Originally Posted by
Dave Mayer
Ummm.. I have several sets of Tektro road brakes, as well as several Campy and Shimano sets. Given that dual-pivot road brakes are very simple machines that pretty much have the same geometry regardless of the maker and model, I don't know what you're going to gain here. The high-end brakes are certainly lighter, and are generally set up better, but the differences are very small. Actually, because the high-end brakes are very much designed for low weight, I think that they are somewhat more flexy than the cheap models.
+1 I have three different sets of Shimano DP brakes, one Dura Ace and two Ultegras, and one set of newer Tektro R539 and if there is a difference in performance (given the same pads) it's lost on me. The lever feel is similar and the bikes all stop just fine. The Tektros require a bit more effort because they are long reach but there is no flex or other defects.
Originally Posted by
Dave Mayer
One key benefit of the higher-end brakes are that they are cold-forged, and so are stronger. The low-end stuff is CNC machined, a sign of a small poor-boy manufacturer.
More advice: alu parts should be clear-anodized (silver) so it makes it easier to check for defects. The cheap stuff is colored in an attempt to add some bling to an inferior product. The really cheap stuff is painted.
I expect low end brake parts are cast, not CNC machined, particularly the mass-market stuff. CNC machines are expensive and relatively slow so they tend to be used for boutique stuff. Also, paint isn't always used to hide low quality. My two sets of 6400 Ultegra brakes are painted and I don't think Shimano did it to hide poor quality.