Shimano Ultegra

Price Paid:  $0.00

Favorite Ride:
Sunny,hilly with good company.

Bike Setup:
Bianchi sl3,ultegra 9,mavic kysrium elites

Summary:
just returned from a very wet and hilly training ride,to find these pads had worn down so quickly that the metal wheel guides on the cartridges were starting to score grooves in my rims[kysrium elites]initially thought this had been grit embedded in the pads,due to the horrendous noise when I pulled on my levers.

Strengths:
none

Weaknesses:
weak in the rain ,dangerous;due to extremely rapid wear in wet and hilly terrain.

Price Paid:  $0.00 at LBS

Bike Setup:
stock Trek 5200

Summary:
Very disappointed in both the stock pads that came with the bike and the replacement pads I bought the following year. Pads ground down the braking surface of my rims; I found metal shards embedded in the pads! Initial stopping power was OK, but declined very quickly.

Strengths:
none worth mentioning

Weaknesses:
quality, durability, cost

Similar Products Used:
Kool Stop salmon

Price Paid:  $8.00 at nashbar

Favorite Ride:
antwhere not raining

Bike Setup:
Trek 1500

Summary:
Yes! The rumours are true! These pads aren't too good. I mean they stop the bike, but they're noisey, slow, not too good in the rain ( which I hate riding in anyway!) and abrasive. I swap them out after about 3-4 months and that helps because they start out ok, but go downhill radidly. I'll try something else next time.

Strengths:
Not expensive. Better than using feet.

Weaknesses:
Noisey, slow, abrasive, not good wet

Similar Products Used:
no name stuff, other Shimano

Price Paid:  $20.00 at Chain Reaction, Redw

Favorite Ride:
To work

Bike Setup:
trek 2300, 1998, stock carbon/aluminum bike.

Summary:
I bought these pads and they worked fine for about 500 miles. And then they started to tear up the rims. Mike at Chain Reaction bicycle confirmed that the Ultegra pads in 1998 were too abrasive and would eat away the sidewalls of rims (i have mavic cxp-21's).

do not buy these pads. luckily, i have kool stops at home and i'll replace these with kool stops tonight.

Strengths:
came free with the bike

Weaknesses:
destroyed another component on the bike

Similar Products Used:
i've never used another product this bad.

Price Paid:  $0.00 at Calmera

Favorite Ride:
Gimel Climb

Bike Setup:
Trek 2000 aluminium frame, 105 STI with Ultegra drivetrain, stronglight 7 speed tripple crank, CRAP wheels

Summary:
WORTHLESS; TRASH; JUNK! i feel desperately ripped off. Bought ultegra brakes, and this bogus pads came with it. They are damn useless. They just dont brake, modulation is non-existant, specially in the rear wheel. You apply the brakes and it doesnt brake at all until one point where it block the wheel and you start skidding. the front brake is not as bad, but its far from the stopping power i've seen on some campy brakes. Will be replacing them SHORTLY. I havent noticed the destroying on the rims, but i'm on crap rims anyway.
Oh and in rain, you might as well stick your shoe between the wheel and the frame, because that is the only way you are going to stop. Not only that, but also in the rain the MELT and make your rims BLACK. impossible to remove if it dries up.

Strengths:
They came with the brakes... They will make you exercise your finger muscles... Oh yeah, and they are easy to remove, so you can dump them and get some real pads.

Weaknesses:
Just about every measuralbe aspect. i bet leather pads perform better.

Similar Products Used:
105 pads. Not much better...
Tested campy. I hate that italian crap for shifting, but it sure brakes good... Even the Mirage...