Brake upgrade

[jowwy]

after a 2nd session on the drop bar today i'm thinking an upgrade in brakes is required......

maybe shimano 105's what do you guys think????

 

[brockers]

What do you have at the moment?

105 is a good groupset, and good enough to race on so you wouldn't be wasting your money. Then again, if you can stretch to Dura-Ace....

I'm guessing, but if you have a look on eBay as you might be able to pick up a used set of 105s for around £25.

 

[Alun]

What bike do you have at the moment, shimano 105's might not fit if you need long drop calipers for example?

 

[jowwy]

What bike do you have at the moment, shimano 105's might not fit if you need long drop calipers for example?

i have raleigh team sprint with shimano sti 2300's

 

[John the Monkey]

Assuming it's not for the bling, why?

If it's stopping power, new pads (Kool Stop Salmon, Fibrax Xtreme) and setting them up properly will be more cost effective than fitting new calipers.

 

[zacklaws]

I had problems with 105's, even changing the pads did not help. The final straw was a twisty 20% downhill last year when with maximum force applied, I just kept rolling. I even had to keep changing pads every three months as I constantly had to keep my brakes applied and braking very early to ensure that I would stop at a junction etc if need be, all this wore the pads out quick. Many a junction I sailed past as I could not slow enough to take the turning.

My LBS recommended Bontrager Speed Limiters, so I ordered a set as they had non in stock as they were that popular, they constantly kept selling out. Anyway, when I fitted them I was very impressed, no more early braking, I can now race into junctions and if I see its clear just keep going, knowing that if I had to stop, I could. Yesterday I fitted my third set of pads in 15 months and the ones I changed were not as badly worn as I thought and still had a lot of life left. Even just a little dab of the brakes to check your speed, gives you a feeling of lurching over the bars.

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/categ...view-bontrager-speed-limit-brakeset-08-24058/

 

[chris-s]

Do you need to change the calipers? What about changing the pads? I replaced the stock shimano ones with Clarks Gold shoes and the difference was unbelievable, I'm glad I had them on for the dartmoor classic at the weekend.

Chris

 

[Cletus Van Damme]

The brakes were an utter joke on my Secteur Sport when I bought it, it was pretty dangerous. I read on here and a lot of people had upgraded to 105 calipers and pads. I was skint so just upgraded the pads to Clarks CPS240 with existing Tektro calipers. This made a huge difference. However a couple of weeks ago I noticed Wiggle were selling off 105 5600 front calipers for £24.99. So I bought one, when I removed the Tektro caliper, I held it in one hand and the new 105 in the other. I could tell no difference in weight. I put the 105 caliper on but swapped the Clarks pads over so that I could correctly compare the Tektro versus the 105 caliper. After 2 weeks I cannot tell any difference in braking performance. I am pleased that I only paid £25 for it, I guess Shimano 105 does look nice written on it compared to the plain Tektro caliper, but that is about all I can say about it. Then again the Tektro caliper looks identical to the 105, except maybe a slightly smaller spring so I really do not know what I was expecting to be honest.

If I was you I would just change the pads.

 

[2Loose]

Pads.

 

[scouserinlondon]

Sorry to hijack the thread. I have un-branded dual pivot brakes on my Trek Pilot, and even with new pads they're spongy. Would an upgrade from no name alloy to something like the 105 produce a noticable difffernce in youse guys opinion?

 

[Cletus Van Damme]

I guess it depends which pads you got possibly.

 

[2Loose]

Sorry to hijack the thread. I have un-branded dual pivot brakes on my Trek Pilot, and even with new pads they're spongy. Would an upgrade from no name alloy to something like the 105 produce a noticable difffernce in youse guys opinion?

Even named brakes tend to come with rubbish brake blocks as standard. Before you ditch the calipers, give them a go with Fibrax, Aztec, Koolstop, Clarks CPS240 or any other well regarded brake pad and I am sure that you'll see a huge difference.

 

[Manonabike]

Just a warning. A couple of years ago I had problems with 105 levers - brand mew but the left lever broke very quickly. My LBS informed me that there was a problem with some 105 and a search on ebay showed quite a few right levers for sale. A search on google showed the extend of the problem.

Has Shaimano fix the problem? No idea.

 

[scouserinlondon]

Even named brakes tend to come with rubbish brake blocks as standard. Before you ditch the calipers, give them a go with Fibrax, Aztec, Koolstop, Clarks CPS240 or any other well regarded brake pad and I am sure that you'll see a huge difference.

I've got Koolstops in, think I'll try a caliper upgrade on the front. When I got the bike new, the rear failed and was replaced with a Sora which did improve things.

I'm assuming a 105 caliper will work with a Tiagra lever?

 

[Cletus Van Damme]

I've got Koolstops in, think I'll try a caliper upgrade on the front. When I got the bike new, the rear failed and was replaced with a Sora which did improve things.

I'm assuming a 105 caliper will work with a Tiagra lever?

I would of thought so mine works fine with a Sora lever. The front one is currently £24.99 delivered which is worth a try as it does not cost much.


http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-105-5600-front-brake-caliper/