Quality front brake caliper suggestions?

So it's started to rain and my reliable-in-summer front brake is showing its age...

Can anyone suggest a quality replacement? I did speak to someone at the Prologue LCC riding a Hetchins and he recommended something from an American company? It looked pretty robust but I can't remember the name. I think it had cost about £90 ...

any thoughts? or good alternatives?

normally it's down to adjustment rather than age...

i have cheapo tectros they do the job well i don't see why you need a £90 caliper for riding round town?

Shimano 105 OE - £17ish. Makes me go from fast to stop very well.

Could always get this and sell the rear.

haaaaa

or lpg's bike, or millierider's bike.

i have a dura-ace front brake it's a nice colour and has a nice ratcheted cable thing on the side to let you take the wheel out, i picked it out by trying all the brakes in the shop and picking the one that felt best at the lever if a cheaper one had felt just as nice i would have brought that instead.
i would have thought that as long as it's dual-pivot and not made of cheese you don't have to spend £50 on a record/dura-ace one to get good performance.
if you are on a budget then tektro are good (same as cane creek but cheaper)
don't forget good pads, i'm thinking of investing in some swiss stop greens when my current set wear out dunno if they are any good though?

MrSmith
don't forget good pads, i'm thinking of investing in some swiss stop greens when my current set wear out dunno if they are any good though?

just use two blocks of cheddar cut to shape.

Parmesan if you need something harder wearing.

pads are pads aren't they? Provided they're not generic crap they should be fine

Another rec for a Shimano 105 dual caliper. Cheap, reliable, very easy to dial in and with all the stopping power you should need.

Generally any dual caliper brake should stop you more than adequately. If you're having problems, check your cable tension, current brake pads and rim condition. Over time you'll get the road 'glaze' building up which reduces the brakes effectiveness. Clean your rim and pads every now and then and you should be laughing.

You can also upgrade the pads to wet weather ones if you want, which can help during the winter months.

What would you recommend to clean the rim? Probably need to give them a little tlc by now.

IMO all Campy brakes are good, as are all Shimano from 105 up (105, Ultergra and Dura-Ace). Tektro are good. If you're thinking of really splashing out, how about

these

these

or these?

Clean rims with one of those green kitchen scourers; clean pads with a bit of sandpaper or a nail file.

Can't afford Swiss Stop pads (good review on roadcyclinguk.com), but well happy with my dual compound Koolstop inserts - much more progressive feel to the braking than previous stuff (Shimano, Campag, Aztec, blah), and a wee bit better in the wet once you've squeegeed off excess water with some judicious feathering (so much jargon, so little time).

I've got the Miche Performance, fairly decent

http://www.shop.kinetic-one.co.uk/gorgeous-brake-calipers-58-c.asp

Cheers, job for the weekend then.

karma Cheers, job for the weekend then.

Or a spare 2 minutes ;)

I only have a spare two minutes at the weekend, between waking and going back to bed :)

I don't even have 105 and it stops me fine.. well it did before the pads were fscked. I have the lower model Tiagra front brake.
But if you're prepared to spend £90 then I'd go up a notch or two. Dual pivot Shimano are nice with their quick release levers.
Shimano pads are sh1te. Koolstop are nice. Even the cheap generic red BBB ones I used to get in Oz were sweet..
I use a kitchen scourer on the rims and if the wheel is already out I will often lightly file the pad surface just to take the sheen off it.
Nice, clean pads make the most difference to stopping I feel. More so than the actual caliper itself.

wayne: did you end up getting those campag calipers? I've decided against the funkier option so will probably install the 105s soon.

Sorry to divert the thread a little but it's related. I've got Campy Mirage calipers and was wondering what's a good replacement pad. I looked at campy parts and they looked hard to get hold of and expensive.

I've counted 2 votes for Koolstop so far...

Cheers,

I'm assuming from that they'll fit campy calipers. Seen a lot of places stocking shimano compatibles not many for anybody else. I'll see if I can find some, any suggestions?

Is there a difference between Campag and Shimano pads?
I mean, I know they're sold separately but I've never had to buy Campag.. is it just the pad insert shape that differs?
I suppose I should just throw some Shimano pads/mounts on Campag arms and see if they work eh?

I've tried Kool Stop Salmon and BBB brake blocks, both good, but wear down fast!

Personally I prefer Fibrax, these last well and are really cheap Chainreaction usually have these in for under £6 a set (4 blocks).

As for brake calipers, 105's are more powerful than my Tektro RX40s, but the Tektro's have better modulation. Both work equally well for stopping in a hurry.
I'd also add that decent brake levers and cables are a pretty important part of the equation.

While we're on brakes, anyone know which koolstop inserts to get to replace the worn ones on my tektro 521ag calliper? Would they be shimano-style ones?