All,
Can you install normal Shimano brake pad holders on Cervelo brakes? I have a 2005 P3 and would like to switch brake pads when putting carbon race wheels…
Thanks,
Laurent
Even better, just pop in some Kool-Stop black pads which are carbon compatible or invest in some Zipp carbon padds (made by Kool-Stop) which give a little better braking then the standard black pads but cost 2X as much. Then you can use the brakes on both regular and carbon rims, no switching. I’ve been doing this for a while and will be doing it on my new P3sl as well.
Don’t you find the carbon pads wear really fast if used regularly?
My wife uses carbon pads for her Zipp 440’s, but they were wearing too fast during training, so now I swap back to regular pads for the off-season, then just put the carbon (the Zipp labelled) pads back on during race season, and swap again if there is long spell between races.
The carbon pads do work a lot better.
Hmm, no problems yet using the carbon pads with regular wheels. I’ve got over a year on my current pads but I do switch out bikes and probably only get a little over 100 miles a week.
Thanks for the replies…actually, there are some brake pads/pad holders for sale on eBay and I was thinking of buying this - then I would just have to switch the brake pad holders…
The brake pad holders are Shimano Dura-Ace - not sure if those would fit well on Cervelo brakes, hence my original question - which remains unanswered 
Laurent
Don’t know if the Shimano brake pad holders will fit on Cervelo brakes but I don’t see why not. If they don’t fit you can replace the Cervelo brake pads with the Shimano pads. I’ve done this and they fit fine.
I’ll second Tai’s suggestion for the Kool-Stop pads. They’re probably the best on the market.
Laurent,
I don’t know the specific answer to your question but I would recommend that you switch the whole caliper since the Tektro brakes are not very effective. A good value replacement brake is the Blackwell Research stuff ($129/ pair for DuraAce 7700 with ti bolts) although the Zero Gravity stuff is extremely nice but damaging to the budget
Also, please change your pads when you run carbon rims (to kool-stop or whatever). It is possible (but not as likely anymore) that you will get aluminum fleck in your pads from your regular rims. These flecks will cause sometimes severe scratches in your carbon braking surface. Besides it makes you give the bike a true pro go-over when you are prepping for a race.
Thanks all for the replies - just wanted to make sure I wouldn’t get brake pads/holders that I couldn’t use.
It’s true I don’t like the feel of the cervelo brakes very much - clearly not as nice as the Ultegra set on my road bike - has the tektro brake lever got to do with it, or is it just the brake caliper that is ‘crappy’ ?
He has a 2005 P3 so that has a completely different brake. As for brake pads, if you really want to do it properly you don’t use the same pads for carbon and Aluminum. Not just for performance (as some say you can keep our carbon pads on your Alu wheels and it works fine) but because you can have some debfis from your Alu rims embedded in your pads and then proceed to wreck your carbon wheels. I would keep one set of pads for use withyour carbon wheels and one set for with your Alu training wheels. This is regardless of the types of brakes and wheels you use, just as a precaution.