Zipp
My road bike came equipped with these brake pads to go with the Zipp 404 carbon wheels. When they wore-down I tried some other types and brands of carbon brake pads just because I could save a few dollars. Turns out, though, that it wasn't a good deal in the end. Other brake pads I tried made a slick surface of the carbon braking area, reducing stopping power. These Zipp Tangente pads don't do that! They provide great stopping power without marring the carbon brake surface. It seems to me, too, that they don't wear as fast as some of the earlier versions. I'm getting plenty of life from these and I won't go back to any other brand ever again!
A very stylish stuff carbon stem. Not the lightest stem, but thats the trade off for a robust and stiff construction.
Be careful with the carbon layup. As noted by other reviewers of this stem (on various sites), there is a pattern of blemishes in the carbon layup. The first stem I received had a small bump in the carbon layup on the top side of the stem. Had to get a replacement one shipped out, which was then blemish free. Biketiresdirect was very helpful and responsive in processing the replacement.
