Road Cycling - Brakes on a new bike

Yesterday I made my first 40 miles on my brand new Giant OCR1, picked up the day before. This is my first road bike after many years of riding mountain bikes. Among other differences between the two kinds of bikes like way stifer, faster, more responsive and less efort requiring ride (even climbing) on the road bike, I was a bit scared with the performance of brakes on the OCR1 (Shimano 105 level with Xero rims). They are much softer and less efficinet than V-brakes on my Gary Fisher Excalibur. In the LBS, the guy told me, even before my first ride, to expect that, .

My question is:

Do I really need to accept the "reality" of road brakes being (much) worse than V-brakes?

What is the way to improve performance of the brakes?

I also need to say that cables and brakes on my new bike have been tuned well and I do not beleive that there is much room for improvement.

Thank you.

Dusan

I know with my OCR2, my experiences go hand in hand with those of almost all the reviews on roadbikereview.com where everyone agrees that the brakes are definitely weak.
If I brake from the hoods, I don't have enough leverage to stop as quickly as I would from the drops where I can grab the tip of the brake lever and pull in with a lot more force. That said, with a strong grip, I'm beginning to get used to the brakes on the OCR2.
My only use for the brakes is to and from the loop in the park, otherwise I never even have to use the brakes during the 2-3 hours I'm out. I just learn to slow down and brake earlier when needed on the street.
I also moved the brakes in a little more so they're slightly closer to the rim. Check to see if the brakes both touch the rim at the same time. There was a slight .35mm difference between the brakes on my OCR2. Everytime I pulled the brakes, one pad would touch slightly sooner than the other and when I was really pulling them in, there would be more force on one side than the other and that lead to uneven braking so I centered it.

My R100X 80s Shimano brakes actually stop my road bike faster than my Avid's stop my mountainbike. Its a wierd phenomonon that all the mechanics at work can't quite figure out... its the only roadbike I've ever slid around a corner on... typically though we refer to road brakes as "speed reducers" since thats more or less what they are. They aren't known for their overwhelming effectiveness.

I have a bianchi giro with the 105 groupo and spinergy xaero front wheel and spin tri spoke rear wheel, and I can stop on a dime with no problem.. Is the quick release on your caliper set closed or is it open???
with it open you aren't getting full stopping power, take a look because that would be the only thing I could think of other than brake pads, i read somewhere that for disc, carbon and ceramic wheels there is a green brake pad that should be used.
Good luck and ride safe

Yesterday I made my first 40 miles on my brand new Giant OCR1, picked up the day before. This is my first road bike after many years of riding mountain bikes. Among other differences between the two kinds of bikes like way stifer, faster, more responsive and less efort requiring ride (even climbing) on the road bike, I was a bit scared with the performance of brakes on the OCR1 (Shimano 105 level with Xero rims). They are much softer and less efficinet than V-brakes on my Gary Fisher Excalibur. In the LBS, the guy told me, even before my first ride, to expect that, .

My question is:

Do I really need to accept the "reality" of road brakes being (much) worse than V-brakes?

What is the way to improve performance of the brakes?

I also need to say that cables and brakes on my new bike have been tuned well and I do not beleive that there is much room for improvement.

Thank you.

Dusan

While it is true that road calipers don't have the stopping power of mountain bike linear pull brakes, if your brakes are so "soft" that you are posting here, I guess that there is something wrong with your bike. Generally, the limiting factor is traction with the road, especially with the rear wheel. If you can't skid your rear wheel on the flat, you definitely have room for improvement.

If it was my bike, the first thing that I would try would be to dress up your brake pads with an emery board. If that doesn't get the job done, I'd try an aftermatket set of Koolstop brake pads.

It isn't the bike - it is probably you're not used to the hoods/road bike? - not as much leverage esp dpending on how you set it up on your bars.

105 isn't an ultralight groupo and the brakes are fine (many people ride them with no problems) - try breaking in the drops where you get ultimate leverage and see if you still have the prob.

Also - how much clearance do you have between the pads and rim? Imagine if the brakes suck and the pros have to ride them down the mountains at 60mph or faster!!! Might not be as quick to stop as a disc brake... but surely is enough for safety stopping (I doubt you'll need any more power on a road bike... the power is already enough for endos and locking up wheels).

You issue is likely due to a bad rim/braking surface and brake pad combination.

I had a set of 105 brakes on a bike with Spinergy SR3 wheels and I could barely stop the bike in panic situations. I switched the wheelset out for a set built on Open Pros and the difference was amazing. Same brakes & pads and I could stop on a dime.

I've had good experience with 105 dual-pivot calipers, and use them on steep hills, with a heavy load of shopping in all weathers. Does the OCR have Shaimano or no-name calipers?

I've had good experience with 105 dual-pivot calipers, and use them on steep hills, with a heavy load of shopping in all weathers. Does the OCR have Shaimano or no-name calipers?

Thank you for responding to my post. The OCR 1 has Tektro Dual Pivot brakes. In nex couple of days, I will try to experiment a bit and will post the experience. Thanks,

D.

Pop in some Kool Stop brake pads and you should be just fine...

Thank you for responding to my post. The OCR 1 has Tektro Dual Pivot brakes. In nex couple of days, I will try to experiment a bit and will post the experience. Thanks,

D.

I got the same exact brakes. Try pulling the ends of the levers from the drops, they should provide enough leverage to completely lock things up.

The Tektro pads are 1. new and have a smooth surface that might need a couple of passes of emery paper and 2. not as good as the KoolStop inserts that will fit right into the existing pad holders. Get the ones for Ultegra and Dura Ace holders and the will fit right in. Black for most conditions, salmon for you all-weather types, and green for ceramic rims.

I did it!

First of all, thank you everyone for responding and for all the good tips. I have managed to make my brakes work very well, as good as V-brakes. Emery paper, helped a lot. The other thing is, I have now less than 5 mm clearence between the pads and the rims. Finally, the pads are centered very well. Even from hoods, I can stop quite fast. From drops, I can stop too fast if needed. Hopefully the question was not too stupid and someone else will benefit as well.

Thanks again,

D.