Brake upgrade....

MrBibble

I was wondering if the unbranded calipers on my 2010 Spec Allez are worth upgrading to say Shimano 105's for better braking performance? Are they designed with a better clamping/effort ratio?

Finding road brakes to be shocking, totally inadequate for the job tbh!

New pads going on in the next few days recommended by my supplying LBS, made by Ashima or something. Never heard of them but the guys there swore by them ...

Nerrep

I upgraded the no-name calipers on my bike to Shimano 105 the other day. Considerably better feel and stopping power, though how much of that was due to the change in pads I'm not sure.

seanoconn

Not sure what the lbs advised but koolstop or swisstop pads are regarded as the best and will improve your braking performance. Give one of those a try and i doubt you'll need to upgrade the calipers.

balthazar

The term for "clamping/effort ratio" is Mechanical Advantage. It is practically equivalent between different brands of similar-styled brakes. There are both pros and cons in increasing or reducing it. The current MA of road bike calipers has been arrived at evolutionarily, taking into account — average hand strength, brake lever travel, useful pad clearance, and pad wear. It's quite possible to brake hard enough to send yourself over the handlebars on dry road, with current designs: for what use do you judge them "inadequate"?!

Still, between equivalent brands of brakes with identical MA- no difference, practically.

peddlefever

I have a 2010 Allez with stock brake calipers. I swapped some Ultegra pads into the stock calipers and noticed a big difference. I really don't think a caliper replacement is necessary, unless you want some nicer looking ones. The pads that come with the bike are crap, so I would try some new pads first and see if you like the difference in braking. If you do, you will save yourself some money by not having to buy calipers.

MrBibble

Ok, cool i'll give the new pads a go then, thanks for the replys 8)

keef66

+2. I have longer drop Shimano brakes on my road bike, so I was worried that I'd find the brakes poor coming from an MTB with V-brakes. Not so; I can still stand the bike on it's nose if I go a bit mad with the front brake. I suspect having decent pads, together with keeping your rims clean, will improve stopping ability more than a change of caliper.

Twostage

I got some replacement pads from uberbike.com to replace the all rubber ones I'd fitted previously. My intention was to run them for a bit and then replace the pads with either koolstop or swiss stop. After running them for a few days they were a marked improvement over the all rubber jobs so I've abandoned the idea of the second part of the upgrade for now.

MrBibble

Quick update,

Although i feel the Ashimas are not exactly brilliant but now with about 80+ miles through them they are a significant improvement over the old ones.

The biggest plus for me though is that they are less damaging on the wheels braking surface, so far no groves or pitting or alloy deposits on any part of the rim 8)

P_Tucker

balthazar wrote:

The term for "clamping/effort ratio" is Mechanical Advantage. It is practically equivalent between different brands of similar-styled brakes. There are both pros and cons in increasing or reducing it. The current MA of road bike calipers has been arrived at evolutionarily, taking into account — average hand strength, brake lever travel, useful pad clearance, and pad wear. It's quite possible to brake hard enough to send yourself over the handlebars on dry road, with current designs: for what use do you judge them "inadequate"?!

Still, between equivalent brands of brakes with identical MA- no difference, practically.

A very sensible post - thus in true BR style has been completely ignored.

Yossie

quote]

A very sensible post - thus in true BR style has been completely ignored.[/quote]

What's been ignored? Am I missing something? I blame Wiggle.

P_Tucker

Yossie wrote:

What's been ignored? Am I missing something? I blame Wiggle.

That if you can put yourself over the handlebars, then your brakes are good enough. If someone wants to argue that better brakes offer a smoother application of braking power, then perhaps - although I'd point out that the OP doesn't seem likely to be racing down Alpine descents any time soon, so it's probably a bit overkill.

racingcondor

OP - I upgraded the brakes on my wifes Giant by changing the all in one rubber pads for some Swiss Stop cartridges (green pads). She's finding it a lot easier now.

If you're finding road brakes inadequate the there is something wrong, I've stood my road bike on it's front wheel more times than I can count. In the dry that should be possible on any road bike (possible, not advisable. Don't sue me if you wake up in an ambulance )

stardude

racingcondor wrote:

If you're finding road brakes inadequate the there is something wrong, I've stood my road bike on it's front wheel more times than I can count. In the dry that should be possible on any road bike (possible, not advisable. Don't sue me if you wake up in an ambulance )

i cant on mine, but i weigh about 18 stone currently >_< i'm getting some better pads soon , that can stop me adequetly

mrjerome10

Upgrade not needed, get new pads (good ones) like KoolStop as stated above, they should make a big change!!)