Originally Posted by
davei1980
Anyone with first-hand knowledge of these?
They come to me highly recommended. I see they're WAY cheaper than Paul Components Klamper calipers. Unlike the Klamper they 1. take tools to adjust and 2. actuate both pads
The brakes my bike came with are entry-level Tektros which are a nightmare to get adjusted correctly because the only way to move the outter pad is by loosening the entire caliper and sliding it left or right, then the inner one has a threaded adjuster. Stupid design IMO.
Thanks for your feedback. I am not totally opposed to going hydrolic either, I just don't know if the care and feeding of a hydro system is something I am in to right now. Thanks again
After some hydro frustrations last year, I considered going back to mechanical, and the Spykes were the ones I was thinking of. The fact that the Spykes move both pads takes care of the biggest drawback of the BB7s (and most other mechanicals). My one hesitation was that I have heard that the adjustments for the pads sometimes move, which kind of sucks.
I used BB7 mtb calipers for years and if you know how to keep them adjusted, they work great, in my experience. Yes, those Tektro calipers kinda suck. My Surly Wednesday came with Tektro calipers, and I replaced them with a set of old BB7s, and it was an improvement. The BB7s let you adjust both pads with knobs at the caliper.
If my XTs give me any more grief this coming season, I may have a set of Spykes in my future.
BTW, don't pay much attention to reviews in road versions of this or other mechanical brakes. MTB mechanicals work better than road mechanical, due to the cable pull ratio. I have bb7 road calipers on my gravel bike and they are not nearly as good as the bb7s on my mountain bikes.