Practical (boring?!) upgrades

Mac9

Hi all,

I've recently bought a second hand Focus Cayo. So far so good - it has a full carbon frame and fork, 105 groupset and Shimano rs30 wheels which are a welcome improvement on the Mavic Open Pros that I had on my last bike. All in all I'm pretty happy after a few weeks.

However, I'm looking on making a few purchases that will upgrade my performace without breaking the bank and was wondering what everybody's thoughts are...

I've not got the money (or need) for anything flashy, but I'm considering buying some new tyres, new brake pads and new cables.

For a pair of Continental GP4000s, Swisstop pads and Yokozuna Reaction cables I'm looking at approx. £100. They'll replace the cheapo pads and cables I currently have and the old tyres that need replacing soon anyway.

Is it worth going for this top of the range stuff for such parts as pads/cables etc..? I could easily save £60-£70 by buying basic stuff but I'm hoping that the top stuff will make by bike feel brand new! Will the performance be noticeably better?

Any advice is most welcome.

alihisgreat

Tyres - what have you got on there at the moment? GP4000s are an excellent all-round summer tyre, but you might want something tougher for winter.

Pads - the main difference between Swiss-Stop (green) and cheaper pads like Dura-ace (which are half the price I think?) is marginally better braking in the wet.

Cables - the only cable I've changed in 10,000+ miles on my current bike is the rear brake cable. So probably not the best one to ask since I don't do it often!

Mac9

Continental Ultras on at present. They're pretty worn so I'll be changing them this weekend, they'll do for the turbo for a while. I might get a more durable pair for this time of year instead of the GP400s, any you recommend?

As for the blocks and cables - perhaps they'll be a bit of a waste as braking seems reasonable and shifting reliable as things are. I was just wondering if they'd really improve things and make braking excellent rather than reasonable? I'd prefer to just buy new blocks rather than new calipers if so.

964cup

My experience so far has been that calipers matter more than pads (on alloy rims). I bought a Mekk a while back with Tektro unbranded calipers which didn't provide much retardation; I switched them to Planet-X CNC with Swisstop and made the braking worse, if anything; finally I bought regular Ultegra 6700 calipers with the standard Shimano pads and could stand it on its nose - a completely different level of confidence in my ability to stop. If you've got proper calipers already, then maybe the pads will make a difference, but I can't see it being night and day.

rolf_f

No point changing the calipers if they are 105. Calipers are just levers - as long as they aren't flexible and stay in adjustment, they will be fine and it doesn't matter too much which ones you use.

Pads are what connect the calipers to the wheels - they provide the stopping power. Swissstop are good and can be had for decent prices if you look around - I got some Campag sets from Halfords this week at £16 a set (4 pads). They wear out quickly (the black ones) but they are designed to be soft on the rims and you can't have it both ways.

964Cup wrote:

My experience so far has been that calipers matter more than pads (on alloy rims). I bought a Mekk a while back with Tektro unbranded calipers which didn't provide much retardation; I switched them to Planet-X CNC with Swisstop and made the braking worse, if anything; finally I bought regular Ultegra 6700 calipers with the standard Shimano pads and could stand it on its nose - a completely different level of confidence in my ability to stop. If you've got proper calipers already, then maybe the pads will make a difference, but I can't see it being night and day.

You need to be more scientific - what you should try is all three sets of brakes with all three sets of pads. Otherwise you don't know if it was the calipers or the pads or the combination of the two that were the problem. I think the general reckoning is that the Ultegra pads are very good but the Swissstop probably a little better still. In your case, chances are the biggest problem was the original pads - as far as I am aware, Tektro calipers are supposed to be pretty decent.

xscreamsuk

I have a Cayo. After wheels best upgrade I made was brakes and cables. I had tried koolstop Salmon for a year or so but then decided to upgrade to Dura Ace calipers and Yokozuma reaction cables. It really was like night and day. I had no idea how bad the previous brakes were. The DA pads have been fine as well.

term1te

The best, and cheapest, "upgrades" are firstly to check the tyre presure is correct, secondly that the brake pads are clean, have not bits stuck in them, and are adjusted correctly.

When I first got a track pump with a pressure guage the improvement in the ride of my bike was amazing. I'd been pumping the tyres up with an old frame mounted pump, and stopped when my arm ached, turned out I had wimpy arms and was running 25mm tyres at about 70psi.

Mac9

What wheels did you upgrade to?

How have you found your Cayo? Early days for me but I'm enjoying it so far.

I think I'm going to buy the cables and Swiss stop blocks, I'll have another look about for winter tyres.

napoleond

Ironically a set of open pro rims with decent hubs and spokes would be better* than rs30s.


*depends on definition of better. Less bling but light, stiff, easily repairable yet less likely to need repair.

lc1981

I find stock Shimano pads very hard (although I haven't bought replacements, so don't know if they differ from the ones supplied with the calipers) and wore a pair of Shimano RS10 rims very quickly. Since switching to Kool Stops, rim wear seems to have slowed a lot.

chris_bass

is there anything particularly wrong with the callipers/brake pads, cables etc at the moment? if you just replace like for like it wont feel any different I wouldn't have thought.

Have you considered getting a proper bike fit done? I haven't myself (mainly due to being poor and lazy!) but people swear by them, might be a more noticeable difference.

diy

I think you'll notice the difference between continental ultras and gp4000s. More punctures for a start. They do make for a light nimble tyre, but personally I'd go through the winter on the utras and fit GPs for the spring.

Maybe blow the money on better kit?

Escher303

I've used all sorts of cables and Yokozuna are outstanding. Very direct braking, very light feel and crisp shifting. I'd recommend them as a top upgrade for anyone. They last for ages, you won't be disappointed. I also like gp4000s and swissstop pads, they're all good. Some people have had issues with gp4000s (probably like all tyres) I've done tens of thousands of miles on a few sets, never had an issue summer or winter even on rough bridleways though I wouldn't recommend it, maybe I've just been lucky. But if your pads and tyres are already reasonable you'll notice the most difference with the cables. I use Yokozuna on all my bikes now.

To the other poster re: CNC brakes. I have a pair on my best bike with swisstops and Yokozuna cables. They can be a pain to set up but the braking is outstanding, I don't think it was those that were the problem.

buckles

NapoleonD wrote:

Ironically a set of open pro rims with decent hubs and spokes would be better* than rs30s.


*depends on definition of better. Less bling but light, stiff, easily repairable yet less likely to need repair.

First thing I thought when I read the OP!

racingcondor

Agree with the above. Yokozona braking is very impressive once you have it set (housing is a pain to bend though, it's that stiff). You could however freshen it up nicely enough with Jagwire racers for 1/2 the price.

xscreamsuk

Mac9 wrote:

What wheels did you upgrade to?

How have you found your Cayo? Early days for me but I'm enjoying it so far.

I think I'm going to buy the cables and Swiss stop blocks, I'll have another look about for winter tyres.

I got some handbuilts made with the spec being for climbing as I rode the etape in the Pyrenes. Still riding the same wheels and they have been excellent. Ambrosio Excellights on Royce hubs. I still use the cayo as my winter bike, can't wait to take the new summer bike out when the weather is suitable :-) Cayo has been problem free, done probably 18 K miles on it now, have put one new lot of BB bearings in and ditto for the headset. Still original cassettes although I do clean and change the chain regularly.

Buckie2k5

whatever you do get rid of the shimano pads, the most horrible rim wearing pads ive used. Koolstop salmons are a vast improvement and very kind to rims.