Experiences of Swiss stop blue pads on your carbide rims in the (very) wet?

[brummie]

I've been running these pads on Rigida Grizzley Carbide rims for a few months now, & although the performance is very good - I do find in very wet weather it takes an awful long time for the pads to clear the water from the rim & begin to work. Anyone else have similar experiences ?

[geocycle]

I find the performance in wet is better than standard blocks on ordinary rims.  However, IMO there is no question that it does fall off sharply when very wet, although not as much as standard set ups.

[davefife]

I agree in the very wet they don't work at all well.  Just need to accomodate this into braking distance. Part of the compromise for the longevity of carbide rims and probably worth it IMO.
Any experiences with non swisstop blue pads out there?

[PH]

I have carbide rims on two bikes, 700c with cantis and 26" with Vs.  On both bikes the difference in braking in the wet is an improvment on any other rim brake I've tried, including Magura HS11, and alu rims.  The difference is more noticable with the Vs, probably because it's easier to assert more pressure.
On a side note, I need to keep the pads on the Vs well toed in to avoid squeeling, even after 5,000 miles, they still need adjusting quite frequently.  I've tried three different V brakes without changing the squeel, the present old style XT ones are the worse.  No one else seems to get the same ammount of noise, it's been suggested I get the alignment of the studs on the fork checked.  Anyone any experience of this?

Any experiences with non swisstop blue pads out there?

For the last couple of wet months I've been using WTB Razor Blades, must be discontinued, though Chain Reaction are selling them for £1.99 pr.  They feel the same when braking and seem to be lasting as well as the Swisstop. 
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=285

[davefife]

I think you are on the right track PH with the alignment of the studs.  I run Shimano v brakes on the front and Avid v's (purchased on here from Geocycle ) on the rear and the rear never squeals, i consider this is due to the quality of the bearings that fit betwen the studs and the brake arms.  The squeal is the friction caused oscillation generated by the pad and rim, on the avids this oscillation is absorbed into the bearings where on the front shimanos its not.  I am no mechanical engineer though, just my thoughts.

[malcon]

Hi
The Avid shorties on the front of My XTC have always sqealed alarmingly, the back nowhere near as much. Toe in helps but not in all circumstances and does not last. Saves using a bell.

[Gog yn y De]

My experience is that in the dry their excellent. The first time when the rims were wet it gave the impression that they were worse than my conventional V brakes/pads. However, what happened next was that I panicked and squeezed the levers very hard (I've got XTR brakes) then the things locked up - deadly! So, in my opinion/experience, when the rims are wet then I need to allow enough time for the water to clear from the rims by pulling very hard in a sort of pullsating movement. Then, once clear, the only limitation is the friction between the tyre and the road. Just make sure that the bike is perfectly upright when braking otherwise you'll be going down! Normally, once the rims are cleared of water they'll remain so unless I go through a puddle or have not used them for a while.

I'm happy with them.

[vik]

Just for comparison sakes I run Avid BB7 disc brakes on two of my touring bikes and under really wet & gritty conditions braking starts to suck as well.  Ultimately on a heavily loaded touring bike you better expect to take a lot longer to stop when it's pouring rain and even more so when riding on dirt roads.

safe riding,

Vik
www.thelazyrando.com