Better brakes

dmch2

My trek 1.5 has unbranded brakes on it and was a bit scary down a bendy 13% hill in a 30 zone today as i knew a t junction lay in wait for me.

Admittedly the road was damp but even so the whole rim was pretty warm afterwards. Reading about hot tyres bursting was scaring me even more!

Will tiagra calipers (to match everything else) help? Or better pads? Or are road bikes just rubbish at braking compared to my hybrid with it's deore XT set of V brakes?

Or should i just MTFU?

softlad

dmch2 wrote:

Admittedly the road was damp but even so the whole rim was pretty warm afterwards. Reading about hot tyres bursting was scaring me even more!

that might be an issue descending Ventoux at speed in the middle of summer - but it seriously ain't going to be a problem in the UK - in the wet - and in these temperatures.

sungod

in damp/wet i tend to give a dab on he brakes every now and then, more frequently on hills or in traffic, to clear water/mud, otherwise there's a scary lag when you really want to stop

but if the brakes are just not holding, and they're set up ok, new pads can make a big difference

koolstop salmon are good in the wet

haven't done a comparison with swissstop on the same bike, but they're on my new bike and they seem very, good although haven't been in really wet conditions with them

it's cheaper to try some pads than to swap brakes, plus if you do end up changing brakes, the pads can be used on them too

solboy

dont bother with the tiagras mine were crap, my 105s are better but sram force and swissstop pads would be the ultimate IMO

PeterBL

Try new pads first (Shimano R55C3, KoolStop or Swissstop).

If you still want a new brake, you must buy a long reach one, ie. standard road bike brake will not fit your frame.

jamesfifield

Hi,

I had a Lemond Reno, which I am fairly certain has the same brakes as your 1.5. A change of brake pad can make a huge difference, or at least it did for me.

In the long run, if you are in the market then I have a set of SRAM Rivals from a couple of years ago that certainly will be a step up. Having said that, the best brakes I've tried (including DA, Red, and Super Record) are the Planet X CNC brakeset, which also comes with SwissStop pads as standard.

dmch2

sungod wrote:

in damp/wet i tend to give a dab on he brakes every now and then, more frequently on hills or in traffic, to clear water/mud, otherwise there's a scary lag when you really want to stop

but if the brakes are just not holding, and they're set up ok, new pads can make a big difference

koolstop salmon are good in the wet

haven't done a comparison with swissstop on the same bike, but they're on my new bike and they seem very, good although haven't been in really wet conditions with them

it's cheaper to try some pads than to swap brakes, plus if you do end up changing brakes, the pads can be used on them too

It wasn't the wet/grime as they weren't confidence inspiring even after I'd been braking awhile. Part of the problem is that if the brakes are setup to be closer to the rim then they soon go slightly out of adjustment and start rubbing. Plus the standard wheels don't seem that stiff laterally (they sometimes rub when cornering).

Sounds like new pads would be a good investment - especially if all (most?) calipers are happy with all pads.

I've heard a lot of swissstop recommendations, will look into koolstop as well.

Cheers

dmch2

solboy wrote:

dont bother with the tiagras mine were crap, my 105s are better but sram force and swissstop pads would be the ultimate IMO

At 4 times the price of the tiagras I'd hope they would be the ultimate!

All the Swissstop Race Pro Green links I can see seem to say they're for campagnolo brakes - are there different versions or do all pads fit anything?

sungod

many pads are shimano style...

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Swiss ... erformance)_Pads/5360042711/
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Kool_ ... 300005952/

see if yours look like these, on the holder there's a retaining screw that lines up with the notch on the back of the pads in the picture

whereas campag style ones look like this...

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Kool_ ... 300003402/

there are other types as well, but the shimano cartridge type seems most common

dmch2

I think they're the shimano type then. With them fitted I can't see any notches but the leading edge (ie towards the back of the bike) has a small screw the appears to go from the block holder and into the rubber (ie into the notch?) towards the rim.

aha! found a picture that is similar to mine (apart from being slightly upmarket)


You can see the screw on the nearest end of the nearer block.

Since they're dura-ace I assume that's the Shimano style?

So http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?PartnerID=79&ModelID=42658 is £24 for the pair (green, full cartidge) and looks to be just the thing. The wiggle ones re labelled green but look black :?

sungod

yeah they'll be shimano

dmch2

cool. thanks another thing to add to the christmas list!

