Jagwire Pro Road Cartridge brake pads

Jagwire’s Pro Road Cartridge pads inspire confidence in all weathers and thanks to universal fit they’re sound replacements/upgrades for mid range callipers. However, soft or dual compounds better serve riders nudging 90Kg-especially those regularly riding in foul weather.

I fitted ours to three markedly different brands of callipers, installation and alignment couldn’t be simpler so long as you’re prepared to experiment with spacers. From the first handful of lever, they’ve delivered squeal free, stop on a sixpence braking to both minimalist road fixers and moderately laden commu-tourers/Audax mounts on both bone dry and waterlogged roads. This encourages faster, more spirited riding whether snaking through gaps and avoiding hazards in cross-town traffic or racing full pelt on winding rural roads.

Pronounced water channelling undoubtedly enhances wet-weather prowess. However, they’ve shown grit-harbouring tendencies, rapidly evolving into a very efficient grinding paste given twenty- five miles of greasy rural road. No worse than many competitor brands but be sure to regularly inspect, purging them of grit with a toothpick as required.

Pad longevity seems good and lighter riders-especially riding fixers and other svelte road irons should find they easily outlast softer compounds. However, come time for pensioning off, pad exchanges seem very straightforward using a 2mm Allen key and presents the opportunity to experiment with the other, condition specific blends.

Twenty quid for a complete set is pretty reasonable for a performance upgrade, well-honed brakes provide the potential to ride faster in a competitive context, safe in the knowledge you’ll scrub off speed at the crucial moments. In my experience pads are the key to sharpening more modest brakesets but in some cases the Jagwire pads might be difficult to justify given some nice calliper sets also give change from £20.

Verdict

Dependable all weather pads that add extra oomph to your braking