I’ve got a second hand Genesis Croix de fer and would like to upgrade the current cable disc brakes to something like the deore or slx equivalent.  What would that be?

Are there any others brakes i should look out for?  Hve shimano on the mtbs so kinda like mineral oil etc.

RS405 or RS505 … Just make sure you are sat down before looking at the price.

For Shimano road brakes, Tiagra is roughly equivalent to Deore and 105 to SLX. There also an R505 brake which is somewhere between.

A cheaper option would be something like a TRP hy-rd which uses cables but has a hydraulic caliper. They’re a bit on the ugly side mind.

WTAF why arethey so expensive?The rise of the dentist ?  That is insane!

Perhaps a full rebuild and service of my Avid B5 things?

Face the mounts properly then fit some TRP Syres with Shimano resin pads, using good non-wavy rotors. Needs adjustment as the pads wear which is the downside of cable discs and won’t ‘feel’ quite as good as hydros but otherwise the performance is great.

I can’t stomach the cost of “proper” hydro discs for my CdF, but the TRP HY/RDs on mine have actually been great. They feel nice and so far have been reliable. I guess they’re pretty heavy but so is everything else in that bike…

Another option is these Giant Conduct brakes. They look like a good package and felt nice when I tried them on a friends bike for a few seconds. No idea if they’re any good but the feel and price is right.

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/gb/conduct-hydraulic-disc-brake-upgrade-kit

Juin Tech R1/Acor are another option for cable actuated hydraulic calipers. I’ve a set on my Charge Plug and they’re much better than the Promax Render Rs that came as stock. I believe the Promax Render Rs are essentially Avid BB5s anyway.

To be honest though Avid BB7 or any of the spyre offerings should be better than the BB5s as the BB5 pad surface area is tiny compared to other brakes.

Its the STI combined gear lever and shifter that seems to be the expensive bit. Planet X offer flat and dropped bar options on some of their gravel bikes – the flat bar versions are around £200 cheaper.

cable brakes can be fixed on a bikepacking adventure. hydros cant.

I went down the used route and got some RS505s.
Eye wateringly expensive compared to mtb stuff, but you’re buying a lot of technology really.
I ran Shimano cable discs for about 5 years and thought they were great……until I tried hydros.
Night and day difference.
I can brake easily and in control from the hoods now off road.

bigrich

Member
cable brakes can be fixed on a bikepacking adventure. hydros cant.

And in 15 years and upwards of 50000 miles on MTB (15 years and 25k miles) and road/gravel (5 years and 25k miles) I’ve only had infrequently used Shimano brakes fail (not completely) once. So what’s the likelihood that they will fail?

I’m not going bike packing, so no concern there. It’s for commuting and long training rides on sundays.

I find the BB5s very annoying to set up, sensitive to change, pretty weak and inconsistent and they feel crap.  Best bang for buck upgrade then? A pair of second hand TRP spyres with new cables, outers and resin pads plus clean the discs?

I’d look for a second hand set of Shimano r685s.

I got mine for around £110 for the levers and a brand new set of callipers and hosss was £50.

Go the whole hog or you’ll just end up doing it again in a year. I’ve had R785s (same, but Di2) on my commuter for 4.5 years and they’ve had only pads as maintenance in that time and have been ridden in every kind of weather for around 100miles a week.

Hydros would be my first choice too but I’ve been using Spyre flat mounts over the winter and really they are fine. As jameso says, make sure the mounts are faced so the caliper is square to disc – good advice regardless of the brake

That giant conduct system looks spot on for my single speed to replace some BB5 which are great but require a lot of attention. Has anyone used it, what’s it like?

https://www.merlincycles.com/shimano-rs505-hydraulic-disc-brake-set-stis-rs505-flat-mount-calipers-11-speed-89846.html
£250 before using any reward points or cashback site, pretty hard to beat… If your frame is flat mount.

You might be able to get close on brake price by buying TRP Hylex, but you will then need bar end shifters, like on some of the Pinnacle Arkose range.

cheers but i really dont want to spend that amount of money. £100- 150 max .

TRP Spyres are 35 quid an end at the cycle clinic. They’re even cheaper from the far east if you go via ebay or aliexpress. Good installation is key though.

road/gravel (5 years and 25k miles) I’ve only had infrequently used Shimano brakes fail (not completely) once. So what’s the likelihood that they will fail?

