I’ve got a set of BB7’s on my commuter bike which work well enough, but sometimes need a bit of fettling to feel at their best. I want to fit another set of cable discs to another bike and am wondering whether to go for BB7’s again, or try the TRP Spykes. Does anyone have experience of both? How do they compare power wise and modulation wise?
Thanks.

I’ve got a set of each (actually the Spyres but they are very similar).

Power & modulation wise they are much of a muchness really but when it comes to adjusting them then the Spyres win hands down as they are dual piston rather than the single piston of the BB7s. I’ve always found adjusting the inner pad on the BB7s to be unnecessarily awkward.

Consider the Shimano 105 R517 or even CX77 callipers. I’ve the cheaper 105 after my BB7 inner adjust screw seized (it is prone to). Feeling is the same as BB7 but the adjustment is much nicer and tolerant to grime

Thanks for the suggestions jamiep, I’ve V brake levers though, they sound like road discs.
Pretty much either or then? No-one tried Spykes and hated them? or been an instant convert?

Spyres here, to replace BB7s, not night and day but definitely better

Spyres, definitely.

what chrishc777 said. They’re better performance and almost night and day easier to adjust.

I went from BB5’s to Spyre’s and noticed a massive difference. Not tried BB7’s though.

had bb7’s the past, bought a new bike that came with them and sold them and replaced with spyres before riding it, the ease of set up wins.

Sounds like I might try the Spykes.
Found a set for £83.50 on the bay from Hong kong, are they likely to be dodgy at that price?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PAIR-TRP-SPYKE-16-16-mechanical-disc-brake-Dual-Side-Actuation-mountain-bike-set-/281924708808?hash=item41a405a9c8:g:eqAAAOSwLnBX7iaY

Got both, though resin pads on the Spyres, sintered with the BB7s.

Find the Spyres worse for both power and modulation.
Probably the difference in pads.
The Spyres look a bit nicer.

Have adjusted the BB7’s twice in about 500 miles.

I’ve got both Spykes and BB7s. The Spykes are easier to set up and are a lot quieter in the wet. The original resin pads don’t last long, but they’re easy enough to swap for something better when they wear out.

Are the internals replaceable in Spyres like they are in BB7’s does anybody know?

close to buying the spykes from the link above, any chance they could be knock-offs?

any chance they could be knock-offs

of course there’s a chance, but probably pretty minimal. The Spyke in particular is not exactly a huge enough seller to be copied.

Something no one has mentioned is that pad retention is MUCH nicer on the TRP brakes – an actual pin through a hole rather than the flaky spring retention on the BB7.

What about the long term rebuild-ability in Spyres?

I’m interested in getting some Spyres but that’s the one thing putting me off.

I like being able to be greener in being able to deconstruct and renew bike bits.

long term rebuild-ability in Spyres

as in ability to strip apart and clean?

Stripped my set down to component parts for a good clean simple enough.

That’s good to know. I’ve noticed you can buy replacement internals for BB7’s, so I was wondering if similar was available for Spyres too.

For anybody struggling to adjust the internal pad on their BB7’s I’ve found that you can use a torx spanner to access the inner pad through the spokes…

For anybody struggling to adjust the internal pad on their BB7’s I’ve found that you can use a torx spanner to access the inner pad through the spokes…

That’s how the instructions say to do it – the large red knurled disc is next to useless.

Also Spyres use the pretty common Shimano M525 pads which might be easier to get hold of should you need them when out and about.

yes, the torx adjustment is what I preferred after a few teeth started breaking off the red disc. That is fine up until when the torx head gets chewed because the metal is soft or the whole screw mechanism seizes

Rebuild guide for Spyres – http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/psa-trp-spyre-rebuild-guide

And for BB7s – https://plus.google.com/photos/+IhabAwad/albums/5870228584583211921

I’ve noticed you can buy replacement internals for BB7’s, so I was wondering if similar was available for Spyres too.

AFAIK the Spyres are regarded as ‘not serviceable’ and there aren’t any internal parts available (except the pad adjustment screw*). There doesn’t seem to be any service information available, either (such as the correct torque settings for the bolts that hold the two halves of the caliper together)…

…Which is a shame, because the internals in mine had started going rusty after 3 weeks of summer riding and needed to be stripped down and cleaned out (thanks to spangelsaregreat for posting a ‘how to‘).

Based on my experiences, I wouldn’t recommend the Spyres – at least the BB7s seem to be fairly robust. I don’t think the Spyres are that powerful (compared to MTB hydraulic brakes, but probably on a par with other mechanical disc brakes). I found Nukeproof ‘Enduro’ semi metallic pads give much better initial bite and immediate stopping power than the stock TRP ones or Shimano organic, but I found them to fade alarmingly on steep descents. I’m currently using Swissstop pads which lack the power, but don’t seem too bad for fading – I’d love to go full hydraulic, but that’s expensive. I’m tempted to go up a rotor size (to 180mm) as a poor man’s alternative.

*The pad adjustment screws only have a dob of thread lock on them to hold the adjustment position – no detents, rachets, notches, etc. After you’ve adjusted them a few times, they’re basically loose in the caliper and free to adjust themselves.

If starting from scratch with discs, I’d have to go hydraulic STI.

[Edit: the ‘how to’ is the same one that whitestone posted]

BB7s and BB5 use the same method of a single piston, which pushes the disc over to contact the other pad.

Mechanically this is a bi of a bodge. I would go TRP.

Actually, just get some hydros, fit and forget. No adjustment faff, no seizing, they just work.

I’ve discovered today that a drop of oil on the inner adjuster thread for BB7’s stops it seizing effectively, having nipped some stiffness in it in the bud.

You can dial the adjuster right in to expose the thread behind the pad while the bike is upside down on the floor, and put a drop onto the thread and wind it back out again before there’s any chance of the oil going where you wouldn’t want it to – nicely lubricating the adjuster in the process. 🙂

Edit: If one thinks about it, with the adjuster being steel and the BB7 body being alloy, it’s not surprising that the inner adjuster seizes if it’s not oiled every so often while being exposed to spray from road and puddles and mud etc – not something I’d ever thought of before though. It makes the red disc usable again which can be handy.