Forum home› Road cycling forum› Road buying advice

Spesh Tricross comp 2010 brake upgrade

b_realb_real Posts: 157
edited April 2013 in Road buying advice
Hi, new to the road forums. Been upgrading my stolen mountain bike for the last 4 months and I'm researched out so I'm sticking up a shameless 'help me i'm lost' thread for my road bike.

Yes its a cross, but I stuck 28's on it and use it as a road bike for commutes / getting about.

Anyway, my plight. The Tektro canti brakes are awful. How do I upgrade them, will it be worth it, and what are my best options?

They look pretty intertwined with the 105 shifters... will that mean I'm restricted to specific brakes? I tend to like shimano stuff, but I have no idea what the brake hierarchy is, if anyone can shed some light on that I'm all ears. What about these... Shimano BR-CX50's ...will they offer a significant benefit over the 2010 Tektros?

I'm not the most mechanically minded so I'm assuming its not a job for the home.

Full bike spec here.
Norco Sight Killer B

Giant Trance X3 - stolen.

Posts

  • GrillGrill Posts: 5,610
    Get better pads and most importantly make sure they are properly set up. I can't stress how important this is, especially on cantis.
    English Cycles V3 | Cervelo P5 | Cervelo T4 | Trek Domane Koppenberg
  • Team515Team515 Posts: 141
    Ive got the same brakes on my cx bike and they stop me fine. i use swisstop pads with mine. If you have them set up correctly they work great
  • kentphilkentphil Posts: 479
    As previously said check the setup is right, and better pads perhaps. Those Shimano cantis in your link look no better than the stock Tektro brakes. The best cantis are by TRP.

    Edit: Also check the cable from the lever to cantis is in good condition too as this can affect the brake also.
    1998 Kona Cindercone in singlespeed commute spec
    2013 Cannondale Caadx 1x10
    2004 Giant TCR
  • b_realb_real Posts: 157
    Ok will check my pads before I go upgrading the brakes. I replaced them a few months ago and they've been awful since I first got them... they just didn't seem to fit & kept rubbing against the rims, although the rims are in good shape. So I may have just botched the operation - i recall getting the pins to fit into the rubber was a nightmare! They've finally worn down so that they don't rub all the time but for the first month or two it was like riding with brakes on.

    Also the bike has suicide brakes on the cross bar... would removing them help? They're a pain in the censored !
    Norco Sight Killer B

    Giant Trance X3 - stolen.
  • dbairdukdbairduk Posts: 50
    I have TRP CX9 brakes on mine, but they were on when I got the bike.
  • b_realb_real Posts: 157
    Can you recommend them?
    Norco Sight Killer B

    Giant Trance X3 - stolen.
  • passoutpassout Posts: 4,425
    My Tricross had those secondary brake levers on (suicide levers?). I'm sure that they impinged upon braking performance. I'd get rid of those, change pads and see how you get on.
    'Happiness serves hardly any other purpose than to make unhappiness possible' Marcel Proust.
  • b_realb_real Posts: 157
    suicide levers?

    Cos they barely work! :D
    Norco Sight Killer B

    Giant Trance X3 - stolen.
  • passoutpassout Posts: 4,425
    b_real wrote:
    suicide levers?

    Cos they barely work! :D

    Yeah, I call them that - I just can't remember anyone else ever saying it!! Apt name, agreed.
    'Happiness serves hardly any other purpose than to make unhappiness possible' Marcel Proust.
  • ride_wheneverride_whenever Posts: 13,279
    suicide levers are the old ones that you get with certain old weinmann levers.

    Interrupters are a completely different beastie and far more effective and shouldn't (in my experience) effect the braking performance at all unless you have some dodgy cabling.

    Better pads first after that fit some good v-bakes with travel adjusters.
    Neeermad
    Carbon 456
    456 lefty
    Pompino
    White Inbred
  • Monty DogMonty Dog Posts: 20,614
    Tektro cantis are OK - try swapping to a cartridge pad holder with slide-in pads rather than one piece moulded blocks - the pad holders are stiffer, so can exert more braking power.
    Secondly, have a good cable run and getting the length and angle of the straddle wire is criticial - the following article shows the right way:
    http://www.cxmagazine.com/gut-wrenching ... rake-setup
    Finally, suicide or interrupter levers - complete waste of bar space IME - in completely the wrong position to give you any meaningful control. I can't recall anytime in a CX race or offroad where I wanted to ride with my hands on the tops.
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • passoutpassout Posts: 4,425
    ride_whenever wrote:
    suicide levers are the old ones that you get with certain old weinmann levers.

    Interrupters are a completely different beastie and far more effective and shouldn't (in my experience) effect the braking performance at all unless you have some dodgy cabling.

    Better pads first after that fit some good v-bakes with travel adjusters.

    They certainly effected mine from the day I had it; removal obviously sorted it. Not sure about the cabling to be honest but i didn't like them anyway.
    'Happiness serves hardly any other purpose than to make unhappiness possible' Marcel Proust.
  • b_realb_real Posts: 157
    I replaced the canti's with the TRP CX9. Holy mother of god, the difference is night and day. The CX9s are awesome in comparison! It's like I've got a new bike, I can't believe I never upgraded when I bought the bike in the first place!

    One happy chap right here.
    Norco Sight Killer B

    Giant Trance X3 - stolen.
Sign In or Register to comment.