Blocks for tektro r312

Cbetts83

Hi, I'm new to road cycling and I'm after some help with replacement brake blocks. I've got a Carrera Virtuoso :oops: with Tektro dual pivot calipers and I'm looking for block recommendations for this caliper. The brakes don't seem bad but the pads are shocking! I presume I can just get a better pad than the stock ones, without upgrading these calipers?

Matthewfalle

Any of the usual suspects: Koolstop, Swisstop, Shimano, Clarkes.

Cbetts83

Matthewfalle wrote:

Any of the usual suspects: Koolstop, Swisstop, Shimano, Clarkes.

I've heard of the koolstop and there reliability. My blocks are all rubber...I take it I need metal cartridges to be able to use koolstop salmon blocks?

ayjaycee

Frankly, if you want to use any 'upper end' replacements, you need to go for cartridges. Personally, in your position, I would just bin the Tektro things and buy a set of Shimano 105 5800 brakes instead (but somebody will probably be along in a minute and tell me I'm wrong!). Note: There are loads of fairly recent threads on this issue - just use the search but be aware that there is also the usual array of divided opinions.

Giraffoto

I recently acquired one of these, and among the first things I did was to swap the stock brake blocks (Acme abrasives, or something like that) for some grey Koolstop ones that I had hanging around the garage. Next up was to swap the stock wheelset (which is astonishingly heavy at 2.6Kg) for the not-quite-so-lardaceous OE wheels off my Roubaix - so if you decide that road cycling is for you, consider some lighter wheels as your next upgrade.

ayjaycee

Giraffoto wrote:

Next up was to swap the stock wheelset (which is astonishingly heavy at 2.6Kg)

Bloody hell! I'm no wheel snob but I have to ask - were they solid rubber on iron hoops? Saying that, it did make me wonder how heavy the wheels were on my hybrid and I might have to take them off and weigh them at some point. Then again, perhaps I'm better off not knowing.

Cbetts83

Giraffoto wrote:

I recently acquired one of these, and among the first things I did was to swap the stock brake blocks (Acme abrasives, or something like that) for some grey Koolstop ones that I had hanging around the garage. Next up was to swap the stock wheelset (which is astonishingly heavy at 2.6Kg) for the not-quite-so-lardaceous OE wheels off my Roubaix - so if you decide that road cycling is for you, consider some lighter wheels as your next upgrade.

I know what you mean about the wheels I've already replaced them with a set of Supra Comps with 25c schwalbe, new grip tape, longer stem, and swapped over the 1.2kg stock forks for 380g Carbon.

Have you got a link to the koolstops you have?

Giraffoto

Here is a link to some Koolstops - get yourself a cheap-as chips set of cartridge pads and swap these in, and you're ready to go. Mine were some end-of-line integrated pads that I'd had hanging around the garage for ages, but the compounds are probably the same

Cbetts83

Giraffoto wrote:

Here is a link to some Koolstops - get yourself a cheap-as chips set of cartridge pads and swap these in, and you're ready to go. Mine were some end-of-line integrated pads that I'd had hanging around the garage for ages, but the compounds are probably the same

Cheers buddy!

Just ordered some. Went out lastnight and found myself with the dreaded speed wobble during a quick downhill decent and it proved how shocking these stock blocks really are!

Giraffoto

Cbetts83 wrote:

Went out lastnight and found myself with the dreaded speed wobble during a quick downhill decent

Rest your knee against the top tube - it damps the resonance and stops the wobble. Which 380g carbon fork did you replace the stock one with?

Cbetts83

Giraffoto wrote:

Cbetts83 wrote:

Went out lastnight and found myself with the dreaded speed wobble during a quick downhill decent

Rest your knee against the top tube - it damps the resonance and stops the wobble. Which 380g carbon fork did you replace the stock one with?

Theyre '4winn' forks....Carbon fork and Carbon steerer. They were bought by a relative who didn't use them after all....they were all mine as new & mint for a £20 note.