Crash_N_Carry

I've seen a few of you talk about how sub-par Tektro OEM caliper brakes are and I wanted to say thanks to all of you for opening my eyes on this one. I also want to put a shout-out to those of you with older/OEM Tektro calipers that are unhappy with the braking power of the brakes. I really thought that some of the people on this forum were using hyperbole when they said that the Tektro just plain sucked and that changing the pads only band-aids the problem. They weren't kidding...

Straight to the point: I'm not a "light" rider by any stretch of the imagination. At a little more than 200lbs there's a lot more mass to me that needs to come to a stop when I hit the brakes. I've also had quite a few close calls with cars and pedestrians that made me realize that the OEM Tektro brakes I had on my 2005 Raleigh just weren't that good (even after upgrading the pads to Clarks). What nearly drove the point home (literally) that the brakes just sucked hardcore was when I nearly rolled into a busy intersection at the bottom of a steep hill. Nothing short of putting my hands in the drops and using a death grip could stop the bike from creeping forward. The brakes were adjusted correctly and the cabling (Jagwire L3) is new too.

I thought about putting Salmon Kool-Stops on it, but for slightly more than what it would have cost me for two sets of those, I was able to pick up a set of slightly used Shimano 105 calipers that came off of a 2011 Felt F5 Team Edition bike...



I went out for a quick 20 mile ride this morning and to say the difference is like night and day is the understatment of the decade! Even with the stock pads on the 105 calipers I can lock up my tires from the tops of the hoods with minimal effort. I'm actually afraid to try Salmon Kool-Stops on them for fear that I might get whiplash from the sudden deceleration.

In short: got Tektro road calipers and you're not happy with how they stop? Don't bother band-aiding it; I think even cheap Shimano Sora level calipers could out-do them for about the price you'd pay for better pads!

canam73

Kool Stop Salmon won't stop you quicker than the stock Shimano pads. They are only better in the wet when braking is already reduced.

And changing any pad to a Clark is not an upgrade.

Johnny Alien

I am not sure what Tektros come stock on those bikes but I can say that most mid to top tier Tektros I have used have beat the pants off of the Tiagra and 105 calipers. They must use really bottom of the barrel Tektros. I would not judge the whole line based on those.

canam73

I have yet to come across a forged aluminum dual pivot caliper brake set that I have had any issue setting up as long as it had decent pads and cables. This includes Tiagra, "Nashbar", Tektro, Rival and DA sets.

JerrySTL

I was having braking problems with a new bike. It would shudder when braking and sometimes induce a high speed wobble. Scary.The first thing I did was to replaced the Tektros with a good pair of Ultegra brakes I had laying around. This certainly helped the braking modulation as the Tektros worked like an off/on switch. Next I went to Salmon Kool-Stops pads and that also helped.

While the Ultegra brakes and Kool-Spot pads helped, I was still having problems with high speed wobble. Therefore I replaced the low spoke count wheels with some good old 32-spoke Mavic Open Pros. The braking got MUCH better. Seems that it was at least partially the fault of the braking surface. I had cleaned braking surfaces on the old rims, but that didn't help.

I'm about 215 lbs.

thirdgenbird

Salmon pads are not going to magically give your tires more traction. Just like my bikes with single pivot brakes, your "weak spot" is mechanical grip. More powerful brakes will provide no stopping advantage without better modulation. Extremely powerful brakes with miserable modulation will actually increase braking distances. Locking up wheels is an inefficient way to slow down.

ConGrUenCy

From what little I've read, most dual pivot caliper brakes are similar and the pads make the biggest difference.

merlinextraligh

A dime and knowing how to toe in the pads would have helped even more.

ahsposo 

I've some dual pivot Tektro's on my SS Langster and they work fine. I've got some Tektro canti's on my hybrid and they work fine.

bikemig 

Agreed.

Leukybear 

Besides the OEM/"cheap" stigma, I dont find anything wrong with tektro's products when properly installed and maintained. In fact they are quite a value when you compare what you pay and get in return.

