Best brakes available?
Moderator: robbosmans
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cmcdonnell wrote:Very happy with Campagnolo Super Record skeletons with the mono pivot rear on my alloy rims. Can't fault them at all; great modulation and I like the mono on the back as it seems better balanced to me. To be honest I've never had any issues with any of my brakes, I have a set of Zero Gravitys on another bike and find them brilliant, but I bought them from a guy that hated them so each to their own. i used them with Campy Chorus levers. I weigh 130lbs btw
Did some mountainous rides on vacation last summer......while my Campy mono pivot (used on Bora carbon rims) was very excellent for braking/modulation in my less steep normal routes..........but in the steep downhills of the Rocky Mountains I felt I needed more power.........so for my 2015 trip to the Rocky's I debated whether I go dual pivot in the rear........or.........well I replaced the older version dark grey carbon rim pads with the red (for carbon also) from Campy.........Superb improvement! Still have the desired great modulation.....but now with MUCH BETTER POWER in the more demanding downhill situations. Do I need a dual pivot...........not on my mind anymore - extremely happy with these red pads from Campy!!!
i wanted to mention thm's in here (as others already have) as i am now using them.
i thought they wouldn't work so great (can't look that good, be that light (161 g with pads) and then work great too). they work really great.
as someone else mentioned pads are all important. i've used them on lightweight wheels and campagnolo wheels with the black prince pads and thm brakes work great. as good as ee i think (maybe less modulation but i'm not really sure). definitely more even than the ee i think (more linear if that makes sense).
i started with super record. they were of course brilliant. can i put on record that no one needs to change for performance. it might just be of interest to do so and certainly that was the case for me. super record brakes were however doing what they should do.
i thought they wouldn't work so great (can't look that good, be that light (161 g with pads) and then work great too). they work really great.
as someone else mentioned pads are all important. i've used them on lightweight wheels and campagnolo wheels with the black prince pads and thm brakes work great. as good as ee i think (maybe less modulation but i'm not really sure). definitely more even than the ee i think (more linear if that makes sense).
i started with super record. they were of course brilliant. can i put on record that no one needs to change for performance. it might just be of interest to do so and certainly that was the case for me. super record brakes were however doing what they should do.
Bobo S&S Steel Bike - 7.5 kg
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Yeah you're right no one brake is perfect. As to wether EE is worth the extra money Over DA?.... Well I'm sure you'll get a range of answers from ... yes to no
Ee's performance is up there at the top but I think most would agree that DA have slightly more power whereas the EE modulation is Slightly superior.
EE's brake pad changing facility is the best out there with no real competition if that capability is important to you, for someone that changes wheels between aluminium and carbon regularly it can be a godsend.
EE's are very light and this is weightweenies so........
EE's will be more aero (just my belief, no data to back it up) because there is little to no cable and no brake arm out there in the breeze.
negatives ...... EE can be trickier to set up cable runs and lengths need to be correct to get the best out of them compared to the ease of installation of DA. having said that you will get EE's working well just takes a little experience and time.
I have Campagnolo super record on one bike and EE on another, I like them both....... Cannot believe that disks will be in my future......
Ee's performance is up there at the top but I think most would agree that DA have slightly more power whereas the EE modulation is Slightly superior.
EE's brake pad changing facility is the best out there with no real competition if that capability is important to you, for someone that changes wheels between aluminium and carbon regularly it can be a godsend.
EE's are very light and this is weightweenies so........
EE's will be more aero (just my belief, no data to back it up) because there is little to no cable and no brake arm out there in the breeze.
negatives ...... EE can be trickier to set up cable runs and lengths need to be correct to get the best out of them compared to the ease of installation of DA. having said that you will get EE's working well just takes a little experience and time.
I have Campagnolo super record on one bike and EE on another, I like them both....... Cannot believe that disks will be in my future......
Try the direct mount Shimano calipers (I suggest only trying if you're frame is direct mount)
They are more powerful than standard calipers and tidier
They are more powerful than standard calipers and tidier
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Stiff, Light, Aero - Pick Three!!
Stiff, Light, Aero - Pick Three!!
sawyer wrote:Try the direct mount Shimano calipers (I suggest only trying if you're frame is direct mount)
They are more powerful than standard calipers and tidier
BTW do you know any adapter to convert between direct mount and normal single bolt installations?
acetonehk wrote:sawyer wrote:Try the direct mount Shimano calipers (I suggest only trying if you're frame is direct mount)
They are more powerful than standard calipers and tidier
BTW do you know any adapter to convert between direct mount and normal single bolt installations?
No - haven't looked into it. I am using a direct mount frame
They are powerful. I've used them (Ultegra) with both Shimano and Campagnolo levers and FWIW there is no discernible difference in power and modulation ...
Calipers are the one component where Shimano are way ahead of Campag IMO ... sure skeletons are fine power and modulation wise, but harder to adjust, harder to change pads on, and less aero.
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Stiff, Light, Aero - Pick Three!!
Stiff, Light, Aero - Pick Three!!
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I found an extra 5mm of lever throw made my DA9000 callipers feel 100% better.
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Ruling out disc, the best rim brakes are hydraulic ones. I'd vouch for the Magura RT8s since I own them. You can route the cable through all sorts of twist and turns and there is absolutely no friction, ergo, capacity for very fine modulation. That and they are basically maintenance free once bled.
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Agree with the hydraulics, i'm running Sram Force22 HydroR rim brakes with levers modified to be Di2, best of both worlds, loads of power and modulation with very little lever effort. and Di2 shifting. Get some light weight pad holders like KCNC and they weigh the same as Red22 HydroR.
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I have both Super Record and Ultegra on my road bikes, as well as hydraulic discs on my gravel bike (shimano r685) and Avid BB7 mechanicals on my touring bike.
For rim brakes, I prefer the shimano brakes. They feel like they have a good amount more power than the super record calipers, and feel much stiffer in the lever(less 'compression' on a hard haul of the lever) with the same rim and pad combos. They might have a tiny bit less modulation, but I'm heavy and prefer a little more power.
With discs, mechanical can't compare to hydraulic.
When comparing rim and disc, I'd say for a road bike I'd only prefer disc in the wet.
Can't help with the 'best' brake, I guess it'll depend on what you value and how you use them. I'm super tempted by the EE's though.
For rim brakes, I prefer the shimano brakes. They feel like they have a good amount more power than the super record calipers, and feel much stiffer in the lever(less 'compression' on a hard haul of the lever) with the same rim and pad combos. They might have a tiny bit less modulation, but I'm heavy and prefer a little more power.
With discs, mechanical can't compare to hydraulic.
When comparing rim and disc, I'd say for a road bike I'd only prefer disc in the wet.
Can't help with the 'best' brake, I guess it'll depend on what you value and how you use them. I'm super tempted by the EE's though.
BRM wrote:Probably every modern rim brake has more than enough braking power.
... if you don't need to brake much. I thought the KCNCs I was using were fine until I did a session of repeats on one of the local mountains. After five hours of climbing and technical descending my front brake hand had pains shooting up the palm into the wrist. I'm a pretty good descender and know these descents well. There's just a lot of tight turns.
The KCNCs had a lot of flex and friction, so I had to use significantly more hand force than with 7800 brakes or the EEs that I ended up with.
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Shimano Dura Ace 9000 brakes are the gold standard. 6800 will be very close behind with any difference hard to discern.
Colnago C-59 (Dura Ace)
Firefly(Ultegra)
Colnago C-64 disc(ultegra) with Bora 35 wheels
Firefly(Ultegra)
Colnago C-64 disc(ultegra) with Bora 35 wheels