Cyclocross Racing - Brake Upgrade

I've been running Avid Shorty 4s for a number of years and I've never been too happy with them. Not that they're bad, they're just not as solid as I'd like them.

I'm looking for an upgrade.

Anyone out there have a race proven brake system they adore?

Thanks

Adore, I love my Pauls'. Infinity adjustable, great design, super powerful. Kind of expensive. I have heard that people really like the newish Tektro CR 720. You can get them at cyclocross world.

Personally, from experience, I would avoid the fancy euro style ones. Yeah, they might be a little lighter or what have you, but it totally isn't worth it when you spend hours trying to dial them in and they never really work the way a brake should.

yes I understand, braking in cross isnt a big deal, but if you are going to spend hundreds of dollars on a brake set, i think they should at least function. I had tried running a pair of spooky brakes. It just did not work. You can not toe in the pad and I had problems with the brake arm binding against the canti post. my 2 cents.

I am also about to upgrade my shorty 4's and I'm leaning toward the tektro 720's. They seem to be an inexpensive good all around brake.

i'm running a peculiar combo of XTR v-brakes with travel agents and tektro levers. suffice to say, I am very pleased with this setup. great stopping power, no noise and a very solid feel when braking. I'm using these brakes because I don't have a MTB to run them on right now (my SS is disc) and my avids were very unreliable with one spring that kept popping out under load.

Adore, I love my Pauls'. Infinity adjustable, great design, super powerful. Kind of expensive. I have heard that people really like the newish Tektro CR 720. You can get them at cyclocross world.

Personally, from experience, I would avoid the fancy euro style ones. Yeah, they might be a little lighter or what have you, but it totally isn't worth it when you spend hours trying to dial them in and they never really work the way a brake should.

yes I understand, braking in cross isnt a big deal, but if you are going to spend hundreds of dollars on a brake set, i think they should at least function. I had tried running a pair of spooky brakes. It just did not work. You can not toe in the pad and I had problems with the brake arm binding against the canti post. my 2 cents.

ben, are you aware that Velo-Orange has been devising some new Taiwanese-made euro knockoffs using fully adjustable and replaceable cartridge pads? http://www.velo-orange.com/grcabr.html

Already invested in Pauls and likely won't need to replace them ever, but if i had to do it again, these (or their more expensive cousin: http://www.velo-orange.com/grcrucabr.html) would be it.

Thanks for the link, Kerry. I have those brakes on my to-buy list now.

Oh, wanna hook up this weekend for some riding? I'm coming down to Cincy Friday night and I want to get a crew together for some longish rides.

Has anyone had any experience with the Velo Orange grand cru brakes? They look nice but I'm wondering about stopping power.

Hi Mayo, nice to see you here.

I personally have Empella Frog's and after having gone through a lot of other models, these are the ones for me.