decent deep drop brakes?

maddog 2

I notice that Shimano do two versions (R650 and R451) and miche do some too. All pretty cheap and cheerful. I'm sure they work okay but is there a recommendation for something a bit better? Something akin to a Ultegra/Force/Red/DA level.

arlowood

How about these if you really want to splash the cash

http://www.westbrookcycles.co.uk/trp-rg ... tAoda14AKw

BTW the R650's are pretty decent quality - Ultegra equivalent I've seen commented somewhere

marcusjb

R650s are exceptional stoppers and combined with a good pad will never let you down. Nicely finished.

If you want something a little tartier, and they do function a little better, then the VO Grand Cru are very, very nice:

http://store.velo-orange.com/index.php/ ... rakes.html

Available from Freshtripe in the UK - about £120-130 a set.

I have both 650s and Grand Cru on different bikes - both are more than adequate, but the VO are definitely a step up in performance and looks.

keef66

The 650s were originally supposed to be Ultegra level. Trouble is, they haven't been upgraded as the groupsets have, so I doubt they are as good as current Ultegra.

That said, I have the 450s on my winter bike and they've survived 7 winters on their original all-in-one brake blocks (I don't brake much!) and still look pristine and work pretty well.

650s with KoolStop / SwissStop pads would I am sure be pretty good.

mrushton

The R650 or the VO are really as good as it gets in deep-drop. If you want the latest go disc or shallow-drop but the ones mentioned above will stop you quick esp with better pads

iron-clover

I've only ever really used the R450 calipers myself, so don't know how they compare to more expensive/ shallow drop units, but I find they're perfectly fine for my use, especially with descent pads.

However, when I bought the front caliper to replace an ancient tektro caliper (the rear was replaced years ago after a minor crash) I found that the arms were nowhere near parrallel with the rim and didn't take too kindly to bending with a large spanner- instead I had to find some ultra adjustable brake shoes to use with them. The left/ right adjustment screw also had a ridiculous amount of friction to it- I nearly bored out the screw head after a just a couple of tweeks, and had to carefully unscrew to clear out whatever sticky grease it had been supplied with and replace with my own teflon grease- it now actually works.
To say I was unimpressed with the quality control is an understatement and I'm surprised I didn't just return them- but it would have left me without a bike for a couple of weeks- I had no such issues with the rear unit when it arrived 3 years ago.

Now they're set up they feel pretty much the same as they always have, and they feel a lot more powerful and easier to modulate with 5700 brake levers instead of the old 2300s.

Even so, I'll probably be upgrading to the R650s when I swap to a new frame in the near future.

maddog 2

cheers all

luv2ride

Vote for the cheap Miche Performance brakes here, albeit shod with Swissstop Green pads. Have been fine on my winter Tifosi, but my SRAM Force calipers on my summer bike are noticeably better. Shorter throw and much more expensive, so perhaps unsurprising!

the_cyclist_of_catan

I've got the TRP brakes on my bike for the last 9 months or so, and can confirm that they are properly ace. They look far better than the Shimano 650s (which I've seen, but not tried), and they stop much, much better than the cheap long-drop Miche brakes (with Koolstop salmons) that I had on the bike before.

cycleclinic

I use the miche brakes too. The stock pads are rubbish thankfully they wear out very quickly so replace woth something decent. I use aztec road plus pads but kool stop salmons would be the other choice i would make. With decent pads they are good brakes and cheap.

LegendLust

Another vote for the MIche with Swiss Stop pads