Long reach brakes

dazz_ni45

Is there any recommendations on long reach brakes?

My synapse came fitted with Promax dual pivot long reach and on my first outing yesterday after its summer hiatus, I was less that confident braking.

I was looking around this morning for other options and came across the Shimano R650 (at £35) or the much more expensive TRP RG957 (at £115).

Would the TRP's be significantly better to justify the cost difference or do the R650's perform well?

grenw

Does the bike need long reach brakes?

The reason I ask is that my Defy came with them (561s) and I swapped them out for standard Ultegra 6800s. No need for the extra reach

DeVlaeminck

I find the Shimanos OK, probably not as good as the Chorus and Ultegra I've had on my race bikes but then a lot of that may be down to me using the long drops on a winter bike where the muck, less good rims, less frequent recabling etc is going to impact - plus I use swisstop blocks on the race bikes which I do find a slight but noticeable improvement over the shimano blocks.

dazz_ni45

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19734389#p19734389]GrenW[/url] wrote:

Does the bike need long reach brakes?

The reason I ask is that my Defy came with them (561s) and I swapped them out for standard Ultegra 6800s. No need for the extra reach

Yes I think I do need them especially as I am using full guards

DeVlaeminck wrote:

I find the Shimanos OK, probably not as good as the Chorus and Ultegra I've had on my race bikes but then a lot of that may be down to me using the long drops on a winter bike where the muck, less good rims, less frequent recabling etc is going to impact - plus I use swisstop blocks on the race bikes which I do find a slight but noticeable improvement over the shimano blocks.

Thanks.

pigeontoes

My long reach are Scott own brand and not particularly good but changing the blocks to Swiss Stop has made a really significant difference.

foggymike

I use the R650s on my winter bike and have no worries. Having longer arms means long reach brakes will always be a bit softer feeling under very hard braking, but with the 650's there isn't much in it and in normal use (just stopping at junctions etc) I don't really notice any difference at all.

lakesluddite

I stuck the R650's on the front of my winter hack, and they seemed a noticeable improvement on the stock Tektro's that were on there - and coupled with Swisstop black pads are pretty good.

cycleclinic

being a retailer I have lost count of the number of returns and exchanges for brakes because the customer did not measure the drop needed before buying. Save yourself a potential return measure the drop needed with a ruler and then buy the brakes.

Avoid buying a brake where you are on the limit at either end of the reach as that makes setting up more awkward.

kajjal

My wifes synapse has long drop brakes. Put on r650's which was a significant improvement. Check manufacturers website specs to confirm.

flasher

Both the Shimano R650 and the TRP RG957 are excellent, I recently swapped out a pair of R650's for the TRP's but only because I wanted black brakes and the R650's only come in silver, yes I'm a tart :roll:

marcusjb

Also worth looking at are the Velo Orange Grand Cru.

I have 650s on one bike and VO on another.

The VO are a step up blingwise from the Shimano.

Which are the better brake? Probably the VO - not much in it though. I might have to swap them over between the bikes to make a true assessment as the VO are on a fixed wheel bike, so certainly the back one doesn't get much use.

PTestTeam

Try the Miche Performance brakes. I use them with Swiss Stop Green on my winter bike and they do a great job for bugger all money

http://road.cc/content/review/5850-miche-performance-brake-callipers

cycleclinic

Velocity orange brakes are tektro based TRP R957. The miche performance brakes is made by miche in Italy but using a forging tool bought from tektro. The miche brakes are pretty good when the pads are replaced. The original pads work quite well bit are too soft and can wear out very quickly.

luv2ride

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19734710#p19734710]PTestTeam[/url] wrote:

Try the Miche Performance brakes. I use them with Swiss Stop Green on my winter bike and they do a great job for bugger all money

http://road.cc/content/review/5850-miche-performance-brake-callipers

^This..

dj58

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19734389#p19734389]GrenW[/url] wrote:

Does the bike need long reach brakes?

The reason I ask is that my Defy came with them (561s) and I swapped them out for standard Ultegra 6800s. No need for the extra reach

Shimano BR-561 non-series brake calipers are not long reach, they are 49mm reach not 57mm as with the BR-451 and BR-650 calipers.

mrushton

This question was another forum (YACF - I think). Consensus was 957/VeloOrange if money is not an issue, Shimano 650 are v.effective for the money esp with a pad change and Miche a lot of bang for the buck, maybe on a par with the 650. I use the 650 because I couldn't justify the spend on the 957 or the beautiful Grand Cru by VeloOrange.

marcusjb

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19734788#p19734788]thecycleclinic[/url] wrote:

Velocity orange brakes are tektro based TRP R957.

Not sure that is true? Do you have any citation for that?

TRP RG957:



Velo Orange Grand Cru:



I can not see a single part of these two brakes that look to have been sourced from the same supplier?

cycleclinic

Getting muddled in my old age.

bobones

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19735624#p19735624]OnYourRight[/url] wrote:

Although the BR-R650 works with new brake levers/shifters (New Super SLR type), it was designed for levers that pull less cable (Super SLR type). With current Shimano shifters, braking power will be reduced.

Yes, it's about time Shimano updated their long reach range to address this issue. I thought the BR-451 update might have been for this reason, but it turns out it is only because they brought them out in black.

I have the BR-450s on my winter bike with 5700 leavers, and they are OK, but are noticeably weaker than the brakes on my other bikes. I don't think the BR-650s are an improvement performance wise as I think the only differences are cosmetic (Tiagra vs Ultegra finish).

on-yer-bike

I find the Miche brakes mentioned above not great with Campag Athena levers. Using Swiss Stop green or Campag pads.