Helvetia Sports recently spent 10 days in the Swiss Alps testing the new YELLOW KING compound brake pads. They were used on a pair of Lightweights, the exotic German made carbon wheels made famous by several Tour de France winning riders.

Fitted to the test bike's Dura Ace calipers, the new Yellow King rubber compound provided excellent stopping power on the carbon fiber braking surfaces. It was immediately apparent that the braking was very linear and predictable, which provided heaps of confidence on the high speed descents and tight corners of our training rides. I began to hold speed deeper into the turns and quickly saw the advantage of powerful and reliable braking on the carbon wheels. Not only was this incredibly exhilarating but it made me think of the advantage such confidence would be in race conditions.

Speaking of race conditions, pro mechanics change traditional cork based carbon pads regularly, often daily during the Grand Tours. Since the Yellow King is a rubber based compound it has a much longer service life. During our test we logged over 1200 km with the Yellow King, including many hours in the rain and some very long alpine descents. The pads were removed from the bike after the test and showed virtually no signs of wear.

Unlike traditional cork based carbon pads the rubber compound of the Yellow King is also very good on aluminum wheels. This means that you can switch between carbon and aluminum, and that's exactly what we did. Braking with the Yellow King pads on the aluminum rims was quite good. After a quick cleaning of the surface of the pad and a check for aluminum particles we switched back to the Lightweights and were on the road again.

Our conclusion after 10 days of hard riding with the Yellow King is that these brake pads will solve a number of problems associated with braking on carbon fiber surfaces, particularly the wet weather conditions. We found it extremely convenient to be able to switch back and forth between the carbon and aluminum wheels without changing the brake pads. Before we left Switzerland Swissstop told us that they expect to see the pads used by a number of teams in the Tour de France - not a surprise considering the unique capabilities of these new brake pads