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New Zipp Platinum Pro All Conditions Brake Pads for Carbon Rims

zipp platinum pro all conditions carbon fiber rim brake pads
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zipp platinum pro all conditions carbon fiber rim brake padsZipp Speed Weaponry has just unveiled their new Platinum Pro all conditions brake pads for carbon rims.

Developed with SwissStop, the silver brake pads were designed to offer reliable stopping power in super dry and soaking wet conditions. The compound also handles heat well under heavy braking on hot days.

They have no abrasives to damage the rim surface and promise not to discolor your rim, either.

Full PR after the break…

PRESS RELEASE: The best carbon wheels deserve the best all-around brake pad. The new Zipp Tangente Platinum Pro Brake Pad delivers smooth speed control, long wear life and reliable stopping power for use on carbon braking surfaces in all conditions, wet or dry.

To create the new silver pad, the bike-brake experts at Zipp and SwissStop® put their minds together to develop an all-purpose pad designed for carbon clincher and tubular rims. The result was a pad that retains consistent stopping power, even on rain-soaked roads.

And when it’s hot and dry, the Tangente Platinum Pad’s uniquely formulated compound better manages the extreme temperatures that can result from heavy braking on carbon. Just like a champion cyclist, this pad is a versatile performer.

Now, we know there remain faithful fans of cork and its smooth, consistent feel. That’s why Zipp is still offering the Tangente High Performance Cork Brake Pad. But we designed the Tangente Platinum to provide that same predictable ride during the many lighter brake touches required to navigate turns or group rides.

Roughly a dozen versions of the pad were tested before the right formulation was found to create the Tangente Platinum. That research included use by the pros.

In many instances, mechanics at top professional cycling teams switch out brake pads: One for rainy days, another for sunny days. Some riders even preferred one type of pad for the front brake and a second for the rear.
The Zipp-sponsored Saxo Bank-SunGard team used the Tangente Platinum Pad through much of the 2011 cycling season, with riders providing valuable feedback to Zipp engineers. By the 2011 Tour de France, the pad was a mainstay on many Saxo Bank-SunGard team bikes.

What’s more, the durable pad has no abrasives that damage the rim. The pad also does not discolor rims.
Service notes:

The Tangente Platinum Pad ($40 for two-pad kit) is designed for use on carbon rims and has not been approved for use on aluminum braking surfaces. It is available for SRAM, Shimano or Campagnolo 2011.

With the introduction of wider rims, we have noticed that there is some special attention required on certain brake setups. The Tangente Platinum pad is roughly 1.2mm wider, relative to the brake caliper arm, than our Tangente Cork pad. In certain applications this may require an adjustment to the spring tension screw on some brakes, which also controls the width that the brake caliper is able to open. If a simple cable adjustment still will not allow fitment of the wider rim inside the brake pads, please refer to your brake manufacturer’s installation manual to determine if the caliper can be opened further. Most have this ability.

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Matt
12 years ago

I’d love to hear how these jive with carbon wheeled CX bikes that have brake chatter issues at the front end. Better than Yellow King Swiss Stops? Worse? Same? Heat isn’t an issue in this application, grabbiness is.

Steve
12 years ago

Sram is already warrantying these pads and they aren’t even out yet.

AlexK.
AlexK.
12 years ago

Or the UCI and bike manufacturers could get their heads out of their asses and start using disc brakes like everyone else. Go disc and you don’t have any of these stupid issues with carbon and brake pads.

Juan C
Juan C
12 years ago

@Matt Unless you are talking about some other kind of chatter – that issue has little to do with the brake pad and everything to do with flex at the fork crown relative to the brake housing stop under your bars.

Switch to a linear pull brake, or to a housing stop attached to the fork crown and the chatter goes away. See Leonard Zinn on this…

Monkey
Monkey
12 years ago

AlexK.
did you invent road width disc hubs overnight last night?
then I might be able to use my road wheels that have disc on them in my cx bike?
Otherwise, no go. Why buy a 700 c wheeled bike that has wheels/rims/hubs that are only good on one bike.
Spacing Alex!

Robin
Robin
12 years ago

Obviously the mere existence of disk brakes somewhere instantly get rid of the “stupid issues with carbon and brake pads.” Of course, believing that sort of propaganda requires that you either have an issue or believe that everyone has an issue, as well as believing that disks must be necessary. Of course, neither is true in all cases.

mkrs
mkrs
12 years ago

@Matt

Brake chatter develops – paradoxically – when your pads are too grabby. Brake chatter happens when a fork is not stiff enough and it bends under hard braking, causing over-tensioning of the cable and in consequence – complete blockage of the front wheel, which makes it slip (which in turn returns the cable to its original level of tension). So what you actually need in order to cope with brake chatter is less grabby pads (or a stiffer fork, of course).

Joshua
Joshua
12 years ago

@Monkey

130mm spacing is dead or dying. Going forward, all worthwhile disc applications on CX and road bikes will be using 135mm spacing. This is a serious no-brainer for bike makers, as Asia is flush with high quality 135mm hubs , and they’re already retooling frame production for disc brakes, so there’s little or no additional cost associated with this industry-wide change.

bart
bart
12 years ago

Velocity makes a 130 mm disk hub…but it does seem everyone is switching to 135mm hub spacing for cross…disk brakes for cross/road will keep the 135mm hub alive as montain bikes are full throttle into 142.

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