Granturismonut

I'm new to both cyclocross bikes and disc brakes and I am wondering what would be he best upgrade for my CAADX? The bike is mostly used for commuting to/from work but I'd like to try a few cyclocross races in the fall. I have experienced complete brake fade on the front twice (even with modulating front and rear brakes to let them cool down) is there a brake pad upgrade or will this require a new brake altogether?

Thanks in advance.

chriskmurray

You can start with switching to a metalic pad compound if you are currently using organic pads. Kool Stop and Stop Components make finned brake pads to help with cooling as well.

The best option may be a larger brake rotor on front but I would check with Cannondale to make sure the fork can handle it before making the change.

Andy_K 

What kind of brakes are on there now that you've experienced the fade with?

Richard8655

Highly recommend Kool Stop Cross Dura 2 pads.

Granturismonut

Looks like the bike came with Cannondale MB700T disc brakes. I checked Kool Stop and I can only find 1 pad for Cannondale disc brakes.

Would switching to Avid BB7 road be a worthy upgrade?

Andy_K 

I don't know anything about the Cannondale brakes. BB7 used to be the top tier for mechanical brakes, but I wouldn't say it is anymore. The road version was never quite as good as the MTB version. They're good, but not without problems. It's probably best to figure out what's going wrong with your current brakes before sinking money into an upgrade.

Mechanical disc brakes really shouldn't fade. Brake fade is typically a problem caused by boiling the hydraulic fluid. With mechanical discs the most common causes of problems are improper setup, pad contamination and pad wear. Depending on how you fixed the failure after it appeared, you probably already know which of these you've experienced. My guess would be pad wear. Unlike hydraulic discs, mechanical discs require periodic tweaking to keep the pads close enough to the rotor for effective braking.

The main thing that sets BB7's apart from most other mechanical disc brakes is that you can adjust the pads on both sides. Newer models like TRP Spyres (and maybe only those among pure mechanical systems) move both pads when you brake and so they aren't as susceptible to bad braking caused by incorrect setup. TRP's HY/RDs go a step further and give you the hydraulic benefit of automatic pad wear adjustment (at least when they're working correctly). Fully hydraulic is a very expensive upgrade.

meanwhile

I think you need to say a little more - what do you mean by "complete brake fade"? No brakes at all? And what were the circumstances? If you bought the bike new, have you taken it back to the store for adjustment? It sounds like you really should - and you might try saying "Look: this is scary, could me get killed, and shouldn't be happening. Agreed? So while you fix this, you'll have your best mechanic go over the whole bike and check for mis-assembly problems, yes?"

jaxgtr

I recently pulled my BB5's from my bike I use for commuting and went with the TRP Spyre's. Awesome brake setup. I understand the new TRP HyRD setup is much better than the prior version from a couple of the guys at the lbs. One of them uses them on his commuter as well.

jsigone

I'd go BB7 or Spyres. I love the BB7's haven't had brake fad yet even decending a 5000ft hill

fietsbob

From what I read, In the UCI world championship race in L'ville last winter , the problems the ones competing on Discs Had,

was the sand held in the holes in the disc edges , wore thru the friction material in the disc pads , within the hour the races lasted.

so the sponsoring companies rush produced some discs with solid edges .. no holes .

(I wonder if the wavy edge type discs would be better in those situations )

Granturismonut

I went in and explained the issue to my LBS (I consider fade to be no longer reducing speed while applying brakes) had them take a look at the issue, no real issues found. The BB7 being installed tomorrow, fingers crossed.