Testing out different BMX brake pads

I really dislike the squeal of BMX brakes. So this is a test to see if some of these other brake compounds and styles work as good as the loud ones that stop on a dime.

[@CreepyKrunch]

This is just what I needed, I couldn’t figure out how to get rid of the loud squeak. All I could find on the internet was if they had metal bits in it they would make noise. Thank you👍

[@paddingtonsnare987]

Haha, I liked the testing part. Wasn't expecting that😂 I'm thinking of converting my Ubrake to work a little more like a V brake as even after many adjustments I still can't get the brake to lock whilst riding and generally speaking its not great. It's better than it was, but not good enough! You can remove the straddle gubbins and just use a slightly longer cable with a Vbrake noodle. This makes for a more direct pull and better grab. I saw a video here on KZbin titled BEST way to improve a BMX U Brake If anybody wants to try it out ☺️

[@andrevara6063]

This is definitely the video that I need, thanks dude!

[@andersonslade3226]

I've been using vintage Mathauser's on all of my builds for years. I finally just bought some Kool Stops, figuring I would try out their salmon compound. I had no idea until now that Kool Stop bought out Mathauser. Great to know since the vintage pads can be pricey. Good info all around, thanks.

[@jsvecnik615]

I'm old school (and just plain OLD) and ride BMX with brakes (both front and rear). For my flatland bike (Lineage Master), Kool Stop Clears are the ticket- they're definitely LOUD (but I'm weird and actually like the noise). For my 24" cruiser machines (some with Tuffs, some not) I still run Kool Stops (different compounds depending on wheels/brakes) but I always sand new pads with some fine grit sandpaper. Works for me, others may feel differently and that's cool.

[@bonter1983]

I ride brakes, always will. Thanks for this video!

[@513tv6]

I’ve been looking at different kool stop compounds to try on my new build and this video helped a lot, my advice would be to take some fine grit sand paper to the pad a little bit before you put them on. I do it with all my fresh pads and it seems to avoid most if not all of the break in process.

[@ShadLife]

I use a fine file to accomplish the same thing.

[@3rdWorldNola]

Brant Moore and adam banton (member him? He had braces for a long time) should have a loudest squealer brake contest. You ever sandpaper the pad before the install. Rub off the shine.

[@ShadLife]

I use a file, but yeah, same concept.

[@DRONIXAR]

Thanks for sharing my friend

[@Reaperzx6]

I recently got a pair of Odyssey clear pads and I was told they were loud but I wasn’t ready I hit the brake and they felt amazing but they caused everyone in the area to look at me

[@ShadLife]

🤣 Yep... that's what will happen.

[@riffsxd]

Awesome video will most definitely take all the things you noted into account when looking for brakes! But what shoes would you recommend for ridding street bmx?

[@ShadLife]

If you run brakes for street, most riders don't, I would run clear brake pads. Those stop the best, but they are also really loud!

[@Wannaridebikes]

Years ago I was mtb. Riding in the woods for hours. I come flying down the trail. Hit my brakes it sqealed so loud it scared a horse and threw the rider off. Where I rode they use the trails for walking and horse riding. But no horses were seen that day. …but I had to apologize to the lady. That day I took off the rims cleaned them and got new pads.

[@ShadLife]

😮

[@meckkz387c]

New subscriber

[@cecilhunnicutt7053]

So which ones were the best? I’m currently running the duel compound Bmx pads on evo 2.5s on my 20”. I think I liked the loud koolstop freestyle pads better myself

[@ShadLife]

None of them work as well as the clear Odyssey ones that make a ton of noise.

[@stephenwhite5444]

Great video! I was wondering what you ended up determining what was the best stopper with minimal noise? I really want some pads that are good enough to do tricks but not real loud. I'm using old school side pull brakes from the 80's (mx1000) and clear pads work great....but louddd. Looking for something else.

[@ShadLife]

The orange Kool Stop ones work best, but not as good as clear pads. If you lightly sand off the shiny coating it helps quite a bit.

[@stephenwhite5444]

@@ShadLife so you can stop hard enough with the orange Kool Stop to do tricks and such? And they are fairly quiet? I think street and trail riding where I'm going fast and have to ride the brake a bit, instantly glazes the clear and they become super loud with my alum rims, even if freshly sanded. Thanks for the info about orange pads!

[@ShadLife]

It depends on the tricks. If I am doing an abubaca, which is what tests my brakes more than anything else, I would say they don't work well enough. Only clear pads seem to do what I need for that. As for riding trails and street and needing to slow down quickly without destroying everyone's ear drums, they work good enough. I ended up just going back to clear pads because I do abubaca's fairly often and don't want my bike to slip out on me. So far nothing has compared to clear pads on painted rims or anodized rims. For chrome rims the softer black Odyssey pads and the orange Kool Stop pads work as well as clear pads on colored rims.

