Road disc brakes – which one

I am building a Genesis Equilibrium disk up. What are peoples opinions on BB7 road, BB7 road SL, TRD Hy/rd & Shimano rs685. I cant really afford or justify the rs685. Should I go with the BB7 on the basis that hydraulic road brakes will be common in a year or 2 and upgrade. Do the trp Hy/rd offer a significantly better solution costing nearly double the BB7’s.

Anyone come across the Juin Tech R1 brakes on Ebay.

Get Spyres.

Trp feel and work lovely if had to fit and setup loads over the last 2 months and they really are a joy to work with

I cant really afford or justify the rs685

Spyres then. More adjustability than you can shake a stick at.

I’m currently pondering sram vs shimano for hydraulic road discs.

I am surprised that Spyres are recommended over the HY/RD. Will do some more research

Hyrds are ace(more than 18 months on them), set them up right and top up with fluid straight away. I had a squidgy one from new, after a couple of rides I topped them up and sweet as a nut. Would love full shimano hydro set up, maybe next build!

I had BB7’s and then changed to HyRd’s.
I prefer the HyRd’s better feel, more than enough power.
The drawback I’ve found is the lever comes back to the bars long before the pads are worn out.
Adjusting the cable doesn’t help as then lever on the brake doesn’t return enough to let more fluid out of the reservoir.
This problem can be overcome to some extent by overfilling the reservoir, but it really appears to be a design error, it could also be partly due to the brake lever ratio (Sram Apex).
I’ve ordered some 685’s now. 😳

Trp spyre are the best mechanical road disc I’ve ridden but like all mechanical discs will require some adjustment as pads wear, can be tinkly from rotor/pad contact, and cables prone to corrosion over a wet winter.

If you have budget for shimano hydros they are worth the extra money, no doubt; self adjusting as pads wear, great modulation, minimal maintenance, pistons have long throw so little if any rotor/pad contact when sprinting or climbing.

I’ve been very impressed with my shimano hydros and the sti shape is fantastic on the rs 685, only negative is lever rattle on rough roads but easily cured with a sliver of bar tape up in the hood top.

I would be more inclined to consider the rs 685 if anybody had them in stock in the UK

I would be more inclined to consider the rs 685 if anybody had them in stock in the UK

Good luck with that. I gave up after waiting after the dates got pushed back yet again, and bought from Germany. By the time they come into stock in the UK, I bet most who wanted them would have gone the same route.

On the plus side, had them from Germany in less than 4 days, and they were cheaper than anyone in the UK.

Anyway…

Merlin have them in stock:

http://www.merlincycles.com/shimano-st-rs685-hydraulic-disc-brake-stis-br-rs685-disc-brakes-75654.html

…a lot more than I paid from the Germans, tho.

Got BB5’s on my Niner RLT, took a lot of fiddling to get them right, but they have been good once set up, the BB7 is supposed to be a lot easier.

The TRP Spyre are spot on, got them on my Giant Defy, work very smoothly with good power, lot less fiddly to set up, just waiting for pads to settle in before i comment on power, but at the minute the Avid offerings seem more powerful.

I had mechanicals, Hayes CX Expert, which had loads of power and seemed east to setup and maintain. I did have to put a cable oiler in the rear as caliper was chainstay mount so road crap ran up the cable. Waiting for new Croix De Fer 30 in 3 weeks, which has the 685’s and will be interested to see the difference.

Jamie where did you get them from in Germany, I think the prices have gone up a lot recently.

Bike-Discount.

They do seem to have gone up £40 from when I got them, as now £340. So it’ll be roughly £350 with the non-sterling charge your credit card provider will levy.

Might be worth seeing if Merlin do another 10% off voucher, as that would bring them down to the same price.

benji what Defy have you got and what do you think of the bike overall as I am looking at buy one.

Thats what i have been fitting trp’s to lol all the test rides iv had to do they felt great also i have my defy advanced 2 on order at current quite looking forward to it 8)

@2002

Here’s mine. Defy advanced pro 1

Got my rs685’s also from germany.: Bike24.de back in October. Worked out at £320 with exchange

p.s they are absolutely amazing!

What about a Hope V Twin? Can be got for the same price as a set of Hy-Rd’s. Just fitted some myself and they are great, although a complete bugger on my Cannondale Synapse with internal cables. Should be easy on a Genesis though.

Got BB7s on my mountain bikes and also on my CX bike.

Swapped the road BB7s for Spyre SLCs using the same shimano 5800 levers and gore rideon cables and the spyres are quite a bit better, and easier to set up.

They can lock the wheels up easy (using 40mm tyres) and feel/modulate nicely. The stock pads don’t like mud so I have put in RWD sintered pads, which seem really good with lots of power and no squeal (offroad and wet…).

If you can afford it get the Spyre SLCs.

I have seen the Hyrds and to me they look clumsily large, which is enough to put me off.

I’ve used BB7 Road, TRP Hy/Rd and Spyre SLC in the last 18 months and I’d vote for the Spyres for great performance, as well as being a doddle to set up and get the lever / bite point exactly where you want it.

I the spyre SLC technically different or is it just a weight saving of 10g.

10g…

and the colors are inverted I think.

That’s what I thought for an extra £40 per pair I can live with 20g.

Yeah, it’s just the actuation arm that is different, it’s carbon, to save those few grams. Really not worth it.

For the record, I sold a set of Spyres for £75 in mint condition, might be worth having a look in the classifieds/ebay.

@2002 I’ve got the Defy Advanced 3, the entry model carbon disc version, rrp £1200, it’s a very nice ride, very comfortable it’s amazing how the d-flex seatpost and bridgeless seatstays absorb vibration and bumps. It handles superbly, to the point there is some bends I ride that is bumpy on my old road bike it bounces across the road, on the defy it sticks and just rails round.

Used BB7s for years, just got some 105s, they are just as good so far.

“Wow TRP are amazing, both pads move!!!!!” – so ****in’ what?

😀

cynic-al – Member

“Wow TRP are amazing, both pads move!!!!!” – so ****in’ what?

Well the main point is they actually make your cock grow bigger overnight. A major bonus specially for the ladies 🙂