Brakes that use cartridge system - any advantages?

[zzyzzx]

I need new brake pads for my bike. Bike is a vintage 1989 road bike with Shimano 105 brakes. Some of the new pads seem to work with a cartridge system, which I assume would be backward compatible, but I am having trouble understanding why I would want that. Any reason to want to use cartridges on bike brakes?

 

[nthach]

Don't need to swap the holders out when it comes time to replace the brake pads - and the "friction" material is somewhat better.

 

[zzyzzx]

Wes replacing the brake holders that hard? Am I missing something???

 

[buck91]

Depending on your brakes it could save a few minutes of setup when swapping pads.

 

[skyactiv]

It was done mostly for economics. It was cheaper to buy the friction inserts than a complete set of brake pads back in the day.

 

[zzyzzx]

From what I can tell, the inserts are almost as expensive as a whole new piece. Still seems to me that they are trying to solve a problem that does not exist.

 

[cchase]

It depends on what kind of brakes you are running and what your goals are, I suppose.

If you don't like them, just buy complete replacements. Some high end brakes use expensive holders, for example.

 

[nthach]

Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
From what I can tell, the inserts are almost as expensive as a whole new piece. Still seems to me that they are trying to solve a problem that does not exist.

I can get SRAM pads for $11, OEM Swissstop ones too. The cartridge style doesn't need adjustment during pad replacement.

 

[UG_Passat]

Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
I need new brake pads for my bike. Bike is a vintage 1989 road bike with Shimano 105 brakes. Some of the new pads seem to work with a cartridge system, which I assume would be backward compatible, but I am having trouble understanding why I would want that. Any reason to want to use cartridges on bike brakes?


The primary advantage is if you're racing a lot, you can quickly swap pads for different conditions and/or different wheels...ie dry day vs wet, aluminum braking surface vs carbon fiber.