Upgrading old CAAD8 caliper brakes to what ..?

Unamed2.0

Hello. I want to upgrade the stock C4 brake calipers that came with my 2013 CAAD8 Tiagra (so 4600 I think).

I am easily confused by the wealth of information available and so I was hoping one of you knowledgeable folks would be able to help with my quick question:

Can I use *any* Shimano caliper brakes with my 4600 shifters?

I get confused by "long drop vs short drop" and also by cable pull differences. For example, is it feasible to upgrade to 105 5800 calipers, or do the 4600 shifters mean I would have to source some older (4600 instead of 4700) Tiagra ones?

keef66

I'm pretty sure a CAAD takes standard drop brakes.
I was going to suggest 5800 calipers. I just fitted some to my CR1; they are operated by the older generation 5600 levers and work astoundingly well, so I'm sure your Tiagra levers will be good.

crankycrank

Have you tried different brake pads? Although changing calipers to 5800 will give you a little better power and modulation I think just changing the pads on your C4's to some Koolstop Salmons may make a big improvement.

Unamed2.0

Thanks for the replies.

I built up a summery bike recently with 5800 and the improvement with those calipers over my CAAD8/C4 was instantly noticeable. That's one reason why I'm keen to improve the performance on the CAAD8. If the 4600 shifters would work with 5700 calipers I would be very happy. I will do a little more research...

Thanks for the pointer about new pads - I had put green Swiss Stop pads on the CAAD8 earlier in the year and the braking did improve over the original pads. But 3 years of less than stellar maintenance has left the original calipers a touch rusty.

keef66

I was quite prepared to be disappointed with my caliper upgrade from Tiagra 4500 to 105 5800 (happy that the colour better suited the frame and I'd once again have 105 throughout) but in fact the improvement was astounding.

So much so that I bought 5800 cartridges / inserts to replace the all-in-one moulded blocks on the long drop BR450s on the winter bike. Nowhere near as big an improvement

All of which leaves me scratching my head a bit...

ayjaycee

As somebody else that has done the same upgrade, my answer is 'yes and do it ASAP'. You will thank yourself every time you ride the bike (and even more so if you get some Swisstop BXP Flash Pro BXP at the same time). That said, somebody else will be along in a minute to tell you that it will be a waste of time and money and not to bother - just ignore them (or don't as you see fit!!).

svetty

My experience is that the 5800 callipers on 5700 shifters works very well. I don't personally feel that the aftermarket pads - Koolstop or Swissstop - are a significant improvement over Shimano ones when new.

molteni_man

Hi,
I also have a CAAD 8 which came with some standard Tektro brakes. I also made the upgrade to 105 which resulted in much better braking than before. Recommended for not a huge outlay and we're very to fit. I use this bike for winter use, tried Swiss Stop but found they wore down too much with all the grit etc so reverted back to Shimano pads.
( Love the Swiss Stop on the summer Focus bike which has Ultegra fitted).

Unamed2.0

Thanks everyone, it been hugely helpful. I'm off to CRC to get myself some 5800 calipers!

tsarouxaz

5800 brakes for sure!! best price to performance ratio!!