V brake setup

[DYAKOV]

Probably asked before but here we go again - can anyone recommend decent pads/refills to use on a v-brake (front and rear)?

I have spare black adm refills, heatsink yellow refills and a few sets of coust pads. In my experience all of these have worked great on hs33 and a ground rim but I don’t think I’ve ever tried them on a v-brake - will they be too hard compound to use on a v-brake?

I’ve tried the jitsie blue refills (meant to be pretty soft compound) which worked great on the first ride, then gradually deteriorated, so I don’t really rate them. I’ve also briefly tried the clear jitsie ones which seemed really good but I sold the bike very soon after I put them on and I’m not sure how they perform over time.

On a side note - smooth or ground rim is better? Tar? Rosin?

Any suggestion on compressionless outer cable? I normally use jagwire but I’m interested in trying others.

As you might have gathered, I’ve decided to switch to dual vee on my bike, I have a couple of avid ultimates and I want to set them up to be the bees knees. Any people’s experience and tips are welcome!

Nas

Edited December 20, 2025 by DYAKOV

[DYAKOV]

Topic update

[Swoofty]

Heatsink blues were the best I found for V brakes. 

[La Bourde]

I ride Vee on the rear of my Hex and it is my favorite brake setup (and I had different HS33 setups, like Clean lever, Magura levers, Racing line lever):
Avid SD7 brake levers, Odyssey Linear Slic cable, Deore V-Brake, Odyssey clear brakepads and TartyBikes RD brake adaptors on a slightly grounded rim.
Reliable, easy to maintain, to adjust, cheap.

The BMX Odyssey Clear brakepads work perfectly and are cheap.
 

In the past, I used similar pads on a smooth rim, perfect as long as the rim sidewalls stay dry. But your ride ends as soon as they get wet.

I have also Jitsie pads as spare and my Odyssey are quite used now, so I expect to use them soon.

Edited December 22, 2025 by La Bourde

[strat-trials]

Heatsink reds were great. I have a set in CNC backings that I've had for ages and one day will re-use. I ran them on my old Ashton using Ultimate calipers and levers with a linear slick cable. 

[Swoofty]

I just bought some of those Odyssey clear pads for my BMX. Hadn't thought to use them on the trials bike. Hmmm....

[Chakers1998]

Aztec make some clear sticky u brake pads that work really well on smooth rims. 

[basstrials]

I have similar to LaBorde's setup on one of my bike , though is rear one only. Smooth rim,Avid 5 arms,Oddysey slick cable, brake booster and clear Jitsie v brake pads.These pads holds very well but they are very noisy until settling in.I noticed that the rim has to be maintained very clear in order to pads have good grip.

Bear in mind that i am not good rider,so in someone's professional hands they might be not so good.

All thr best.

Edited December 29, 2025 by basstrials