Best brakes available?

Back by popular demand, the general all-things Road forum!

Moderator: robbosmans

bananasbrah
Posts: 28
Joined: Thu Jan 02, 2014 8:38 pm

by bananasbrah

Looking to upgrade my CAAD10's Force 22 brakes which I'm less than impressed with.
May try some top end pads as a last resort but I'm generally underwhelmed with the calipers' urgency to be honest.

What are my best options?
DA9000, Red22? True aftermarket; TRP etc?

I'm way fatter than I'd like at the minute but normal race weight is around 165.

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



User avatar
corky
Posts: 1732
Joined: Thu Jul 06, 2006 5:53 pm
Location: The Surrey Hills

by corky

EE

audiojan
Posts: 795
Joined: Fri Jan 27, 2006 1:38 pm
Location: New Hampshire

by audiojan

EE brakes. Dura-Ace brakes are really good as well (and you don't necessarily need the DA9000…, prior generation was just as good).
"Suddenly the thought struck me; my floor is someone elses ceiling" - Nils Ferlin

glam2deaf
Posts: 712
Joined: Mon Apr 27, 2015 4:36 am

by glam2deaf

Dura-Ace seems to be the benchmark for brakes. I've seen EE referred to as being as good as or almost on a par w/ Dura-Ace.

User avatar
dadoflam08
Posts: 951
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2008 11:25 am
Location: Southern Great Southern Land

by dadoflam08

For a contrary view - Campagnolo Chorus or higher double pivot - DA are too powerful and not enough modulation - more prone to lock up
In the boutique stuff THM and EE are both fantastic
Have you tried different pads with your existing brakes - can make a world of difference
'83 De Rosa+'11 Baum Corretto+'08 BMC Pro Machine >6kg+'86 Pinarello Team +'72 Cinelli SC +'58 Bianchi+'71 Cinelli SC+'78 Masi GC+'83 La Redoute Motobecane+'94 Banesto Pegoretti+'88 Bianchi X4 +'48 Super Elliott+'99 Look Kg281+'18 Pegoretti

acetonehk
Posts: 53
Joined: Wed Oct 17, 2012 12:42 pm

by acetonehk

EE, for the point of engineer's view
check this review "FairWheel Bikes Brake Review 2014" in this forum
http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=125349
Last edited by acetonehk on Tue Aug 25, 2015 1:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.

colster
Posts: 98
Joined: Wed Aug 08, 2012 11:02 pm
Location: West Yorkshire, UK

by colster

EE
I had DA 7900 on one bike that is now swapped to Ultegra 6800 (which I feel are slightly better), and on another bike I had Super Record 11 before upgrading to EE - and I feel EE outperforms all of them in both the power and modulation stakes.
I've ridden DA9000 and remember being impressed with the quality of braking, but wasn't recent enough for me to really compare to EE.
Haven't ridden through a winter yet so can't coment on longer term durability and maintenance. EE have more pivots in their design, so potentially more areas where corrosion could build, but their skeletal design gives better access for regular cleaning.

All of the above is just my opinion, but the fact is that EE are lighter.

User avatar
Rick
Posts: 2034
Joined: Sat Aug 29, 2009 4:30 pm

by Rick

These pads made a noticeable difference on my brakes. But I use TRP R970 and Planet X CNC brakes, noted for lightweight, not stopping power:

Image

They would probably improve any brake on which they were installed.

Geoff
Posts: 5395
Joined: Sat Dec 13, 2003 2:25 am
Location: Canada

by Geoff

+1 on the 'factory' brakes, either of Campagnolo or Shimano. I don't know about the cable-pull ratios vs SRAM, so that is something to be aware of.

mimason
Posts: 654
Joined: Tue Feb 24, 2009 11:43 pm
Location: Florida

by mimason

dadoflam08 wrote:DA are too powerful and not enough modulation - more prone to lock up


Respectfully I've never heard this before. On the contrary...great modulation. Possibly setup issue you experienced. Personally, I prefer the brakes to engage with a good amount of play before they bite hard. Often brakes set up at the shop bite hard with a soft pull which I hate. YMMV.

+1 on EE....

Delorre
Posts: 967
Joined: Sat May 24, 2014 12:09 pm

by Delorre

mimason wrote:
dadoflam08 wrote:DA are too powerful and not enough modulation - more prone to lock up


Respectfully I've never heard this before. On the contrary...great modulation. Possibly setup issue you experienced. Personally, I prefer the brakes to engage with a good amount of play before they bite hard. Often brakes set up at the shop bite hard with a soft pull which I hate. YMMV.


Can you elaborate a little bit on this? I'm a little disappointed in the stopping power of ma DA9000 front brake (stock pads, new + alloy wheels). Other than brake pads placement and a little toe-in, I don't see what you can change in the setup to get more or less modulation / initial bite. Other than lever 'slack' before the pads touch the rims, but this doens't change the behaviour of the brakes IMO.

AJS914
Posts: 5397
Joined: Tue Jan 28, 2014 6:52 pm

by AJS914

I just took zero gravity brakes off of my bike in favor of Super Record.

mimason
Posts: 654
Joined: Tue Feb 24, 2009 11:43 pm
Location: Florida

by mimason

Delorre, typically with alloy wheels you should get very good performance. I don't use stock pads as I run carbon but you may want to ensure they are not glazed and filled with metal shavings. Take a light sand paper(pick out metal) to them and maybe some rubbing alcohol to clean them and give that a try. Also, try to not toe-in as much to see if that helps. You just want to eliminate noise/vibration not contact.

As far as my preference with a good amount of lever pull that allows me to ride and descend in the drops with a finger or two full of brake levers(not engaged) and still control steering and braking. Also, any panic stops that may lock up the brakes quickly are somewhat abated. I do feel that the extra travel does allow for more control/modulation through finger control as the further I pull back the more the pads bite. Good luck
Last edited by mimason on Tue Aug 25, 2015 5:04 pm, edited 3 times in total.

User avatar
Calnago
In Memoriam
Posts: 8612
Joined: Sun Nov 07, 2010 9:14 pm

by Calnago

I'm a big advocate of the top tier Campy/Shimano offerings, depending on which group you run. They both work great as far as stopping power and modulation go, but with today's larger tire and rim widths I'd say Shimano is ahead with their latest design. Here's why... With Campy skeleton brakes the arms are pretty straight and can come down on top of even a 25mm tire if the pads need to be adjusted wide enough apart to accommodate a wide rim. Take a new ENVE front rim for example which is quite wide and slap a 25mm clincher on it, Conti 4000sii. On many frames, if you have campy skeleton brakes, you will have very little to zero clearance on top of the tire as the brake arms will be touching it, if the fork crown doesn't first (due to that tire/rim combo). Whereas that same tire height on a narrower rim will work fine simply because the campy pads will be adjusted closer to each other and the arms are higher in the center because of it. Shimano's clearance is unaffected by how far the pads have to be set up from each other. Because of that I think Campagnolos rim brakes could use a slight update soon.
Colnago C64 - The Naked Build; Colnago C60 - PR99; Trek Koppenberg - Where Emonda and Domane Meet;
Unlinked Builds (searchable): Colnago C59 - 5 Years Later; Trek Emonda SL Campagnolo SR; Special Colnago EPQ

User avatar
53x12
Posts: 3708
Joined: Fri Sep 15, 2006 6:02 am
Location: On the bike

by 53x12

Honestly I have not noticed any difference in stopping ability of DA vs. Ultegra (whether 7900 vs. 6700 or 9000 vs. 6800). Both are top notch.
"Marginal gains are the only gains when all that's left to gain is in the margins."

by Weenie


Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com



Post Reply