I'm going to build a new commuter which will be a steel, 700c, disc-only affair, and I think I am going to go with flat bars.
I need to buy brakes, and will probably go BB7. If I get road ones I have the future option of going to drop bars and STI's.
The question is, when used with the appropriate cable pull levers, is there any difference in performance between the road and MTB versions?
If not I'll buy the road versions to keep my future options open.
Paul
bump.
Anybody??
Couldn't tell you but on the road with 700cc then any extra power from mtb ones (if there is any) probably wouldn't be required and there is an argument that if the brake is too powerful it will overwhelm the thinner tyres.
You just need good rotors and quality cables (that don't stretch much) to get good power, and I have found organics pads preferable and not too fragile. Sintered seem to squeal more, and the SS kevlar ones also seem to whine slightly.
I'd assume that the road ones require less cable pull than the MTB. At a guess, the road ones would work with canti levers on a flat bar?
I have both, with the correct levers there is no noticeable difference.
Mark
i use xt hydraulics on my pompetamine. i would like to use drops but can't as a result.
to date, my tyres have not been overwhelmed!
I was in a similar conundrum. I went for the MTB pull because:
They were cheaper at on-one.
They were blacker than the silver ones
A chap from on-one said because they use a more cable pull, there would be more pad clearance and better modulation
No idea about the last one. Sounded reasonable, but the first two were good enough for me anyway.
I went for drops and the Tektro RL520 road levers. And bar end shifters when it's not singlespeed.
thanks all.
The pad clearance thing hadn't occurred to me, but makes sense.
I have a lead on some used MTB ones so I'll see if I can get those.
Paul
won't that stop you using drops in the future though?
No, it'll be fine ... 
... unless you want to use STI levers, then you'll need to hack some kinda inline 'travel-adjuster' to increase the pull from the STI lever. If you go for SS or use bar-end / down-tube shifters, you can just pair the BB7's with longer pull drop levers, like the lovely Cane Creek Drop-V levers.
Good outers make or break these err, brakes tho'.
Both my Singulars have them (both with drops) and both are set up the same way - Cane Creek Drop-V levers, Goodrich braided cable outers and LBS (probably Jagwire) inners and they work really well (once set up properly).
I have the road BB7s and they work best with flat bars. STIs are fine they just take a little more care setting up, seems to be less tolerance. Powerwise has seriously made me think about whether I need hydro for the mtb.
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