10 Best Bike Brake Pads 2021
If your brake pads started to lose their grip it’s time to replace them. You don’t want to wait too long as the bolts or the cartridge can damage your rim. However, find the best bike brake pads usually hide in the rather long list of currently available products.
This guide brings you the top 10 deals you can get. Besides providing you with 10 amazing brake pads will also take a look at the top 5 products and analyze them thoroughly. Deciding what brake pads to buy can’t get easier than this.
Things to Consider Before Buying Brake Pads
- Type. The best way to determine what brake pads you need is to take a look at your previous brake pads. This way you can’t go wrong and come with a bad decision. There are various brake pads each with their own pros and cons.
- Compatibility. It’s even more important to know if the pads can be mounted on your brakes. The bolts may be too big or the pads may be too thick. Apply the same principle when making your decision as when you’re figuring out what type is the right one. Surely the seller didn’t give you a bike with malfunctioning brakes.
- Quality. Brake pads should allow the cyclists to reduce the speed when necessary. Sometimes you have to act fast. The brake pads performance largely depends on the quality of the material they’re made of. If it’s some hard galvanized rubber it may take you longer too pull over. On the other hand if the rubber is too soft you will be able to pull over instantly, but the pads will wear off considerably sooner.
- Reliability. The best way to determine if the brake pads are reliable or in other words they will be there when you most need them is to look for the country where they have been manufactured. We’ll let you determine what manufacturers are reliable. Another way to estimate the reliability is to see who the manufacturer is. Manufacturers such as Shimano, Campagnolo and Mavic will certainly not disappoint you. However, they tend to be a bit more expensive.
Top 10 Bike Brake Pads Comparison
| Picture | Name | Description | Price | Rating (1-5) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 1. Tektro V-Brake | V-brake pads/ Threaded/ Symmetric/MTB | $$ | 4.9 |
 | 2. Shimano Dura-Ace BR-7900 Road Brake Pads (R55C3) | Cartridge Flexible/ All types | $$ | 4.7 |
 | 3. Swisstop FlashPro (Shim/SRAM Road) Brake Pads | Cartridge /Pro Brake Pads/ Road Bike | $$$$ | 4.7 |
 | 4. Kool-Stop Dual Compound Mountain Pads | V-brake pads/ Asymmetric/ MTB | $$$ | 4.5 |
 | 5. Ventura Complete Bike Brake Pad Set, 70mm | V-brake pads/ Symmetric | $$$ | 4.4 |
 | 6. Avid 20R Brake Pad Set | V-brake pads/ Symmetric | $ | 4.4 |
 | 7. Kool Stop MTN Mountain Bicycle Brake Pads | V-brakes pads/ Symmetric/ MTB | $$$ | 4.4 |
 | 8. Dia Compe 76 Grey Matter Brake Pads (Bag of 4), Grey | Economical Brake Pads/ Road Bike | $ | 4.3 |
 | 9. Diamondback Softee Bmx Brake Pads | V-brake /Threaded Mount Brake Pads/ BMX | $ | 4.3 |
 | 10. Mavic Exalith II Brake Pads One Color, Campagnolo | V-brake/ Symmetric | $$ | 4.2 |
Top 5 Best Bike Brake Pads Reviews
1. Tektro V-Brake
It was a tough call to make, eventually the Tektro V-brake Threaded pads got the privilege to be the best bike brake pads on our list. There are several reasons why this is the case. After all they have to be an all-around great product to be considered as the best.
First and foremost, it’s easy to mount V-brake pads. You don’t have to be an expert or a mechanic to know how to replace the brake pads. On top of this the list of necessary tools is extremely short. If you are having any problems with the replacement try searching for some tutorials online. Changing the brake pads yourself saves you few dollars that you would otherwise gave to the bike shop mechanic.
These pads are 70mm long and will fit most linear brakes. They come with 4 threads that significantly improve the braking efficiency. In addition these threads let you know if you need to replace the pads.
2. Shimano Dura-Ace
You can go in a Shimano bike shop and get absolutely everything for your bike. They manufacture and sell virtually every bike part you can think of, bike brake pads are not an exception. The Dura-Ace BR-7900 are designed to fit and perform well on road bikes. You can stop with these in a blink of an eye and still have complete control of your bike. No spiking during braking. Since these are cartridge pads you should be careful when buying these. However if they are compatible go for them, you can’t go wrong with a Shimano product. They perform well in both dry and wet conditions. Furthermore, the Dura-Ace BR-7900 don’t make any noise in wet conditions.
They are the ideal brake pads for aluminum rims. With a good grip that can be controlled fairly easy you’ll have absolute control over your bike even when attempting to reduce your speed to 0.
3. Swisstop FlashPro
Switzerland is known as a country where the finest manufacturers are located. The saying “works like a Swiss watch” stands for a reason. Here we have the Swisstop FlashPro Brake pads. They’re made of BXP rubber which to be honest perform amazingly. They’re also easy to replace. You just need to bolt them on the brakes and voila. Note this is a set of 4 brake pads. Don’t order two of these unless you want to have a pair on the side.
The Swisstop FlashPro are a bit pricey. Nevertheless, you’ll have premium brake pads that will allow you to reduce your speed reliably and smoothly. A $1,000+ bike with entry level brake pads looks like a Lamborghini with thin low quality tires. It looks silly right? Well if you’re a serious cyclist you need a set of these. It doesn’t matter what type of rims you have. The Swisstop FlashPro will stop you dead in your tracks.
4. Kool-Stop Dual Compound
Unlike the previous 3 sets of brake pads which are symmetric, these Kool-Stop Dual Compound brake pads are asymmetric. They’re designed to meet the needs of passionate mountain bikers. Tackling steep slopes is not a problem at all. There are quite a lot of cyclists who prefer these asymmetrical brake pads. Due to the differences of the forces while reducing your speed the asymmetric design seems to outperform symmetrical in some cases. Depending on the rim, the weather conditions and the rubber used certain asymmetrical brakes are the pads to use. The Kool-Stop Dual Compound are certainly among those recommended brake pads.
Note this set is for mountain bikes. Mounting them on your road bike is not such a good idea. If you’re looking for a road bike brakes check out some of the previous brake pads.
5. Ventura Complete
This is your regular above average bike brake pads. As average they seem, they still deserve to be among the top 5 best bike brake pads. The pads are 70mm long which is pretty much the standard for linear brakes. They have 5 threads on them which significantly improve their overall efficiency and effectiveness. When you order make sure you order 1 set as the package includes 4 pads, 2 front and 2 rear. These work only with V-brakes since their shape can’t fit in standard cartridges.
In terms of cost they sit above the market average. However, paying these few extra dollars means you’ll have brake pads that will last significantly longer without losing their effectiveness.
If your bike has V-brakes we highly recommend you to replace them and fix them yourself. The process is easy to learn and you’ll also save few dollars. Who knows maybe you’ll open your little bike shop in the garage.
The Ventura Complete Bike Brake Pads despite being only 5th on our best bike brake pad list are an option to consider. If you still doubt your decision take another look at our list.
