Pads: Heatsink Blue pads in CNC Backings
Time used: 1 day in the street
Rim used: Rockman/Try-All Single Walled Black
Grind: No, Smooth rim for the win it seems
Ceraminc: No
Brake used: 2005 Magura HS33 on a Echo Pure 2011 frame
What is your opinion of a working brake: not necesseraly loud but a nice honk, good bite and great hold.
How do they compare to previous pads you have used: I have used heatsink Yellows on a smooth rim before and the Blues are much better! I was already impressed by the Yellows but these have clearly overpassed my expectations! I have used loads of pads on a grind: Try-All Croco Clears and Yellows, Coust pads both from Michel Coustellier and Heatsink, in CNC backings and Powerpads, TNN CRM, LGM and Belaeys, Rockman Blues and Heatsink Yellows and the Blues are just as good as some of the best of these pads.
Review:The brake is really powerful and has great bite, hold and the noise is very nice! You can feel it having good bite and good hold in both forward and reward ways. It really locks the wheel and if you listen carefully, you can hear the pads sticking on the rim. This performance might get away with time and after the pads deteriorate and are bedded in but no doubt it will still be good.
Concerning the brake noise, it is loud when you make the wheel spin fast but you just get a very nice honk when you are on the rear wheel and want to move forward of a few centimeters. Concerning the brake mounts facing operation, it took nearly no time and was already ne arly perfect when receiving the frame. So the brake is not loud, but you feel the bite and the hold is impressive. Heatsink bikes made a great work. Again! Here is a small video to show the performance of the brake:
And some pics of the set up: