Third Party Road Disc Brake Calipers

[nismosr]

I'm in the process of building a roadbike and Wanted to get every one's opinion in using a third party Road Disc Brake Calipers, like a TRP Hy/Rd or any other brand you think its better than a stock calipers from Shimano, Sram or Campagnolo. Thank you

[djbowen99]

Wouldn’t the required oil type force you in the direction of the brake lever brand?

[joejack951]

Are you looking to use hydro or mechanical levers with these brake calipers? The responses you get will be vastly different depending on your focus.

[spdntrxi]

mech or hydro...

because the TRPs you listed are officially mech in term of lever pull, but have a hydro resevoir.

[nismosr]

ah i'm looking for hydraulic .. the levers is the Campagnolo Potenza

https://www.probikekit.ca/bicycle-brake ... 79754.html

[Miller]

Why would you not use the Campag disc calipers with the Campag hydro levers? They're really good.

[nismosr]

Why would you not use the Campag disc calipers with the Campag hydro levers? They're really good.

because i'm cheap lol Potenza levers pair without calipers are $130 a set, levers with calipers are $264 per side. thought if I get the levers and a third party caliper I could save some for the bike im building.

[mattr]

Scrub that, thought you said 264 the pair.

Might be worth looking at the cheap magura calipers if you can get the right mount for the frame, might save you a bit.
Even the MT2s are ~$60 each though, and you'll need hoses, fittings and so on.

[MayhemSWE]

because i'm cheap lol Potenza levers pair without calipers are $130 a set, levers with calipers are $264 per side. thought if I get the levers and a third party caliper I could save some for the bike im building.

Sounds like you're comparing entirely different things. The shifters are normally the expensive part of a hydraulic road setup, in comparison the calipers are cheap. Potenza levers "without calipers" at that price has got to be for cable actuated brakes. If you can't afford hydraulic then I'd personally not bother with disc at all and go for rim brakes.

[joejack951]

because i'm cheap lol Potenza levers pair without calipers are $130 a set, levers with calipers are $264 per side. thought if I get the levers and a third party caliper I could save some for the bike im building.

Sounds like you're comparing entirely different things. The shifters are normally the expensive part of a hydraulic road setup, in comparison the calipers are cheap. Potenza levers "without calipers" at that price has got to be for cable actuated brakes. If you can't afford hydraulic then I'd personally not bother with disc at all and go for rim brakes.

I'd disagree. I'll preface this by noting that I do not have a hydraulic disc road bike and haven't spent a lot of time with hydraulic MTB brakes either. But I do have years of experience with cable actuated disc brakes on a road/CX bike going back to 2008. For me, the advantages of discs are far more than just low lever effort, with the ultimate example of that being full hydraulic brakes. Cable actuated discs, when properly set up, brake exceptionally well. TRP HY/RDs especially make braking a pleasurable experience. Knowing that you aren't grinding away at your aluminum rims, or worse wearing away at your carbon layup, is enough for me to choose discs over rim brakes whenever possible. Not having to use bulbous, heavy, awkward looking hydraulic road levers is reason enough for me to avoid that side of road discs.

[nickf]

I have been impressed by the performance of the TRP spyre mechanical calipers. Plenty of braking power. I'm currently using the stock pads and SRAM red levers. Like joejack951 mentioned I also preferred the aesthetics of the mechanical levers over the hydraulic. Also, a full mechanical system for me is just reliable. Every bike shop has brake cables in stock no matter where you are in the world.

[DJT21]

I have been impressed by the performance of the TRP spyre mechanical calipers. Plenty of braking power. I'm currently using the stock pads and SRAM red levers. Like joejack951 mentioned I also preferred the aesthetics of the mechanical levers over the hydraulic. Also, a full mechanical system for me is just reliable. Every bike shop has brake cables in stock no matter where you are in the world.

Sadly TRP Spyres don't work properly with Campagnolo levers.

[ChiZ01]

before you go into cable disk, make sure you double check on the rear brake cable routing, if it is internally routed coming out from inside of the chain-stay, the bend might be too sharp for compressionless cable

[Mr.Gib]

before you go into cable disk, make sure you double check on the rear brake cable routing, if it is internally routed coming out from inside of the chain-stay, the bend might be too sharp for compressionless cable

There is a hack that can overcome the tight bend required for cable actuated disc. If you use Jagwire Pro brake set, you can use the flexible silver end where the housing exits the frame. I have one bike with a fairly severe S bend from the frame exit port to the caliper and to my surprise it does not affect cable drag. Lever pull is very smooth. For frames where the exit port is on the bottom of the chain stay (Focus Paralane for example), you can route the housing around the outside of the chainstay to meet the outboard cable clamp on the caliper.