Although... my wife wouldn't actually notice me having different brake blocks... and wouldn't actually need to know...

sungod

there are two different greens, the ghp compound is quite dark, wiggles' pic is a bit off, but if they say it's green that's what you'll get

btw the one you want to get from chainreaction is...

147163 In Stock 2 Pairs - Green HP - Pad Only

...you've already got the holders on your brakes, so just get the pads, they come as a set of 2 pairs for 21.99, so less than half the price of. buying the whole assembly

on wiggle they're only 19.99 for two pairs at the moment - if you sign up for wiggle's newletter you'll get a 5 quid discount code a few minutes later, so that'd make it 14.99...

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/newsletter/appl ... tails.aspx

dmch2

Wiggle have Race Pro Gree and Flash Pro Green. The latter are the dark green ones. Problem is I don't have anything to spend the rest of the £50 to qualify for the £5 off.

I'll think of something

father_jack

Don't think putting Dura Ace on mid end bike is too sensible. I just replaced the Tektro long reach calpers with R650's, seem better but different pads..and haven't tried in the pouring rain. Really wonder if going from caliper to caliper brakes make any difference. Would like V or disc brakes on my tourer

dmch2

I never said I was going to put dura ace on - they were just the first suiable picture i found. new pads seems the sensible route

Chip \'oyler

Who needs brakes!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZV4MJok1_2o

thefonz78

I'm having the same problem with my sora. I know they are the bottom of the range but they don't even seem fit for purpose. The brakes on my dads £50 townsend bike brakes better. I thought they needed adjusting maybe the still do. I have adjusted the tension nuts. All it did was make it harder to squeeze the brakes made no difference to performance.

dmch2

The dark green flash pro ghp2 are for shimano, the bright green race pro hp are only available for campagnolo. From http://www.swissstop.ch/road.aspx

I found a pair of conti gp 3000s took me over the £50. So much better lighter tyres to help me go and pads to help me stop.

Hopefully the brake callipers are up to standard as it seems pricey to get much better ones...

dmch2

Fitted the swissstop pads last night, dead easy

The existing retaining screws took at 2.5mm allen key so I thought I'd replace them with the threadlock coated ones that came with the new pads. Also they were a bit loose on the allen key so I thought they must be a cheap/nasty and worth replacing.

The Swissstop screws took a 2mm key but in reality needed a 2.25mm key. Either they were VERY badly made or they really want an imperial size (surely not?!)

Anyway - I now have nice new brakes and I took the opportunity to give everything a good clean so the whole bike is nice and shiny again

And I've got a ticket from my wife to go out tomorrow night to test them and I'll finally get to use the P7 based light in the dark too.

father_jack

I just fitted 650's last week too. Front is a bit better

synchronicity

solboy wrote:

dont bother with the tiagras mine were crap, my 105s are better but sram force and swissstop pads would be the ultimate IMO

I agree that 105 calipers work well.
But "sram force and swissstop pads" is not the ultimate.

There are loads better/lighter brakes out there.
But nothing beats 105 for sheer value for money, if that's what you're after.

Skippy2309

I went to SRAM from Tektro, the Apex range comes with swisstop pads, it made a HUGE difference, they really bite rather than just gradually slow while you have an white knuckle grip on the brakes :P

best £20 I have spent 8)

Bar Shaker

I was about to buy some Swisstop pads but decided to reface the pads in my Tektros.

The difference was staggering.

From pads that felt like they were made from oak, I now need to brace on the back of the seat if really pulling them on.

The cost was 2"sq of sand paper.

dmch2

First go with the Swissstop greens. MUCH better. Best compliment I can give is that they just work and I didn't have to think about them.

Whenever I wanted to slow just a gentle squeeze and release of the levers and my speed was what I wanted.

The old squeeze, squeeze more, hope, phew! syndrome has gone.

The old pads had no initial bite, the swissstops just work from the instant you ask them to too.

Thanks for the advice

unixnerd

How worn are the braking surfaces on your wheels? I've just fitted new wheels and can't believe how much more stopping power I have.

Might also be an idea to clean them in case you've picked up any oily deposits.

rake

rim tar