Brake blocks-whats good?

[dudleybloke]

Bought myself a used Triban 500 as a taster into road bikes and I hate the brakes. The front is poor, the rear is abysmal.
I've had hydraulic disks for 20 years on other bikes and last bought rim brake blocks in the 90's.
What blocks do you recommend that will be better than what's in there now?


These are 50mm long and I'm assuming they are the originals.
I'm not looking to upgrade the calipers etc, just want to see if I can use this bike or sack it off and buy a hydro bike.

[HBelder]

SwissStop are decent, but better quality calipers would make a bigger improvement.

[dudleybloke]

I've had a quick look on ebay for 105 calipers.
What the difference between 5700's and 5800's or what do you recommend?

[dudleybloke]

I've cleaned the rims and blocks with isopropyl alcohol and it's slightly improved but still way below what I expect from a bike.
Might try the Swiss blocks but at this point in time my mind is saying get rid of it, it's just not confidence inspiring.

[dudleybloke]

It's 55mm from the pivot to the block.


I'll strip the calipers and give them a good clean and lube and lube up the brake cables too.

Edited by dudleybloke on Tuesday 1st August 21:24

[McMoose]

Is the cable tought? are the blocks flush with the rim? are they equal distance from the rim? Even a mm out can ruin the stopping power.

If everything is set up correctly then my advice is to pick up some Shimano 105 calipers on the used market.

[dudleybloke]

Just lubed the calipers and sprayed wd40 inside the hoods and I now have a stopping distance measured in feet rather than miles.
The levers didn't feel bad before but they are definitely smoother now.
Going to replace the blocks still I think as they are most likely original.
Too late to go for a proper test tonight but a quick run down the hill has given me a lot more confidence in the bike than before.

Thanks for the advice, will report back when I've put new blocks in and done a few miles.

[dudleybloke]

Further fettling has done the trick I think.
I slacked off the cable slightly to allow a bit more throw on the lever now too and that's helped quite a bit.
Stuck a longer stem on this afternoon and it feels better to ride now too.
Still going to upgrade the blocks at some point but it's safe to ride now.

[Squishey]

I've found that the Clarks triple compound pads from Halfords work very well on my hybrid

[Domski86]

McMoose said:

Is the cable tought? are the blocks flush with the rim? are they equal distance from the rim? Even a mm out can ruin the stopping power.

If everything is set up correctly then my advice is to pick up some Shimano 105 calipers on the used market.

Echoing above, the 5800 or r7000 generation of 105 calipers use symmetrical dual-pivots and are about as good as rim brakes get. Probably about on par with mechanical disc brakes (in the dry) or really stty hydros.

The btwin calipers are actually rebranded tektro which aren't horrific if working correctly, but the pad compound they use is. Literally any pad will be better.

When I still had rim brakes, the Shimano r55c3 pad was the best compromise in terms of bite, wear and price. The swisstop/Koolstop stopped stronger but wore out really fast and were expensive.

[dudleybloke]

I was passing Halfords so popped in and got a pair of their road elite inserts for £1.99.
It can now lock up the back wheel if I need to!
Amazing transformation for the money.




They feel twice as effective as what was in there originally.

Edited by dudleybloke on Thursday 3rd August 16:32

[Squishey]

dudleybloke said:

I was passing Halfords so popped in and got a pair of their road elite inserts for £1.99.
It can now lock up the back wheel if I need to!
Amazing transformation for the money.




They feel twice as effective as what was in there originally.

Edited by dudleybloke on Thursday 3rd August 16:32

Squishy said:

I've found that the Clarks triple compound pads from Halfords work very well on my hybrid

[dudleybloke]

Squishey said:

Great recommendation!
Bloody cheap too!

[dudleybloke]

I think I've found the problem, the rear rim was contaminated, I tried cleaning and sanding it but still felt greasy under braking.
I turned the bike upside down and used the pedals to spin the rear wheel up to a decent speed then with a nice sharp piece of tool steel held with negative rake I skimmed a couple of thou off each side and it seems to have done the job for now.
I'm still looking to upgrade to a hydraulic braked racer though.