No-Name Brake Caliper Upgrade

ravynx

Greetings all. My wife purchased a Fuji bike last year, with the Tourney groupset it came with no-name rim brake calipers on it; not even "Tektro". She had concerns it wasn't stopping all that well having to really pull on the levers. I purchased a set of Koolstop pads which I think helped some but I'm curious to know if upgrading from these no-name calipers to say a Shimano 105 or SRAM Apex set would improve the stopping power. I figured the pads were the main proponent but was wondering if there was further advice/experience on this.

Bike: 2016 Fuji Finest 2.3
Brakes: Alloy dual pivot, 47mm-57mm reach
Levers: Shimano A070 STI

bmxboy10

Yep, I had some similar calipers on a bike a few years ago and went straight to ultegra as the price was good at the time and the increase in performance was significant and well worth the money.

SME

My bike came with everything 105 (5800 series) except the chainwheel and brakes - I upgraded them just to make a matching groupset. But the 105 brakes were a definite improvement. These are areas where bike manufacturers try to keep costs down.

Koolstop Salmons are indeed a good pad, but another to try are the Swissstop BXP's - it looks like your pad carriers will take just the blocks without having to buy these too, if you wanted to try another option first.

Looking at your calliper in the photo I'm wondering if there is any flex in the metal or mechanism? The top arm with the adjuster does look just a tad slimmer than some. So, I think yes, 105 callipers will improve braking, but... There could be issues with the pull ratio (so I'm told!) - the lever may not have enough cable pull/travel to close/pull-in the calliper.

lesfirth

This subject comes up regularly. One opinion is that expensive calipers have to be better,therefore Tektro have to be rubbish. However nobody can explain why they brake better. The other view is that it is all about the pads.
Flexing of the calipers makes no difference to force the pad applies to the rim. You have to be able to understand why a rubber crowbar will work as well as a steel one to get your head around that.

ravynx

lesfirth wrote:

This subject comes up regularly. One opinion is that expensive calipers have to be better,therefore Tektro have to be rubbish. However nobody can explain why they brake better. The other view is that it is all about the pads.
Flexing of the calipers makes no difference to force the pad applies to the rim. You have to be able to understand why a rubber crowbar will work as well as a steel one to get your head around that.

I figured all the higher end components are built to save weight rather than provide more force unless lever and pull ratios are altered. I haven't heard of the rubber vs steel crowbar analogy but I imagine force through the brake lever is lost through flex of an arm rather than transferring to the braking surface. I just don't see any obvious flex in the existing caliper unless it's minute.

Much appreciated on the responses, all.

pirnie

RavynX wrote:

lesfirth wrote:

This subject comes up regularly. One opinion is that expensive calipers have to be better,therefore Tektro have to be rubbish. However nobody can explain why they brake better. The other view is that it is all about the pads.
Flexing of the calipers makes no difference to force the pad applies to the rim. You have to be able to understand why a rubber crowbar will work as well as a steel one to get your head around that.

I figured all the higher end components are built to save weight rather than provide more force unless lever and pull ratios are altered. I haven't heard of the rubber vs steel crowbar analogy but I imagine force through the brake lever is lost through flex of an arm rather than transferring to the braking surface. I just don't see any obvious flex in the existing caliper unless it's minute.

Much appreciated on the responses, all.

Switching out no-name for branded brake callipers definitely helps in my experience. I don't know if it is due to the flex (mine used to flex rotationally as well as in line with the cable pull) or possibly due to better leverage through design and pivot position?

Either way, one thing to watch for is the drop (distance from the pin through the fork to the rim). To me those look a little like long drop brakes so you'd have to switch out for non-series Shimano R450, 451, or 650 as opposed to 105, ultegra etc

ravynx

pirnie wrote:

Switching out no-name for branded brake callipers definitely helps in my experience. I don't know if it is due to the flex (mine used to flex rotationally as well as in line with the cable pull) or possibly due to better leverage through design and pivot position?

Either way, one thing to watch for is the drop (distance from the pin through the fork to the rim). To me those look a little like long drop brakes so you'd have to switch out for non-series Shimano R450, 451, or 650 as opposed to 105, ultegra etc

Good point on the reach. The specs on my wife's bike in the original post look to be medium-reach pull.

dj58

Those calipers look like long reach, designed so that you can fit full type mudguards if you wanted to. If however you are not intending to fit mudguards you could fit the short reach Shimano 105 5800 series capliers. They have according to Shimano 30% more stopping power than the previous 5700 version, when used with the matching STI/lever.

Looking at the Shimano compatibility chart the ST-A070 levers appear to only be compatible with long reach calipers. That is not to say that they would not work with short reach calipers, though may or may not given you more stopping power. Maybe someone on here would know the answer to that, or ask a reputable LBS.