Good thing I didn't have to resort to choosing between the above choices and my problem got solved cheaply.
It all started with me finally wearing the KoolStop brake pads on my rear SLX hydraulic brakes. Bikeshops close early, generally 7PM, with the exception of very few bikeshops that close at an ungodly hour of 8PM (?!?!?!). So, if you are working normal hours, when can you get to a bikeshop? Definitely not on weekdays, unless the bikeshop is very near you. Saturdays are meant for 'Epic' rides. Sundays, bikeshops are closed.
So, in short, I cannot get replacement KoolStop brakepads. There is this bikeshop that I frequent in Kallang. I pass by this bikeshop whenever I take bus 21 home... while looking at all the nice stuff in their glass cabinets... there it was! I saw some brakepads that promise to fit my SLX brakes! They come in a cool light blue packaging and they are very cheap. These are the Imperial disc brakepads. Being a sucker for stuff that promise to be 'cheap and good' (remember the Exustar shoes?), I happily parted with my 20$ (or a bit less than that, I think) in exchange for the brakepads.
I went home, fitted it, and proceeded to break it in. These are not sintered metal pads. For organic pads, the braking power is ok. There are no suicidal downhill courses in Singapore anyway.
Fast forward 3 weeks later. My brakes became mushy!!! I immediately suspected my SLX to have given up its ghost finally. It's been two and a half years since I got them anyway. So I went to Hup Leong and described my problem to the ever patient boss, Gilbert. After listening to me, he asked me "This happened after you broke them in, right?".... wellllll, yes ...
All he did was ask one of the mechanics to take out one KoolStop sintered metallic brakepads and replace my brakepads. Guess what? That was all ! My brakes are as good as new! I protested and said that those Imperial brakes were new! I haven't even taken them to BT or Ketam! Not even once! Just 3 weekend's worth of runs in T15! That's all! He just gave me a shrug.
Anyway, now to the nice part :-) Since I didn't have to pay an arm and a leg for new brakes, I asked Hup Leong to change my tires to tubeless version of Kenda Nevegal DTC 2.1s. I have been using Stan's Olympic ZTRs anyway. As for the labor and the Stan's sealant, Hup Leong does not charge for those. So all I had to pay for were the tires!
So here they are mounted on my Stan's rims :
I've tried them on one of my city rides and today some friends and I went to Ketam and explored some of the other shorter trails around Pulau Ubin.
What can I say?! Why did it take me sooo long to change to tubeless tires. People ask me what upgrades gave me the most noticeable benefit. I always answer SPD pedals. But now, I am not sure anymore. Tubeless tires make everything easy. Don't get the wrong idea, though, that the thing that you will notice most is the grams saved by going tubeless. No, I think the weight savings is minimal. What you will notice is that your pedalling is easier in almost every kind of situation. On road, trails, over roots, over baby heads, etc. Couple this with the fact that I don't need to bring spare tube, pump and tire levers now.
Also, I have heard / read that some people experience losing air overnight. I am happy to report that this never happened to me. But the thing is I have proper tubeless rims and tires. People who lose air overnight might be using ghetto tubeless.
So, if you are looking for the next 'cheap and good' thing that you need and you have not installed tubeless tires yet, go and get yourself a pair. Your legs will thank you for it.
Lastly, here is a shot of the only BeOne Nirvana bike in Singapore. If you see this bike on the trails, do say hi to me :-)
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