I have a bike with TRP Spyre disc brakes and frankly I'm not impressed. I don't know if it is down to worn out pads, (there is still some friction material left on them) but braking from the hoods is not good. I've had a couple of steep descents with sharp turns at the bottom and only just made the turn. When they were new, I was expecting more from them, but anticipating they would get better as they bedded in, but that hasn't happened. One review talks about locking the back wheel with heavy braking, but I've never been close to this. My main bike has V brakes which are brilliant in comparison and before anyone says it, they are better in the wet than the Spyres.
How long should pads last when used on the road? Am I expecting too much when braking from the hoods?
TRP Spyre Disc Brakes - Not Impressed.
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Airsporter1st
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Re: TRP Spyre Disc Brakes - Not Impressed.
Think yourself lucky - brakes that don't work properly are much safer, it seems.
Re: TRP Spyre Disc Brakes - Not Impressed.
What kind of brake levers?
What kind of pads?
Are the calipers set up correctly,if you adjust them by the inline adjusts they'll get progressively worse with each adjustment,the pads should adjusted at the caliper with a 3mm Allen key.
What kind of pads?
Are the calipers set up correctly,if you adjust them by the inline adjusts they'll get progressively worse with each adjustment,the pads should adjusted at the caliper with a 3mm Allen key.
Last edited by reohn2 on 6 Aug 2018, 9:45am, edited 1 time in total.
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"All we are not stares back at what we are"
W H Auden
"All we are not stares back at what we are"
W H Auden
Re: TRP Spyre Disc Brakes - Not Impressed.
reohn2 wrote:What kind of brake levers?
What kind of pads?
105 levers, stock pads as installed by qualified bike mechanic.
Previously I've adjusted with the allen key, but when out yesterday I used the inline adjuster. What's the practical difference between them?
Last edited by Graham O on 6 Aug 2018, 9:47am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: TRP Spyre Disc Brakes - Not Impressed.
Graham O wrote:reohn2 wrote:What kind of brake levers?
What kind of pads?
105 levers, stock pads as installed by qualified bike mechanic.
See my EDIT.
Is braking any better from the drops?
-----------------------------------------------------------
"All we are not stares back at what we are"
W H Auden
"All we are not stares back at what we are"
W H Auden
Re: TRP Spyre Disc Brakes - Not Impressed.
reohn2 wrote:Graham O wrote:reohn2 wrote:What kind of brake levers?
What kind of pads?
105 levers, stock pads as installed by qualified bike mechanic.
See my EDIT.
Is braking any better from the drops?
I think we are both trying to keep up with each others edits
From the drops? Don't know. Certainly didn't try it yesterday. It's not my normal style of riding, so I rarely use the drops.
Re: TRP Spyre Disc Brakes - Not Impressed.
Your symptoms sound exactly like those caused by using lower-quality cable outers rather than "compressionless" outers. What have you got on there at the moment?
Re: TRP Spyre Disc Brakes - Not Impressed.
Adjustment?
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"All we are not stares back at what we are"
W H Auden
"All we are not stares back at what we are"
W H Auden
Re: TRP Spyre Disc Brakes - Not Impressed.
The cable outers are the stock ones the bike came with, so their quality/standard is unknown. I'd be surprised if they were cheap ones as the shop I got it from traded on quality and performance, but that could mean anything.
Re: TRP Spyre Disc Brakes - Not Impressed.
Sorry only just caught up with the edits 
Adjusting with the cable adjuster reduces MA as the actuation arm is adjusted more off it's stop.
My first reaction would be to fit sintered pads.
These need to be run in with some heavy braking and or a mucky wet ride,they improve dramatically after 50miles or so.
I would also setup the calipers when the pads are fitted,ensuring actuation arm is back to the stop.
Adjusting with the cable adjuster reduces MA as the actuation arm is adjusted more off it's stop.
My first reaction would be to fit sintered pads.
These need to be run in with some heavy braking and or a mucky wet ride,they improve dramatically after 50miles or so.
I would also setup the calipers when the pads are fitted,ensuring actuation arm is back to the stop.
-----------------------------------------------------------
"All we are not stares back at what we are"
W H Auden
"All we are not stares back at what we are"
W H Auden
Re: TRP Spyre Disc Brakes - Not Impressed.
reohn2 wrote:Adjusting with the cable adjuster reduces MA as the actuation arm is adjusted more off it's stop.
