What's new
  • Dear valued Members,

    we kindly ask you to post/repost your classified ads to our new Classifieds section. This subforum is now in read-only status. If you still have active ads, repost them to the new Classified section.

    Please submit multiple items seperately: one entry for each item you'd like to post.

    Thank you!

Solved Ultegra 6700 Brakes Front & Rear or similar spec

GrantT

Maximum Pace
Oct 2, 2012
1,912
1,616
Looking for some good brakes to hopefully do a better job of stopping me on descents than the Promax ones that came with the bike.
 
I have been happy with my Ultegra 6700 brakes over the last year or so. Having been a heavier rider I can attest to their ability to decelerate mass on a decline effectively ;) They seem to be a pretty good brake in their price range and are generally on sale for a good price somewhere in Japan! Of course, there are occasionally people (ahem, Owen) selling Dura Ace used for Less than Ultegra.
 
Alright Grant,

Yeah, Ultegra is a great choice. You don't really need Dura Ace, and like the whole groupset, Ultegra is the most bang-for-buck, as the meme goes.

Now, I would also say, that a set of 105 brakes would be nearly as good as Ultegra, and if you buy second hand you will get them for absolutely bugger all.

One point of caution, and you will probably be OK, but you will need to spend a little time investigating if your current brake levers have the right pull ratio to run Shimano brakes. Can't really see why not, but it would be good, and interesting, to check. If you are using Shimano shifters/brakes, then you are good to go.
 
Thank you knownone for the positive review, I'm really looking forward to that extra stopping power.

I have Sora shifters so that checks out okay, and the 105 brakes are definitely cheaper on yahoo auction so thanks Owen for the advice!
 
Hey Grant.
I have 105 brakes (and levers) and they are great. Personally I think anything Shimano from 105 up will be perfectly adequate for 99% of cyclists.
It might be worth also cleaning your aluminium rim braking surface. I use a rag and a cheap auto brakes cleaner (available at any home centre or autobacs. I got 2 huge cans for ¥128 each the other day). It gets all your grime off the rim and leaves a grippy braking surface.
 
Yeah, 105s will be a definite improvement over the cheap things you have on the bike now, and yeah, cleaning up your rims always helps!

Mavic make a gritty-rubber thing that gets the grime off well. A graphite eraser will do the same. Takes a bit of elbow grease, but the results are good.

Also, you need to keep on top of brake pad maintenance; with aluminium rims you are going to constantly get little bits of aluminium jabbing and sticking into the pads which you need to get out; a sure-fire way to shag up your rims is to use pads with bits of aluminium stuck in them. Scores the hell out of the rims.

Anyway, you only asked for some brakes, and not a load of advice on braking, so I am sure someone will have some 105/Ultegra for you to get your mitts on. :)
 
I have some nice Cannondale C1 carbon brakes (made by TRP) that might suit you. They are equivalent to Ultegra level, all black, with cartridge type brake pad holders. Let me dig them out when I get home and will post up a picture.
 
Yeah, 105s will be a definite improvement over the cheap things you have on the bike now, and yeah, cleaning up your rims always helps!

Mavic make a gritty-rubber thing that gets the grime off well. A graphite eraser will do the same. Takes a bit of elbow grease, but the results are good.

Also, you need to keep on top of brake pad maintenance; with aluminium rims you are going to constantly get little bits of aluminium jabbing and sticking into the pads which you need to get out; a sure-fire way to shag up your rims is to use pads with bits of aluminium stuck in them. Scores the hell out of the rims.

Anyway, you only asked for some brakes, and not a load of advice on braking, so I am sure someone will have some 105/Ultegra for you to get your mitts on. :)
Very true.

That's why I think Kool Stop pads are so much better than Shimano's.
 
How do Kool Stop pads avoid getting shards of aluminium in them from the rim? This has happened with every single aluminium rim, and every single brake pad I have ridden on every bike, be that BMX, Road, and MTB since 1993.
 
One point of caution, and you will probably be OK, but you will need to spend a little time investigating if your current brake levers have the right pull ratio to run Shimano brakes. Can't really see why not, but it would be good, and interesting, to check. If you are using Shimano shifters/brakes, then you are good to go.
Sora brifters will not work as intended with new 105 or Ultegra calipers. The older brake levers pull more cable per degree of lever movement than the newer ones that are designed to work in combination with these callipers.

They will stop your bike better than your current brakes - no question about that. However, you will have less precise control over your braking modulation than with a matched set.
 
Thank you everyone for the help. All the info is much appreciated and will be put to good use. I just fitted some almost-new 105 brakes purchased from Musashi13 and they feel much, much better than the old ones. I now feel confident that at least my brakes are going to perform on the descents. And lucky me that Musashi13 decided to come into central Tokyo today so I could fit them before the weekend.
 
Like the chain reaction here… Owen bought new brakes, sold old ones to Pete who sold his old to Darragh how sold his old to Grant. It's up to you now Grant to keep the flow of brakes flowing ;-)
 
Grant can sell me his old brakes, then I will sell my 9000's to Pete, Pete can sell his 7900s to Darragh, Darragh can sell his Ultegras to Grant, then Grant can sell his 105's to me... etc.
 
Thank you everyone for the help. All the info is much appreciated and will be put to good use. I just fitted some almost-new 105 brakes purchased from Musashi13 and they feel much, much better than the old ones. I now feel confident that at least my brakes are going to perform on the descents. And lucky me that Musashi13 decided to come into central Tokyo today so I could fit them before the weekend.
Grant, be careful what you buy from Musashi13. He is from Nottingham (well, kinda). Those Nottingham people can't be trusted ;)
I'm sure you'll notice a big difference now that you have better brakes.
 
Like the chain reaction here… Owen bought new brakes, sold old ones to Pete who sold his old to Darragh how sold his old to Grant. It's up to you now Grant to keep the flow of brakes flowing ;-)
Grant can sell me his old brakes, then I will sell my 9000's to Pete, Pete can sell his 7900s to Darragh, Darragh can sell his Ultegras to Grant, then Grant can sell his 105's to me... etc.

ROFLMAO @ both of those quality comments! :D
 
After getting my bike equipped with Campy, I'm ready to strip the Shimano off all my other bikes and happily toss them into the 'exchange ring'. The 'differential' design (single pivot rear and dual front) really suits equal handed braking. With the Shimano brakes I was constantly over braking the rear (regardless of so called 'modulation'). With the Campy, I can apply both brakes with nearly equal hand pressure and result is far fewer instances of rear traction loss. Athena cost about the same as Ultegra, BTW - so I vote for them.
 
Grant, be careful what you buy from Musashi13. He is from Nottingham (well, kinda). Those Nottingham people can't be trusted ;)
I'm sure you'll notice a big difference now that you have better brakes.

Yeah, he also tried to sell me a defective piece he got sold by some Manc in the club :rolleyes:
 
After getting my bike equipped with Campy, I'm ready to strip the Shimano off all my other bikes and happily toss them into the 'exchange ring'. The 'differential' design (single pivot rear and dual front) really suits equal handed braking. With the Shimano brakes I was constantly over braking the rear (regardless of so called 'modulation'). With the Campy, I can apply both brakes with nearly equal hand pressure and result is far fewer instances of rear traction loss. Athena cost about the same as Ultegra, BTW - so I vote for them.

Dunno, I have started really getting used to the DA9000 brakes. They are seriously impressive; they are ultra strong, and instil some proper confidence when descending. The DA9000 cables and brake levers really work incredibly well together with the calipers. It is mind-blowing how much power they have when applied even with a single finger.
 
Back
Top Bottom