Is there a "real" difference in brake specs ?

VTech

I know in car terms there is a difference (but not as much as people would imagine and certainly not always as much as would make the prices justified) so is it the same on bikes ?

Im referring to the the mechanics and pads.

lc1981

I'd say there is, from experience of using cheap Tektros and more expensive Shimano brakes on the same bike. The same goes for pads, and the ones that come with the brakes themselves are often not very kind to rims!

LegendLust

I know Swiss Stop pads are a real jump in braking performance. I suspect most calipers stop the same, you end up paying more for less weight and materials.

smidsy

Caliper wise unless you spend silly money then they are all pretty good.

Brake pads seem to be the single best improvement and Koolstop Salmons and SwissTops seem to get the nod.

The cables (inners and outers) can also make a quite a difference. Something Like Jagwire Racer or the new Shimano PTFE coated stuff seems to be were its at.

chrisvanderkaap

I can't really comply with the common idea of a worthless set of brakes being easily 'upgraded' by a half decent set of rubbers. Imho a Ultegra brake over an 105 or tiagra offers way better modulation. I'd say modulation (and build quality) is what we should be looking at in terms of judging a brakes performance. That said, there's no need to spend silly money on them. Best bang for the buck must be a set of Sram Force dual pivot brakes (around €60-80). The come with 'half-decent' swiss-stop pads installed.