Help measuring the 'drop' of brake callipers

adskis

Hi guys,
How do I measure the 'drop' or reach of my brake callipers?
I am looking to replace/upgrade the current brakes and I have no idea how to measure this distance.
I think I need long drop callipers as the frame was built with tolerance to fit mudguards, but 'long' seems to vary with different manufacturers.
Current brakes are Tektro R520 (I think)
Any help would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
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jomoj

Some googling would suggest they are short reach if they are r520 anyway. What frame is it?

adskis

Hi Jomoj,
Thanks for the reply. I was starting to think I may have broken some forum taboo.
The bike is 2011 Scott Speedster 35 in 59cm.
The reason I am not sure of the brake type is that they are Tektro brakes, rebranded to say 'Scott'.
I am looking to get some nice new ones to go with the new shifters I just put on, but I have no idea how to size them?
Thanks again.
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jomoj

the way to measure the drop is to put something through the bottom of both brake slots (screwdriver)and measure the distance from the middle of that to the centre of the brake mounting bolt.

I checked online and it seems like the scott speedster probably has long drop brakes (but I'm not dead certain) which, if you want to replace them, leaves you with a limited choice of parts, Shimano do a couple of long drop models as do Tektro. If there's nothing wrong with the caliper itself then the best upgrade you can do is some good quality cartridge pads, they'll probably make more difference than a new caliper

adskis

Hi Jomoj,
Thanks for the info.
To be fair, there really is absolutly nothing wrong with the current brakes. Just fancied something that looks a bit nicer. (read bike tart??)
Any suggestions on the 'good quality cartridge pads'?
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jomoj

No problem, Kool stop, swisstop, ashima and aztec all make decent pads. The first two are probably the best but also most expensive but they all do a good job with different degrees of longevity.