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Brake upgrade. Is it worth it?

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Brake upgrade. Is it worth it?

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Old 11-22-11, 08:59 PM
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Brake upgrade. Is it worth it?

Little by little I have been upgrading my bike and it has all Ultegra 6700 except the crank and brakes. The brakes are those stock no name brakes that came with it. Is it worth swapping the brakes to the 6700?

Thanks
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Old 11-22-11, 09:16 PM
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No but put some good pads on them.

https://www.koolstop.com/english/rim_pads.html

Edit: not sure why I pasted the MacRumors link in there...fixed.
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Old 11-22-11, 09:17 PM
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Does the bike stop whe you want it to?

Can you modulate the brakes so you can slow it at the rate you desire?

Do the brake not make noise or chatter?

If you answered yes to all 3, then there's no reason to "upgrade" your brakes.

If you answered no to one of the above, then consider changing the brake pads.

Only if you've put on really good pads, and you still have a problem do you need to buy new brakes.
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Old 11-22-11, 09:20 PM
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What they said. The only thing you might get out of Ultegra brakes is that they are supposed to be a few grams lighter. Other than that they all pretty much squeeze the rims the same. Brake pads would be a better upgrade.
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Old 11-22-11, 10:26 PM
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Thanks all for the feedback. I will be looking at pads next time around.
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Old 11-22-11, 11:32 PM
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I'll say it. Upgrade the brakes because the Ultegra brakes are way cooler. And, they match the other components on your bike. And, they say Ultegra on them.

Those are the reasons I 'upgraded' anyway...
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Old 11-22-11, 11:54 PM
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Originally Posted by Caymem
I'll say it. Upgrade the brakes because the Ultegra brakes are way cooler. And, they match the other components on your bike. And, they say Ultegra on them.

Those are the reasons I 'upgraded' anyway...
I did that on my old Felt for that exact reason..."upgraded" stock brakes to 105 brakes so they would match everything else and get some cool-factor...afterward I thought "well, that was a waste of money". The old Felt brakes are now on my current Defy 1.
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Old 11-23-11, 08:53 AM
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Wastes of money can sometimes be justified.
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Old 11-23-11, 10:13 AM
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guys and gals, please keep in mind the importance of aesthetics in all this. practicality is not the only reason we "upgrade" parts. I think that if you feel that your bike will look, feel, weigh, seem, smell, taste any better by upgrading the brakes ( or any other part for that matter) than by all means stimulate the global economy and upgrade it.
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Old 11-23-11, 10:17 AM
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If it's Tektro brakes, they generally suck. But try changing pads first before you upgrade simply for the name brand.
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Old 11-23-11, 10:21 AM
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Originally Posted by Caymem
Wastes of money to increase the cool factor is always justified.
fify
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Old 11-23-11, 10:24 AM
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Try the Planet-X brakes if you really want to upgrade to a lighter set or have the option of different colors.
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Old 11-23-11, 03:39 PM
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Speaking of cool factor, I just went to the LBS to get a new bottle cage (broke one on my last ride). On the way in I took a peek at the "bargain bin" out front just to see...lo and behold this was in there for $59 new in the box: https://www.amazon.com/Tektro-Front-B.../dp/B001CJX4TM

Wow! Had to get them. Even comes with Kool Stop pads.
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Old 11-23-11, 03:59 PM
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Originally Posted by yrodriguez317
guys and gals, please keep in mind the importance of aesthetics in all this. practicality is not the only reason we "upgrade" parts. I think that if you feel that your bike will look, feel, weigh, seem, smell, taste any better by upgrading the brakes ( or any other part for that matter) than by all means stimulate the global economy and upgrade it.
I thought aesthetics was the only reason to do anything.
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Old 11-23-11, 04:02 PM
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Originally Posted by yrodriguez317
guys and gals, please keep in mind the importance of aesthetics in all this. practicality is not the only reason we "upgrade" parts. I think that if you feel that your bike will look, feel, weigh, seem, smell, taste any better by upgrading the brakes ( or any other part for that matter) than by all means stimulate the global economy and upgrade it.
Ahhhhh, but aesthetics is the most elusive thing in all this. Some of you ain't got none.
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