Upgrading Brakes

p_reeder
p_reeder Posts: 3
edited July 2011 in Workshop
Hi, i have got a giant defy 2, and i am generally very pleased with it.
The only area that i am not happy about is the brakes. when going 47mph they don't want to stop you! I'm looking at upgrading my brakes to either 105's, or ultegra's. I'm currently on sora's, and i was wondering if i can just change the calipers, or is it not as simple as that???
cheers!

Comments

  • balthazar
    balthazar Posts: 1,565
    Welcome.

    Brakes are only a matter of leverage: the force is entirely supplied by your hands. There are pros and cons to different lever ratios; in mind of them, most brakes of similar design are much the same.

    I don't have much direct experience with the ones you mention, but I know them and I'm quite sure that the distinction is only marketing. There's no reason I can think of that bicycle brakes become ineffective as speed increases. I guess that's more to do with your emotional state at 47mph, than the brakes themselves.
  • gkerr4
    gkerr4 Posts: 3,408
    i'm not sure it's entirely "marketing" - the higher range items should be better finished and made from more advanced materials - i.e. stiffer and lighter - less caliper flex provides stronger braking.

    pad material is important too - i always found that the lower range, standard fit, pads were rubbish - ineffective other than to pick up swarf and wear your rims away. i'd consider changing pad to an aftermarket one such as Koolstop and see how you get on.
  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    Just change the pads.
  • p_reeder
    p_reeder Posts: 3
    thanks for your replies.
    do you recomend the koolstop brakes from experience or just reviews?
    is it worth upgrading the calipers, as i can get a pair of 105's for about 35 pound??
  • gkerr4
    gkerr4 Posts: 3,408
    The whole thing is quite contested.

    i will only have Koolstop pads on my bike now - to the point where i took brand new pads out of the campagnolo calipers to be replaced with koolstop salmon pads before i'd even fitted the calipers to the bike! - i have them on my winter bike too.

    I think they last just as well but give more stopping power in wet or dry and they don't pick up any rim-wearing swarf as the standard (shimano) ones do.

    however - some will always say that OE is best

    upgrading the calipers? - again I say do it - in particular if you can get 105's for £35 (are you sure that isn't for a single caliper?) there is a reason they have different levels of groupset and in general you get what you pay for. but there are plenty of people who will tell you that you won't gain anything from a change of caliper.
  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    105's for £35 would be worth doing cos you'll get new pads with their metal holders included, and blingy new calipers.

    Doubt they'd be mechanically any different though.
  • crankycrank
    crankycrank Posts: 1,830
    IMO try some new pads first, Koolstop Salmons or SwissStop Greens, and if they don't give you enough braking power then try some higher quality calipers. You could still use the new pads on the new brakes if you decide to buy them.
  • John.T
    John.T Posts: 3,698
    +1 for the Koolstop Salmon. Best I have ever used.
    My Fleet.
  • balthazar
    balthazar Posts: 1,565
    I also find Koolstop Salmon pads to be the best I've used, though I haven't tried Swisstop.

    Though differing calipers vary in quality of finish, ease of setup and so on, and perhaps longevity, I maintain that brakes of the same dimensions and design will function the same. Small variations in caliper arm rigidity, and so on, have no consequence for braking, in practice. Moreover, many modern brakes from the same manufacturer are literally the same forgings, with different decoration and doodads to fall tightly in line with the range. It is a marketing-led enterprise.
  • rake
    rake Posts: 3,204
    kinetic energy increase square fold with speed. the difference in energy the brakes have to waste between 15mph and 47 is about 9 times more even though the speed is only 3 times more because 3 squared is 9. so brakes generally whatever type they are work less effectively as speed increases. you just have to accept your not going to stop on a six pence at 47mph.
  • Twostage
    Twostage Posts: 987
    I upgraded my sora brakes (tiagra levers) on my alu road bike by replacing them with the ones where the pad and holder are separate rather than being just a single piece of rubber. I think it made a difference.
    If you look at the shimano tech docs and flick between diagrams of sora, tiagra etc. they all look identical but the brakes on ultegra specced carbon road bike would win the 'lets see who can chuck the rider over the handlebars' competition hands down. :D

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