Mechanical advantage peaks when there's a right angle formed by the cable and the line between the anchor point and the pivot on the actuation arm. So the barrel will reduce MA if this angle is obtuse at the bite point, but it will increase it if it's acute. (OP, this may be another thing worth checking: that this angle is not far off 90 degrees when the pads bite.) Either way, it's probably not enough to worry about. The main differences are practical ones: the barrel adjuster is much less of a faff (getting a 3mm Allen key through the spokes is a royal pain, and the adjusters are hypersensitive—Avid's system is much easier to live with IME); but it has less usable range, not enough to cope with the full wear life of a set of pads.
I would always set up mechanical brakes such that the actuation arm doesn't quite return to its stop. If it does, you have no pretension in the system, which means you waste travel at the lever.
Re: TRP Spyre Disc Brakes - Not Impressed.
Thank you for all the information and I'll be in the shed tonight, trying to sort out any adjustments etc. Plus ordering a new set of sintered pads.
Re: TRP Spyre Disc Brakes - Not Impressed.
I got these brakes on my new bike not long ago. Compared to the BB7 on my other bike I have to say the brakes were a tad disappointing.
Changing the pads from the stock ones to Discobrakes copper free (https://www.discobrakes.com/?s=0&t=0&c=14&p=100&tb=001) has made a lot of difference.
Changing the pads from the stock ones to Discobrakes copper free (https://www.discobrakes.com/?s=0&t=0&c=14&p=100&tb=001) has made a lot of difference.
Re: TRP Spyre Disc Brakes - Not Impressed.
I have had to replace a set of Spyres because they seized up from muck ingress. Could be yours are heading that way. Disconnect the cable and check the action of the calipers.
The older I get the more I’m inclined to act my shoe size, not my age.
Re: TRP Spyre Disc Brakes - Not Impressed.
I agree with much of what Bez says. IME the cables make a big difference; if they are not lubricated properly then even the best cables won't be much cop. The slightest contamination of the discs and/or pads will also make the brakes not work well.
One thing I'm fairly sure of is that there is something wrong; you should be able to lock the rear wheel at will.
IME if you have a brake that is powerful enough that it is comfortable to brake from the hoods on a long descent, it is also powerful enough that you could do a stoppie from the drops. BITD (with brakes that were not that powerful) it was common practice to use the drops on a descent simply because it made braking easier.
BTW Spyres/spykes are widely thought of in some circles as being 'the best cable operated disc brake'. I am less convinced. There are several reasons for this;
1) their raison d'etre, that moving both pads is somehow 'better', is fraud; single moving pad calipers work just fine IME
2) the pad adjusters don't stay put; after a while the soft threadlock on the pad adjusting screws doesn't do its job any more and the pads are on the move as you go down the road.
3) the internal workings of the caliper are fantastically complicated, completely unprotected from crud ingress, very difficult to service, and soon become rough in operation if you ride the bike in any, er, 'weather'. There are thrust bearings in both caliper halves that use ball bearings only 1.5mm dia; it takes very little corrosion to make these work badly.
They have one clear advantage over BB7, and that is that at the rear especially, the caliper sticks out less, which is good if you have a seatstay mount and you wish to fit a rack.
Unless the calipers are already badly corroded internally, it should be possible to make your brakes work better than they have done to date.
cheers
One thing I'm fairly sure of is that there is something wrong; you should be able to lock the rear wheel at will.
IME if you have a brake that is powerful enough that it is comfortable to brake from the hoods on a long descent, it is also powerful enough that you could do a stoppie from the drops. BITD (with brakes that were not that powerful) it was common practice to use the drops on a descent simply because it made braking easier.
BTW Spyres/spykes are widely thought of in some circles as being 'the best cable operated disc brake'. I am less convinced. There are several reasons for this;
1) their raison d'etre, that moving both pads is somehow 'better', is fraud; single moving pad calipers work just fine IME
2) the pad adjusters don't stay put; after a while the soft threadlock on the pad adjusting screws doesn't do its job any more and the pads are on the move as you go down the road.
3) the internal workings of the caliper are fantastically complicated, completely unprotected from crud ingress, very difficult to service, and soon become rough in operation if you ride the bike in any, er, 'weather'. There are thrust bearings in both caliper halves that use ball bearings only 1.5mm dia; it takes very little corrosion to make these work badly.
They have one clear advantage over BB7, and that is that at the rear especially, the caliper sticks out less, which is good if you have a seatstay mount and you wish to fit a rack.
Unless the calipers are already badly corroded internally, it should be possible to make your brakes work better than they have done to date.
cheers
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