I’ve always just bought the cheapest replacement cartridge pads for my road bike calipers and the braking has been fine, but seen some of the swissstop ones recommended whilst I was looking at new wheels.

They mention they don’t contain any abrasive compounds? What exactly does this mean – to my mind without some kind of abrasion (friction), the pads won’t do what they’re meant to?

Do the Swissstop ones help your rims last any longer whilst maintaining decent braking performance…..for £15-£25 a pair, compared to £5 or £6 a pair for cheapo ebay specials???

Swisstop do indeed don’t destroy your rims. Shimano have fulminants through the compound to aid braking but do in turn wear rims much quicker. You can get the green swisstop ones from Wiggle for £22.99 for the complete set. An added bonus is they don’t wear as quick. Hope this helps.

Koolstop pads also non abrasive.