I said bikepacking. 25k over 5 years isnt much.

based on last years Hunt and this years cloudride?

about 1 in 3.

But it’s not for bike packing, it’s for commuting and so I think 5000miles a year is a good gauge of reliability. 5 years, no faults and no maintenance. My car brakes need more maintenance than my bike does and it does less mileage.

I don’t know what you bikepacking folks are doing to damage your brakes.

On that budget then I’d go for Spyres and some really good low compression outer cable like Jagwire KEB-SL. It makes a huge difference especially if you have a continuous outer to the rear brake

+1 for the Juin tech brakes, had mine for a few years, zero issues. Not as good as full hydros but a lot better than cable

I have used the conduct system on 2 bikes and like it a lot. Feels like hydro road brakes should feel like without the expense of going full hydro.

I have a set going spare at the moment if anyone is interested.

Can you not just buy some Mtb hydraulic brakes, shimano deore or Sram level or whatever?

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Juin-Tech-R1-Hydraulic-Cable-Pull-Disc-Brake-set-for-CX-or-Road/32804997252.html

How about these?  For a 4 year old Genesis cdf

Those Merlin 505’s are a good price. I sold a pair of just the shifters second hand on ebay for not much less than that! Bloody ugly things aren’t they?

How about these? For a 4 year old Genesis cdf

They’re the ones a couple of us have recommended.

I struggled to get a decent bite point with the Giant system using SRAM levers, was very close to bars whatever I did although they felt good other than that.

Had the Acor/Juin Tech too and they were about the same feel wise.

If you heat up the brakes, I’ve seen a set of the Juin Techs overheat on a descent (700m down, 16st rider) and the fluid seals started leaking.

@kilo yes sorry should of been clear , i meant those specific ones , as in, nothing wrong with getting them.from ali express.

i think i’ll go for those..many thanks all!

i can only assume they have made an error here…   seems very very cheap!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fast-Shipping-JUIN-TECH-R1-Hydraulic-Disc-Brake-set-160mm-w-Rotor-F-R-Black/163597982793?hash=item2617331c49:g:4uMAAOSwd5lcf3zh

I had juin techs for about 2 weeks before I punted them back under warranty for a refund. Not pulling evenly due to sticky pistons, they questioned if I had maintained them, they were 2 weeks old!

Spyres on the other hand no bother with good cables, pads and setup.

I got some Shimano hydraulic RS685 11 speed levers with RS785 calipers off eBay about a year ago for £200 (I think they are still listed), over budget OP I know but if you can stretch to that they are fantastic when bedded in after a few rides. Agree those 505 ones are pretty ugly.

Highly recommend Hope V Twins. Not the most attractive set up, but night and day compared to my previous cable discs. Bags of power, decent enough modulation when using compressionless housing. Had mine off eBay for 100 quid.

I bought a set of trp hylex for £140 (ebay) and run a mtb trigger on the tops with a modded mount. Works well, and I have to say hydro discs transformed the bike into one that actually can go off road properly.
Shifts are a little comprised as I can only shift from the tops but I can live with that for now.

Just thought I’d update this thread.

As I mentioned up there:
“That giant conduct system looks spot on for my single speed to replace some BB5 which are great but require a lot of attention. Has anyone used it, what’s it like?”

Thanks to rhid, I have now fitted the giant conduct system to my singlespeed and I thought I would report back my findings:

1. Fitting is pretty straight forward, far easier than I thought it might be.
2. Bleeding is also pretty simple, having brought the basic tektro bleed kit (which comes with a couple of spare olives). As easy as shimano if not easier.
3. The cable run is very short but even with compressionless cables, there is a lot of lever throw. (I even re-bled the brakes to see if this could be improved). Its not a major problem and is fairly consistent with my RS685 hydro. I may be able to improve it by removing the wheels and pumping the pistons a bit further (something I tend to do with the RS685)
4. Power is lacking a bit, this is probably because I have used pads and used rotors (which haven’t previously been used together) I expect this will improve following proper bedding in.

Overall, I am impressed with this as a pretty good value solution. It opens up using triple chainsets with a hydro solution and also useful in the scenario I have, a useful hybrid hydro solution for a singlespeed disc bike. its not as good as my RS685, but its significantly cheaper.

M