Kool stop salmon are one of the best pads money can buy in my book; they stop on a dime and are also the kindest aluminium pads in my book, makes shimano pads appear like steel wool. They're cheap too!

Nachoman

I agree with the OP. I don't know what model tektros are on one of my old bikes but in comparison to dura ace, ultegra and even eight year old 105, they suck.

merlinextraligh

I rented a Cdale with Tektro brakes (otherwise 105 groupset) and I could barely stop the bike for stop signs going downhill. Don't know if better pads would have been enough of a fix, given that it was a rental.

kv501

Still have the original Tektros on a bike that originally came with 5600 105 and they work perfectly. Can't tell the difference going to a bike with 6700 calipers.

njkayaker

Pads matter a lot. Crappy pads on "great" brakes are going to be worse than great pads on inexpensive brakes.

Nachoman

True. I've got Kool Stop pads on my tektro brakes, which does make them suck less.

redlude97

Newer Tektros with shoes that can toe in with Koolstop salmon pads perform better than my old 5500 105 with stock pads or koolstops since they didn't have the ability to toe in. Obviously you can swap the shoes onto the older 105's also, but the calipers themselves all perform similarly

2 wheeler

I'm happy with the Tektros on my bike. I ride some roads with steep descents (and climbs!) and the Tektros work fine. I weigh 200+, BTW. I swapped the original pads with Kool Stop black pads which improved the feel and reduced noise.

RobertL

The Tektro brakes on my previous bike, a 2011 Madone 4.5, did everything I asked of them very well.

Phantoj

I switched my Tektros (Coda branded) for 105 when I happened to come across a pair... The 105's are a tad better built, but I stopped fine with the Tektro as well.

hhnngg1

I have an entry level Tektro on my road bike and an ultegra (2012) brake on my TT racing bike.

The original pads that came with the Tektro sucked for sure, but I swapped them to Kool stops, and they're totally fine. As good as my ultegra, although at the same time, the brake levers are a bit smaller and thinner on the TT bike so a bit less leverage perhaps.

I don't weigh 200 though - that could make a difference. (I'm closer to 145)

Slackerprince

I just got a 2013 Synapse 5 105.
The only components that are 105 on it, are the brifters and rear derailleur, which is kind of lame, but that's another thread.
I had problems stopping when I first got it, so I changed the stock pads to Kool Stop-black.
Works a lot better now. In fact, I feel like the KS pads, actually, needed some breaking-in.
The stock pads only slowed me down and required a lot of pressure to stop.
I ride in Florida, so I'm not doing any slowing or stopping on hills, but I do a neighborhood ride with a lot of stop signs, so unless I want to go into an intersection, I need to stop. Duh.
Honestly, I really wanted to hate the Tektros, which are R539's, but they are doing a decent job.
I was going to change the FD and brakes to Ultegra, but I've since calmed down and am going to divert the money to more important things, like bills.


S

SirHustlerEsq

My father has the same bike and maybe something is wrong, his brakes feel awful. The engagement point is "vague" at best, you can feel the flex in the caliper, you can't really tell when the pad releases, and the caliper walks too easily no matter how much you tighten the mount with fiber-grip. My 105s with stock pads have a sharper engagement that is easily modulated with a stiff caliper and my bike was less than half the price, lol.
[rant]$2500 bikes should come with quality brakes.[/rant]

Slackerprince

If your father has the same bike, then it should have been $1550 msrp.
His brakes could probably use an adjustment.
The Tektros work o.k., although nothing spectacular.
Also, I did change my pads.

S

nhluhr

So you're using 2011 era 105 Calipers (these would be 5700 series, with the high-leverage calipers, low-leverage levers) with 2005 era brake levers (higher leverage levers)... yeah, of course you're going to feel like you can lock it up easily - you've just gone to a caliper with specifically higher mechanical advantage. Nothing really to do with the tektros sucking, necessarily, although that's possible too.