then you can anyway with bare alloy rims, and I don't get the rim wear!

[brumster]

Cheers for the info Colin, think might give the CSS rims another go once the current std alloy ones wear out...

[WOOLIFERKINS]

Koolstop do a CSS specific compound pad

[531colin]

............I found wet weather braking using KoolStop carbide pads wasn't as good as I like it, so I went back to KoolStop salmon, after the rims smoothed out a bit. Wet braking is now good, and pad wear is acceptable. ..............

[PH]

............I found wet weather braking using KoolStop carbide pads wasn't as good as I like it, so I went back to KoolStop salmon, after the rims smoothed out a bit. Wet braking is now good, and pad wear is acceptable. ..............

Yes, but you confuse the issue by talking about Green Koolstop pads. Koop Stop Carbide pads are black
http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/koolstop-koo ... prod19778/

Either you're colour blind, or you weren't using the carbide specific Kool Stop pads. I've never tried the Green pads for ceramic rims, that KS make a different compound for carbide is enough to tell me they're not ideal. IME the best pads for these rims are the Swisstop Blue. I have used standard pads as an experiment, I didn't notice any improvment in braking and a lot of pad got left on the the in not a lot of miles.

[531colin]

........Yes, but you confuse the issue by talking about Green Koolstop pads. Koop Stop Carbide pads are black
http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/koolstop-koo ... prod19778/

Either you're colour blind, or you weren't using the carbide specific Kool Stop pads. I've never tried the Green pads for ceramic rims, that KS make a different compound for carbide is enough to tell me they're not ideal. IME the best pads for these rims are the Swisstop Blue. I have used standard pads as an experiment, I didn't notice any improvment in braking and a lot of pad got left on the the in not a lot of miles.

I may be colour blind, or even stupid, but my bikes stop, off-road, with the wheels running in muddy water......not everybody shares your enthusiasm for Swisstop blue, and I would rather trust my experience and judgement than all the marketing blurb in the world, if that's OK with you.

......... I'd previously given up on my CSS rims ( after many 1000's km I must add ) after the braking surface totally lost it's (very) wet weather braking performance with the recommended 'blue' Swissstop pads... How old /or should I say 'used' are your CSS rims Colin? Maybe I should have tried the Salmon pads before replacing my rims with the standard alloy Grizzly?

[PH]

........Yes, but you confuse the issue by talking about Green Koolstop pads. Koop Stop Carbide pads are black
http://www.sjscycles.co.uk/koolstop-koo ... prod19778/

Either you're colour blind, or you weren't using the carbide specific Kool Stop pads. I've never tried the Green pads for ceramic rims, that KS make a different compound for carbide is enough to tell me they're not ideal. IME the best pads for these rims are the Swisstop Blue. I have used standard pads as an experiment, I didn't notice any improvment in braking and a lot of pad got left on the the in not a lot of miles.

I may be colour blind, or even stupid, but my bikes stop, off-road, with the wheels running in muddy water......not everybody shares your enthusiasm for Swisstop blue, and I would rather trust my experience and judgement than all the marketing blurb in the world, if that's OK with you.

Calm down
I was meerly pointing out a) my experience and b) that yours appears to have been based on using the wrong (Green) Kool Stop pads.

[531colin]

I've had two CSS Grizzly rims crack round the spoke holes, built by respected wheelbuilders, though this is on a Rohloff hub which may make a difference. I wouldn't buy another single eyelet rim. I like the CSS finish, haven't had any wet weather braking problems with the swisstop blue pads.

Rigida Andra rim, http://cyclingabout.com/review-rigida-andra-30-rim/...has the spoke holes angled to match the angle between rim and spoke with a large flange like a Rohloff, which might be a good idea.

Looking at Andra rims, I also came across this http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=7627.0 which includes the occasional complaint about wet braking with Carbide rims and Swisstop blue pads.
Seems to me the rims get smooth with use, and that's when the wet braking deteriorates using a hard pad, of whatever colour.
I am amazed that nobody seems willing to break away from the herd and just try something out for themselves. If the braking is crap in the wet, why not try a wet weather pad? Just put the "approved sky-blue-pink" pads in the bag and set off....worst that can happen is you will have to put them back on, in the rain.

[Brucey]

maybe it is a typo but Spa appear to suggest that Koolstop green is OK on 'ceramic' or carbide rims.

Given that the CSS rims wear smooth, it seems extremely unlikely to me that the same compound of pad would work well on both new and well-used rims. Given that wet braking is well-known to be a lot less good with CSS rims and CSS pads (to the point that Thorn no longer recommend a CSS front rim at all), any top tip that Colin has re. improved wet weather braking on well-used CSS rims is surely welcome.

cheers

[PH]

It's not a matter of opinion or experience or experimentation all of which are good. If when Colin said

I found wet weather braking using KoolStop carbide pads wasn't as good as I like it

he was talking about the green pads, then he wasn't talking about the pads Kool Stop make for carbide rims. Pointing that out is nothing for anyone to get upset about, or need defending over, nor is it an opportunity to shoot the messenger. Simple as this, if you haven't used product A you can't say how you found it.

[Bowedw]

Rohloff with Rigida CSS with blue Swisstop pads will be a fantastic combination. I have a 40/17 gear combination with 26 inch wheels. This means I do most of my cycling in the 11th gear which is the most efficient gear and it gives me a very usable spread of gears either side, it all depends on you physical ability what gear you settle on. I have Spa Cycles XG2 cranks albeit with a St John cycles chain ring but when it wears out I will have no hesitation in fitting a Spa cycles chain ring. This crankset gave me the chance to go for 165 cranks which I find is better for me in old age and with the cheaper chainrings and chain tensioner you will be able to tailor the gearing to your needs should you get the gearing wrong in the first instance.
I also believe that if you have an uneven ratio of teeth between the front and rear cogs then they last longer.

I also ride with a friend of similar age and ability (old) with a similar bike who has a 16/44 combination and he recons that's perfect for his needs so all advice should be taken with a pinch of salt.

You will not regret the purchase of a Rohloff, and the chances are that it's resale value, should you wish to part with it, will be considerably more than any other gear system

[westofsouth]

I have a Rohloff equipped MTB with 26" Grizzly CSS rear rim. V rear brake and Swisstop blue pads. No braking issues even after riding through shallow streams...