Mechanical disc brake suggestions please

. . wrote:

This is an interesting hybrid solution.   Anyone know how well they work?

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

I test road a 2017 Contend and felt spot on to me with good modulation and stopping power.  I have not tried road reservoir levers though (e.g. rs505), so can’t directly compare.  They have expanded it to most of their road disc bikes for 2018 from a few last year, so Giant appears to be happy with them as well.  Long-term reliability would still be the outstanding question IMO.  That said, I would probably take it over mechanical brakes at that price, but may need to buy a Giant stem as well.

I’ve had hydraulic and its

I’ve had hydraulic and its nice. Bike was stolen and now I’ve got a cross-bike with mechanical BB7 and a racer with caliper brakes. Why not forget disc brakes all together if you’re tight on money?

I also don’t like the BB7’s very much, always noisy when moving the bike around, though on the road they perform as expected = they stop the bike! And yes, the hydraulics were nice but don’t give any important benefits I think. You might save a few yeard in the wet, with calipers you just start braking a bit sooner. Both systems will easily lock up the wheels if you brake too hard, so discs do not brake better. Unless you need to win a pro race in the wet going down a mountain, what’s the point? For MTB’s it’s another question.

Actually, of the three systems I prefer my caliper brakes. And actually I also prefer the way they ‘modulate’ compared to disc brakes, they feel better to me. Plus calipers are so easy and cheap to maintain. All in all I find disc brakes a bit of a pain in the a… with very limited, if any, real benefits at all.

The best mechanical brake

The best mechanical brake available is not Spyre but Paul Klamper. £200 though…

It’s the only caliper with the moving piston guided via pins which guarantees that the pads are always square to the rotor = smallest possible gap with no rub. It runs on oversized ball bearings and uses thrust bearing for the actuation arm insted of bushing/washer. You also have big dials on both sides for easy pad adjustment.

Cable routing is always critical. Run it short and smooth. Ignore existing frame guides/stops if they create tight bends.

I run TRP Spyres on my

I run TRP Spyres on my commuter/CX having ditched the truly rubbish BB5’s that were fitted.

They do exactly what I need them to do, are easy to set up and there are loads of cheap and effective replacement pad options (I use sintered pads from Discobrakes).

My old commuter had Avid Elixir hydraulics which have better stopping power but waaaay less control of that power than the Spyres.

Being a tightwad I have tried almost every cable disc system in the known universe before finally admitting defeat and going hydraulic.  The difference between the two types is night and day and I have never found a mechanical brake that comes anywhere close to hydraulic.

But, without doubt, the best of the cables is the TRP Spyre.  I paid about £120 for mine, they may be cheaper now?  It has twin pistons in each calliper, which eliminates unwanted disc rub, and is simple to set up and maintain.  It also looks pretty good and genuine Shimano replacement pads are both ubiquitous and cheap.  

Where the Spyres are lacking is outright power, they just don’t have it and although they were an improvement on what went before, I don’t think they were as effective as a good rim brake set-up.

Best of luck.