Potential brakes upgrade

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robrichards
Posts: 23
Joined: 17 Sep 2016, 8:12am

Potential brakes upgrade

Post by robrichards »

I have a standard GT Grade Sora which comes with Tektro mechanical disk brakes. They're OK but not great so I spoke to one LBS who said it would cost £100s to upgrade them. I don't want to spend a fortune but thought there must be something better than these if only official shimano sora ones?
LollyKat
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Joined: 28 May 2011, 11:25pm
Location: Scotland

Re: Potential brakes upgrade

Post by LollyKat »

Avid BB7s are supposed to be good - my husband put them on his Croix de Fer and is very pleased with them.
robrichards
Posts: 23
Joined: 17 Sep 2016, 8:12am

Re: Potential brakes upgrade

Post by robrichards »

Thanks Lollykat they seem like quite a good option, not horrifically expensive & lots of positive reviews! I'll definitely keep them in mind.
PeterBL
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Joined: 26 Oct 2010, 1:04pm

Re: Potential brakes upgrade

Post by PeterBL »

robrichards wrote:Thanks Lollykat they seem like quite a good option, not horrifically expensive & lots of positive reviews! I'll definitely keep them in mind.

I also recommend BB7.
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Sweep
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Location: London

Re: Potential brakes upgrade

Post by Sweep »

Not a disc person myself but over the years have heard lots of good things about BB7s. Don't ever remember hearing anything bad.
Sweep
Brucey
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Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: Potential brakes upgrade

Post by Brucey »

they are not perfect but they are easier to live with and/or work better than most of the alternatives.

cheers
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Brucey~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
reohn2
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Joined: 26 Jun 2009, 8:21pm

Re: Potential brakes upgrade

Post by reohn2 »

BB7's were the reason I went over to discs on all but one(a folder) of my bikes,I've never regretted that desicion.
They're the best of the rest.
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"All we are not stares back at what we are"
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NUKe
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Location: Suffolk

Re: Potential brakes upgrade

Post by NUKe »

Not sure what the OPs budget is but BB7 are over 50 pound each end, if you add in labour, its going to be not much change from £150, I would say that this is still worth it, but if you are on budget, its too much.
NUKe
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PH
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Re: Potential brakes upgrade

Post by PH »

robrichards wrote:I have a standard GT Grade Sora which comes with Tektro mechanical disk brakes.

A quick google shows these bikes come with Spyre brakes, is this right?
If so, they're considered as good as any mechanical disk brake and the only way to get better will be to go hydraulic which will indeed cost you 100s. But what's wrong with what you have? If they're new they might just need bedding in, the original pads may not be the best, it's possible the cables haven't been properly fitted or would benefit from an upgrade.
Lastly, what brakes have you been using? If you've come from MTB hydraulic then no mech disk is going to feel great, though that doesn't mean it won't stop you.
IMO this needs a bit more investigation before you spend money on something that may not be any better.
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[XAP]Bob
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Joined: 26 Sep 2008, 4:12pm

Re: Potential brakes upgrade

Post by [XAP]Bob »

NUKe wrote:Not sure what the OPs budget is but BB7 are over 50 pound each end, if you add in labour, its going to be not much change from £150, I would say that this is still worth it, but if you are on budget, its too much.


You can get them for a significant amount less than that...
And fitting them doesn't take a rocket scientist, or specialised tools...
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
Brucey
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Joined: 4 Jan 2012, 6:25pm

Re: Potential brakes upgrade

Post by Brucey »

PH wrote:
robrichards wrote:I have a standard GT Grade Sora which comes with Tektro mechanical disk brakes.

A quick google shows these bikes come with Spyre brakes, is this right?

.....IMO this needs a bit more investigation before you spend money on something that may not be any better.


I would have to agree. There could be any number of reasons why the brakes you have at present might not feel up to much.

cheers
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NUKe
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Re: Potential brakes upgrade

Post by NUKe »

[XAP]Bob wrote:
NUKe wrote:Not sure what the OPs budget is but BB7 are over 50 pound each end, if you add in labour, its going to be not much change from £150, I would say that this is still worth it, but if you are on budget, its too much.


You can get them for a significant amount less than that...
And fitting them doesn't take a rocket scientist, or specialised tools...

Where ? I can see mtb ones at 40, but the price for road goes from 50 up. I have considered replacing my hydraulics with BB7's but decided it was a bit pricey on a wim. At the moment sticking with hydraulics. I only mentioned fitting as the OP did.
NUKe
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robrichards
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Joined: 17 Sep 2016, 8:12am

Re: Potential brakes upgrade

Post by robrichards »

Thanks for replies, definitely Tektro not spyre brakes. Budget is definitely low end but I can save up!

Looking at upgrading slowly, brakes first as mine don't give me a huge amount of confidence, then the cassette to deal with hills better then hopefully the wheels. I want to do small bike packing trips building up to LEJOG in 2021 so I'll have to include the kit for that too panniers or bike bags of some sort!
robrichards
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Joined: 17 Sep 2016, 8:12am

Re: Potential brakes upgrade

Post by robrichards »

In answer to your questions, it's been a while since I had a bike, bought mine over a year ago and I've tweaked the brakes as best I can but find them bit soft and slow regardless of what I do to them. I think the new or more expensive versions might come with spyre but definitely not mine! Apologies thought I'd said it was 2016 model!)

I ride to work now in all weather so stopping is important. I don't know if there's much between what I've got and the bb7 s or of it would be throwing money away, some times it's worth saving and waiting 6-12 months!
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[XAP]Bob
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Joined: 26 Sep 2008, 4:12pm

Re: Potential brakes upgrade

Post by [XAP]Bob »

173000987019
Ok, MTB pull, but first I saw
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
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