Brake Upgrade

[Hacienda71]

I want to upgrade the calipers on the bike i have just done up, it had 27" wheels and i have replaced them with 700c the existing side pull calipers reach easily and i have put new blocks on, but going down a long steep hill yesterday found them to be less than adequate. I saw these http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Miche-Perform...s_SR?hash=item4cea92b91e&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14
Would they be good idea or is there a better approach to the problem. Also to measure the "drop" where do you take your measurements from.

Cheers

 

[MartinC]

The drop is the vertical distance from the centre of the brake bolt to the centre of the brake pad screw.

Caliper brake performance relies on the stiffness of the caliper arms, the brake pad compound and low friction in the cable. To some extent it also depends on the leverage the brake lever and caliper will give. Short drop brakes will give you more leverage than medium or deep drop ones. Going from 630mm rims to 622mm rims will have decreased the leverage you calipers are exerting 'cos the rim is further from the pivot point.

Check that the cables are in good condition with no sharp bends. Changing the pads to some good quality ones is usually the next step (Aztec, Koolstop, Swissstop, Salmon, Shimano and Campag ones are good).

The next step is the calipers. If they're single pivot ones the change them for double pivot ones. Shimano and Tektro make decent 57mm brakes. Some makes of caliper flex and will never provide decent braking in my experience.

 

[PatrickPending]

I put these on my Carlton commuter

http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m2b37s100p149

rather good they are too tho not as good as my mavic ssc brakes on my road bike but a vast improvement over the stock centrepulls

 

[gbb]

Hi Hacienda..
As per Patricks post, i've fitted Alhongas to my winter commuter....but found them lacking in braking performance. Its probably the blocks, which i intend to change when its time (soon) for the bike to be put back into use.

Check whether you need nutted calipers, or allen key fit.