Upgrade Factory Fit Disc Brakes?

drewesq

Hi

I'm looking to upgrade my disc brakes on my CAAD X. They have always been a bit spongey but now, in the rain, they're not really cutting the mustard. I have adjusted them so they do work, but they just don't stop me very quick.

Can anyone recommend a decent replacement please? Also, is it an easy job if I keep them mechanical, just swap rotors and callipers, I guess?

Cheers

Andrew

arlowood

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19755803#p19755803]drewesq[/url] wrote:

Hi

I'm looking to upgrade my disc brakes on my CAAD X. They have always been a bit spongey but now, in the rain, they're not really cutting the mustard. I have adjusted them so they do work, but they just don't stop me very quick.

Can anyone recommend a decent replacement please? Also, is it an easy job if I keep them mechanical, just swap rotors and callipers, I guess?

Cheers

Andrew

Some would suggest going to full hydraulic but that would mean swapping out your shifters for a hydraulic equivalent as well as the cost of the calipers.

I'm currently using TRP Spyres (mechanical) and find them to be excellent. You could consider spending a bit more to get the TRP Hy/Rd which are the halfway house option (mechanical actuators with hydraulic pistins built into the calipers. They are also highly praised but more expensive than the Spyres.

The Spyres come with the appropriate discs and also adaptors for IS mount conversion if you need them.

It's a staightforward job - I swapped the Avid BB7's on my Planet X London Road for the Sypres and the whole thing took about 30 minutes

k-dog

If you've got inline adjusters then getting rid of those tightens things up a bit.

I did that along with new cables and housing (cut with a dremel so it's really square) and it made mine a whole lot better.

mikenetic

If they've been installed with standard brake outer, upgrading to TRP Discconnect compressionless brake housing will help, there are other compressionless housings out there too.

I would go with Spyres over HY/RD - you have more adjustability on the feel of the brake, as you can manually control the separation between pad and rotor. Also, HY/RDs are massive in comparision.

drewesq

Spyre it is then!!

Thanks guys!

1 more thing, if I have 140mm on the rear will I be able to replace it with 160mm?

Thanks

Ber Nard

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19756352#p19756352]drewesq[/url] wrote:

1 more thing, if I have 140mm on the rear will I be able to replace it with 160mm?

Yes. you'll need an adaptor to reposition the caliper but it should come in the box if you buy the Spyre with a 160mm disc.

meanredspider

I like the HyRds because they fully self-adjust. I swapped from BB7 and didn't notice the size at all.

Why do you want to fit a 160mm rotor? I'd only fit a 160 if I was using the bike off road where I'm expecting to lock brakes and would use rear over the front.

In normal road use, a 160 is actually a downgrade. With a stiff frame and a great front brake, the weight transfer means you can do nearly all the braking on the front wheel. Even with a 160 front and 140 rear, under hard braking the rear locks almost instantly due to this weight transfer. You can examples of exactly this principle on motorbikes and cars (especially the stiffer racing versions).

Anyhow, if you aren't hoping to lock the rear wheel, stick with 140mm (smaller would work just as well)