Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Campy or Tektro?

Don't laugh. I have a set of Tektro R530s, which is Tektro's better brakes, and a set of Campy Xenons, which is their bottom of the range. Which is going to perform better? Just wondering if anyone has tried either or both.

Never mind. If Cervelo uses the R530 on their $2100 bike, they're probably better than the entry-level Campy.

not necessarily. companies don't stock components like brakes based on what works best. at the double-pivot level, almost all brakes are good enough, and a company like cervelo is going to look for places to not use brand-name parts on stock bikes in order to bring the price point down a little bit. brakes, cranks, seatposts, stems, and saddles... these are common places for a bike build to cut cost.

however. both the tektros and the campys will perform well enough.

not necessarily. companies don't stock components like brakes based on what works best. at the double-pivot level, almost all brakes are good enough, and a company like cervelo is going to look for places to not use brand-name parts on stock bikes in order to bring the price point down a little bit. brakes, cranks, seatposts, stems, and saddles... these are common places for a bike build to cut cost.

however. both the tektros and the campys will perform well enough.

If you had one expensive bike, and one inexpensive bike, which one would get which set of brakes?

the R530s came on my BD bike and I haven't felt a need for more stopping power. Get what's more affordable i guess

the R530s came on my BD bike and I haven't felt a need for more stopping power. Get what's more affordable i guess

My BD bike has no brakes, but I've got some new Campy Xenons lying around. Not sure if I wanted to put them on my Wabi or my Windsor.

put on the campy's

put on the campy's

On which bike?

in my experience, campagnolo makes poor calipers but excellent levers and tektro makes generally "ok" products.

what is more important is your brake pads. save some money and get the tektros and spend $15 on kool-stops.
if both are dual-pivots, the difference will be marginal. what will make a vast difference is the type (or condition) of your brake pads and proper adjustment.

I prefer neither tektro or campagnolo; I like shimano, particularly ultegra calipers. but that's a personal opinion.

in my experience, campagnolo makes poor calipers but excellent levers and tektro makes generally "ok" products.

what is more important is your brake pads. save some money and get the tektros and spend $15 on kool-stops.
if both are dual-pivots, the difference will be marginal. what will make a vast difference is the type (or condition) of your brake pads and proper adjustment.

I prefer neither tektro or campagnolo; I like shimano, particularly ultegra calipers. but that's a personal opinion.

yup, its all opinion. ive been running the same chorus calipers for years and thousands of miles. got em with an 8spd groupo, used them with my record 10spd setup, and now the front is my "emergency brake" on my fixed gear. the pads last forever as well. (although they are not the strongest compound ever)

I already own both sets, and they're both new. I'll leave the R530s on the Wabi, put the Campy brakes on my Windsor, and get some new brake pads if either disappoint me. I'd really like some Chorus titanium in black.

Campy Brakes don't have a Quick Release lever. So unless you are using drop bar levers, use the Tektro. Those are pretty nice brakes. Campy Mirage are ok.

This is coming from a Campy guy.

in my experience, campagnolo makes poor calipers
Really? My Record and Chrous brakes were as good as anything I have tried yet.

Tektro makes some quite nice brakes...I see no reason why they couldn't beat out low end campys

Quick release levers are nice if you are running bigger tires on a narrower rim

Tektro makes some quite nice brakes...I see no reason why they couldn't beat out low end campys

Quick release levers are nice if you are running bigger tires on a narrower rim

often times the italian tshirt is better than the suit from elsware...


this is a good point though, if your not using levers with a release, campy calipers can be a hassle. it can be done, and i currently am, but if you run any wider than a 700x23 i would advise against it

I've got 700x23 rubber on both bikes.

I've got 700x23 rubber on both bikes.

then the campys should be fine without a release.

if you run your brakes really close to the rim like me, you will have to turn the adjustment barrel in and/or use force to pull the tire between the pads. its not a huge deal unless you take your wheel of a lot.

Campagnolo does not have a quick release on the brake because the quick release is built into their levers. If you want a quick release then Tektro's, but Campagnolo brakes both entry level and high end work very well. I use Xenon myself and feel very confident going 45+ on descents...

Xenon, Mirage and Veloce dual pivots are basically the same brake. The finish is just better as you go up the line. The Xenon and Mirage are made in Campy's Romanian factory. IMO either one will work.

I have tektro levers on my single speed. It's shaped just like campy levers and has the brake release button just like campy and a smooth action. It's attached to centaur brakes. I keep thinking I'll get some campy brake levers but I never do because these look and work just fine. As for brakes I favor any skeletons and Mavic ssc's.

I have tektro levers on my single speed. It's shaped just like campy levers and has the brake release button just like campy and a smooth action. It's attached to centaur brakes. I keep thinking I'll get some campy brake levers but I never do because these look and work just fine. As for brakes I favor any skeletons and Mavic ssc's.

My Wabi has those exact same levers. Since I've got some TT levers for the bullhorns I'm putting on my Windsor, I may just swap brakes if I run into any issues with the Xenons.

In my experience the aluminum campy calipers are pretty much the same across the range, except for skeleton brakes. Chorus, veloce, centaur, record are all the same caliper

If you have a qr on your lever, run the campy's, if not, run the tektro's.