Shimano R450 long drops / SwissStop Greens
jjsh
Posts: 142
I'm about to go through my winter bike to do a couple of jobs ready for the rubbish weather that will no doubt be here in about 15 mins. One of the things I remember when I finally got out on my 'best' bike (Ultegra group) was how much better the brakes were. I realise that R450's are more Tiagra level, but they really are pretty bad. I'm fairly sure I've got the adjustment right, but will double check. Assuming no improvement, my next stop will be the pads. I will need complete cartridge shoe and pads as the present ones are all in one jobbies. A search on here for R450's suggest people have had good results with Swisstop Greens, the pads of which turn up if I search for that on google, but I'm not so sure about the full set up ~ could someone just confirm these are the ones I need (Green GHP II )? http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/swissstop-flash-pro-brake-pads-full-/rp-prod131692
The wheels are Mavic Ksyrium Equipes on the winter bike, if that makes any difference,
Many thanks.
The wheels are Mavic Ksyrium Equipes on the winter bike, if that makes any difference,
Many thanks.
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I too have R450s on my winter bike, but because I don't do much braking on my rural rides I'm still using the original all-in-one brake blocks after 8 years! When they eventually do wear down too far I'll be replacing them with some cartridge types, likely SwissStop. I'll probably choose the blue BXP version.0
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I've got R650s on alloy rims on my winter bike. Like you I have Ultegra short drop in my best dry weather bike and although the R650s are not as good, better pads made a big difference.
Over the years, after experimenting with different pads, I've found the Swissstop greens very good, Koolstop salmons also great, maybe slightly better in the wet but faster wearing, and lately Dura Ace pads which are superb too, wet or dry.
For winter I'm persevering with the Koolstop salmons because they're probably the best on wet alloy rims.0 -
Changing brake pads does make a difference, however I ended up changed from R650's to a much better brake assembly TRP957(much more expensive tho'), to give me confidence in all conditions. I have never had any lever to bar moments with the TRP's as they will lock your wheels with very little effort.0
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Changing brake pads does make a difference, however I ended up changed from R650's to a much better brake assembly TRP957(much more expensive tho'), to give me confidence in all conditions. I have never had any lever to bar moments with the TRP's as they will lock your wheels with very little effort.
Interesting, I'm tempted to upgrade. . . I did bags of research before getting the R650s and didn't come across those TRP brakes.
I'd upgraded from awful Tektro (R539 IIRC) brakes to the Shimano R650, apart from the superior braking, the quality of stainless steel of the springs and bolts on the Shimano is very much better - the Tektros rusted badly after one winter.
A quick Google and I must say the rusty bolts of the TRP surprise me at that price point and is a bit inexcusable I think - have yours rusted? Refer to http://road.cc/content/review/115645-trp-rg957-deep-drop-brakes0 -
I have the R450's on my winter bike too. I ditched the brake blocks within days of buying that bike 4 years ago and currently have a set of 105 pads/holders in/on them and find the braking excellent and can see no reason to change them for anything else. I have a spare set of Ultegra 6800 pads that I will fit to them once the current pads are done. All my wet weather/winter training is done on hills and so pads dont last very long. The one criticism of the 105 pads is the black gunky mess they leave on the wheels and fork/stays during wet weather but their braking ability is faultless IMO.0
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Thanks for all the replies ~ I hadn't considered Ultegra blocks, i.e. the ones I have on the bike that I own that stops the best!! pmsl. What a muppet I can be sometimes!
Gives me some more options to try. Thanks again folks.0 -
If you do a lot of winter miles you end up replacing blocks once a month or so. Unless you're rolling in it, coughing up £20-25 for a set of SwissStops every month is not really viable. Decathlon are currently doing a set of 4 wet weather blocks for £4.99. They look a lot like Kool Stop Salmon's and although I couldn't resist buying a set, I've yet to try them out. I'm currently using LifeLine essentials blocks from Wiggle, which were pretty cheap, but perform adequately. I too am using R450s on my winter bike and it's true they're not the greatest for stopping power (probably due to their long flexy arms). but if you have them set up right (reasonably close to the rims), you shouldn't be having any lever to bar moments. I would love to try the TRPs, but I can't see it happening while they cost in excess of £100 a pair.0
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I have the old Tiagra long drop callipers, and recently put Swisstop green in them.
I must admit the pads haven't increased braking power over the standard Dura Ace cartridges (cheap online) but has just included more 'squish' at the lever rather than the rather more abrupt Dura aces.
I find it's slightly easier to modulate the Swisstops, but I was already pretty good with the Dura Ace ones and can apply more force quicker (less lever throw) so I'm not entirely convinced with the Swisstops yet. They are pretty good in the wet though, with not much difference in feel.0 -
One more question, if I may. Are the pads specific to a particular cartridge? In other words, could I fit swissstop pads in an ultegra cartridge?0
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One more question, if I may. Are the pads specific to a particular cartridge? In other words, could I fit swissstop pads in an ultegra cartridge?
Yes, all cartridge holders (eg Tektro/Tiagra/Ultegra/Dura Ace) take all the pads mentioned in this thread.0 -
That's great, thanks.0
