Replacement wheels - Buying Advice Required.

nbuuifx

I have got a Trek 1000SL road bike which is at least 10 years old now but still does fine for me.

The brakes are my only issue, today riding in the raining was quite worrying. I applied the brakes at full power on hills and couldn't actually stop the bike straight away. They would slightly slow the bike for 10 seconds or so, then start to brake properly after that. I don't have much experience to compare to as my other bikes have disc brakes which stop well when working properly.

Last time I bought new pads but the bike shop said that the wheels would probably be the cause of my poor braking as the surface was worn.

So I was just looking at wheels but I have no idea what I'm looking for!

I've had a quick look on a local facebook selling group and there is some Fulcrum Racing Sport 06 wheels for sale - the numbers on the rim say: 20.5 x 622 / 28" - are they likely to be correct? I have 700c wheels but I remember something about 622 being correct.

Anything else that I would need to ask regarding them before buying?



hmmm, just did a bit of a search and they look like they might be disc brake wheels??

Anything else that might be a good buy? I don't want to spend a fortune but don't want them to be any worse than the factory wheels that came with the bike 10+ years ago.

imposter2.0

Rim brakes are like that in the wet. Save your money and ride according to the conditions.

nbuuifx

Imposter wrote:

Rim brakes are like that in the wet. Save your money and ride according to the conditions.

OK, they're not a huge amount better in the dry - they tend to feel OK in the dry until I come to a steep descent, then they feel pretty poor.

If it is just what they're like then I'll leave it as is.

I don't normally ride this bike in the wet, I normally use my MTB with hybrid tyres on it but my friend's bike had broken so I let him use that - although then (as per my post in the MTB section) the front brake failed on that too!

So what does everyone else do in the rain? As I say it feels pretty unsafe.

webboo

Ride and brake as to the conditions, it’s not like your job depends on it.

nbuuifx

Webboo wrote:

Ride and brake as to the conditions, it’s not like your job depends on it.

I did/do.

Or do you mean I shouldn't have gone out in the rain at all?

webboo

No just ride and if it feels abit sketchy, take it steady.

cycleclinic

Try koolstop salmon pads. Also the brakes themselves maybe at fault. What are they

Matthewfalle

aksiums and kool stops as above.

your current pads are knackered
your wheel braking surfaces (as confirmed by shop) are worn out

nbuuifx

Webboo wrote:

No just ride and if it feels abit sketchy, take it steady.

This is exactly what I did do but I felt like it was dangerous in some positions. I knew I couldn't confidently stop if someone pulled out etc.

nbuuifx

thecycleclinic wrote:

Try koolstop salmon pads. Also the brakes themselves maybe at fault. What are they

The brakes themselves don't look to be marked up with anything.

The only thing I can find on the net regarding them is:

Alloy dual pivot w/Shimano Sora STI levers


They seem to be functioning correctly. As I was out looking at them I have adjusted them to move the pads closer, which may help as they moved along way in before doing anything before.

nbuuifx

Is it worth perhaps changing the brake set, to something better? Is that likely to make any difference, they seem to be Treks own unbranded ones at the moment. I'm wondering if it would be worth getting some Shimano ones instead - do they all just bolt on?

svetty

Sounds as if you might need new pads and holders as your brakes probably don't have holders that accept new pads.
Might be best to get new calipers which will come with new pads - not sure if you need long drop brakes though...

cycleclinic

unbranded brakes means some thing cheap and probably quite rubbish. Buy new calipers with the right drop and get decent pads to go with them.

we are asumming they are set up probably of course.

nbuuifx

Thanks, I don't mind trying a brake set first.

Where do I measure to find the drop? Will any photos help to identify what I've got?

Thanks

nbuuifx

nbuuifx wrote:

Thanks, I don't mind trying a brake set first.

Where do I measure to find the drop? Will any photos help to identify what I've got?

Thanks

To quote my own post and answer, I did some searching and found I need to measure between the centre of the mounting bolt to the area the pad can be adjusted to. That distance is approx 37mm - 51mm which I believe is short throw. The pads to have to be near the long end of this adjustment though otherwise they would be on the tyre and not the rim. Are there any recommendations for a half decent set of brake calipers that might help to improve things? I'm in no rush so plan to watch ebay for a bargain but some ideas of what is worth watching would be great!

nbuuifx

Just had a quick look and 105 seems to be a good level at a reasonable price.

However as I looked more it looks like the 105 5800 are not compatible with the Sora Shifters that I have as they have a different pull ratio.

I've been looking for the 105 5700 to see if they are compatible but can't find as much info and I'm not 100% which Sora Shifters I have! Is there anyway to find out which shifters I have to check compatibility?

svetty

The 5800 brakes work very well with the older generation levers you have.
The new R7000 series are even better!

cycleclinic

Actually the above is not true. Older Sora shifters use levers with different cable pull to the modern brakes.

So get br- 5700 and replace the pads with kool stop. The braking will be perfect. The best brakes I have hands down are br-7403 with STI -7400 and Ambrosio nemesis rims.

svetty

Sure the cable pull is different from the 5800/R7000 levers but real world performance is what counts - and it's fine