[@stephenwhite5444]

@@ShadLife thanks for sharing man, I think I'll go get some KS orange pads right now

[@zacharyblessittdockery3748]

We're did you get the bank pads at

[@spudgun1590]

I just recently changed to clear pads on my 24" and while they worked very well, they were unbearably loud. I tried towing them in and they gripped extremely well but became louder and sent vibrations that resonated through the frame and the entire bike, so horrible! I changed them back to the stock pads.. but I might give the white ones a go. Wishing they still had chrome rims on everything. I would love a set of chrome rims but these days chrome quality is pretty shit and would be gutted seeing them rust after like 5 years, I'm guessing thats a big reason they lost popularity too

[@ShadLife]

The chroming process is pretty environmentally damaging and that's one big reason we don't see it much. I know some places in Mexico still do it. Does your 24" have U -Brake mounts?

[@xtraflyr]

Great info. I just put front odyssey Evo 2.0 and medium levers on my 2022 Hoffman Condor. Also installed a set of clear cool stops on the front. Kinda loud like a Turkey call,but they stop well. How about a how too,set up brake calipers and brake handles ? I’d like to see if I have my new front Evo2.0 and handles set up properly. I’m never sure how much they should move before grabbing the rim.

[@ShadLife]

I have the same brake and will be installing it soon. So expect a video of me installing and setting up the Evo 2 brake.

[@xtraflyr]

@@ShadLife I had to use the odyssey Boomerang adapter to adapt the front Evo 2.0 to my Hoffman Condor. It had a bottom pull caliper. I’m glad I found your Channel. I’m 55 and just getting back into riding BMX.

[@eliasprime]

I have brand new brake pads and new rims but mine don’t squeak even though they are sharp and lock up pretty good. And I love the sound of bmx brakes and I was wondering if you knew what I’m doing wrong or how I can make them squeak

[@ShadLife]

Get clear brake pads. Trust me, they will squeak! 😂

[@LastBaws]

my oddessey pads started making that noise, then it went away after they got broken in. my front brake is having problems braking, squeeze the lever tightly and it takes a while to slow down. i need to adjust it probably. and my back brakes are Oddessey Springfield black U brakes

[@cecilhunnicutt7053]

Get clear front and back, either koolstop freestyle or clear odyssey

[@zacharyblessittdockery3748]

And how much money we're tay

[@supernoobsmith5718]

The reason they squeal....very simple....990's DO NOT WORK. It is an awful design. It always was. From an engineering standpoint, it's almost like they are designed to ROB power. When they came out in the mid 80's, they sucked, and many of us just kept using regular calipers. Then at some point someone started making sticky rubber pads. Claiming this as a solved problem. Today's 990's don't actually work at all, it's all just stick and no modulation. That noise is because it is chattering in a very microscopic way. The problem will not be solved until people are honest about the true failure that is the 990 brake, design something different, and use rubber that doesn't stick.

[@ShadLife]

I have always thought beefed up v-brakes would work.

[@supernoobsmith5718]

@@ShadLife I'm not even sure what the industry's rationale is for not using them. V brakes work amazing because the engineering is proper. It squeezes the rim like a walnut in a nutcracker. 990's squeeze on the wrong side of the pivot. The angle of the arms and the angle of the cable's connecting point to it are all off. Example: Imagine your task is to pull an ox cart with a rope on flat ground. But I said, you can't pull from the ground. You must pull that cart along the flat ground while hoisted in a tree. So you're pulling at an angle robbing most of your power. That's 990's.

[@ShadLife]

I think the reality is that most riders now don't use brakes. It's an area of the bike industry no one seems to care to solve. In the 90s I ran a front V-Brake plate and a brace on my brake and it was probably one of the best front brakes I ever had, that wasn't disc anyway. It's a bummer you can't run discs because they would get absolutely destroyed. So to me, v-brakes would be the best solution.

[@supernoobsmith5718]

@@ShadLife Disc brakes are the answer, it's just nobody wants to develop it proper for freestyle-bmx. It can totally be done, a very small rotor designed very close to the hub, and an integrated guard. It would look like a larger hub guard. We don't do road speeds for bmx, so the rotor can be tiny, think the size of a cassette. And the brake could be a tiny minuscule affair. If we can put a freewheel/cassette on one side, and guard it from grinds....it can most certainly be done on the other side for the brake. Engineers are thinking too large of a rotor.

[@ShadLife]

@@supernoobsmith5718 Interesting. I have a 140mm rotor on my BMX race bike and it's plenty good with just a mechanical brake. So yeah, I do wonder.