Brakes upgrade - Carrera Virtuoso

flopstocks

Hello after recently switching back to my old bike from the winter from my Planet X Rival, I am noticing how bad the brakes are. I have the black and blue Carrera Virtuso as in the review below with Tektro brakes. Just wondering if there are any softer or suitable pads available to improve performance. As compared with my Planet X the brakes on this bike are just rubbish, and TBH dangerous.

http://www.bikeradar.com/road/gear/category/bikes/mountain-bikes/product/review-carrera-virtuoso-09-34691/

crankycrank

The usual upgrades of brake pads to fit your Tektros are the Koolstop brand "Salmon" pads and Swisstop "green" or the latest and supposedly best "blue" versions. Any of these will stop better in dry or wet than your OEM pads and if you feel that you would still like to get some better, more rigid brake calipers these pads will not go to waste as they also fit Shimano, SRAM and most other brands except Campag.

flopstocks

Ah OK thank you, did not realize the pads were interchangeable.

Can I use the Rival pads out of my Planet X and see if it makes a noticeable difference?

flopstocks

What about these?

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/clarks-55mm-caliper-brake-shoe/rp-prod55815

Neil_aky

All advice so far is good; however, also make sure you clean your wheel rims (with IPA) - can make a really big difference.

simon_masterson

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19748172#p19748172]Neil_aky[/url] wrote:

All advice so far is good; however, also make sure you clean your wheel rims (with IPA) - can make a really big difference.

This, any braking system is only as good as the surfaces involved; rim brakes are incredibly primitive devices. I haven't come across any modern calipers I'd call even close to unsafe, and I've had two sets of Tektros -albeit not the cheap OEM ones.

cyberknight

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19748048#p19748048]flopstocks[/url] wrote:

What about these?

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/clarks-55mm-caliper-brake-shoe/rp-prod55815

There good brake pads, i have the exact same ones on my carrera vanquish which is my commuter/winter bike .They also have a silver shoe version if white does not look ok , i don't give a hoot personally as long as they work.

ravey1981

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19748172#p19748172]Neil_aky[/url] wrote:

All advice so far is good; however, also make sure you clean your wheel rims (with IPA) - can make a really big difference.

I can't see how putting beer on your rims would help....

imposter2.0

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19751969#p19751969]ravey1981[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19748172#p19748172]Neil_aky[/url] wrote:

All advice so far is good; however, also make sure you clean your wheel rims (with IPA) - can make a really big difference.

I can't see how putting beer on your rims would help....

After a few pints of IPA, you won't care if your brakes work or not anyway...

Anonymous

Shimano 5800 callipers are less than £50 a pair. You could change those first and upgrade pads when they wear out.

I replaced one set of Tektros with a 5800/Swisstop combination and its a world of difference.
I have 5700 levers and new cables though if that makes a difference too.

Not sure if its mainly the 5800's or the Swisstops that make the improvement though.

ayjaycee

Like a lot of people, I upgraded from stock Tektro brakes pretty soon after getting them on a new bike as I simply didn't trust the braking, even in the dry (being more used to disks probably didn't help much either!). I first went from the Tektros to Shimano Tiagra 4600 calipers and it improved things. I then went from the stock Tiagra pads to Swisstops Flash Evo BXP's (the blue ones) and the leap in performance was even larger.

I have got Ultegra 6800 brakes with stock pads on another bike and they are even better than the Tiagra / Swisstop combination which has now got me thinking about upgrading the other brakes again brakes (to either new 105 or Ultegra). That said, the improvement with Ultegra could also be down to the quality of the Ultegra levers.

flopstocks

TBH after riding the Planet X with the Rival setup that's what made me notice how bad the brakes were. As I only paid £100 for the Carrera I don't really intend to too spend much on it.

After fitting the Clark pads I think the brakes are definitely better , and they still need to be bed in properly yet.