Galfer Kevlar Brake Pads

GALFER KEVLAR BRAKE PADS

CW EVALUATION

Easy, effective brake upgrade

BRAKERS ARE EASY TO TAKE FOR GRANTED. We squeeze the lever and push the pedal, and we stop. End of report.

But there is a difference in the quality of stopping power, a difference not dependent upon tires or traction—or the cleverness of design of your bike's brake system. It has to do with the quality of pad-to-disc friction. Never have we been more aware of this than during our evaluation of Galfer Kevlar pads (Giocar America, 104 San Federico Ave., Santa Barbara, CA 93111; 805/967-2726).

The Galfer pads don't reduce stop ping distances from those achieved with the best conventional com pounds, but they do make hard stops more controllable, and also greatly re duce fade after repeated hard stops.

The folks at Giocar, who import the pads from Spain, where they're manufactured, aren't saying much about pad compound, beyond admitting that the pads contain Keviar and metallic elements, and that they don't contain asbestos. Whatever they do or don't contain, they work.

These are two-finger pads. Squeeze the lever lightly, using just the first two fingers of your right hand, and the Galfers deliver instant, immediate brake bite. We tried them on several machines, and the result always was the same. Squeeze a little harder, still applying not very much overall lever pressure, and you stop hard, no matter how fast you're going, all the while with excellent brake modulation and lever feedback.

We used the Gaiters hard, over many weeks and miles. We rode aggressive ly in the mountains, and we raced with them. They didn't fade for us, not even a little. They didn't wear much, and they appear to be very easy on brake rotors. We're very impressed-so im pressed, in fact, that we're sticking these on our personal bikes.

Prices range from $22 to $36 per pair, with pads available for most bikes. This just might be the easiest, most☺ effective brake upgrade we've ever seen.