There was plenty of rain and downhill sections at the TOUR-Trans-Austria - ideal test conditions for the "All Weather" brake pads from Kool-Stop. The rear, salmon-coloured part of the rubber was specially developed for wet conditions. On the test bike, the brakes of the new Dura-Ace braked well with the Kool-Stop pads, even in the rain. They were also easy to modulate. Good marks were also awarded for wear: after just under 650 Trans-Austria kilometres, only 0.2 of 1.5 millimetres of available pad thickness were missing. Overall, the Kool-Stops are slightly less aggressive than the original Shimano pads, and there were no aluminium shavings in the pads. The only annoying thing was squeaking noises on steep descents with a lot of braking.
PLUS: Brakes well even in the rain; low wear
MINUS: Squeaking noises
Reference/Info: von Trotha, telephone 08733/92292, www.koolstop.com,
Price: 10 Euro/pair (also available for Campagnolo, Shimano-compatible pads fit SRAM)
Photo: Uwe Geißler
