Bb5 vs bb7
 

Looking at buying a trek crossrip comp. and am wondering if the bb5'd are really that bad? Would it be worth the cost to upgrade them? I would do it at the time my LBS orders it. Besides bb7 would you recommend a different mech. Disk brake?

This will be my do all bike, mainly road riding, but some kid hauling, errand running, short touring, and a bit of light off road use.


Thanks,

Micah

I have a simple rule about upgrades and never replace working parts with incremental upgrades. If this would be a low cost trade on a new bike purchase, it's up to you. But if you're going to spend money, do a quantum leap to something 2-3 levels better or in the case of disc brakes consider hydraulic.

Small incremental upgrades are rarely worth the money and often leave you wishing you either didn't bother, or skipped to the next level.

they're fine , it's part of getting the bottom line cost of the whole bike down a few bucks..

BB5 the cable adjuster adjusts the outer pad for wear.. BB7 there is a second knob for that ..

and the pad spare is different ..



mechanical discs in general the pad wear adjuster is You.

But, yea new bike component take offs , at the time of build up is a good time to do that,
since the shop has new parts to resell , you get a bit of a trade in..


If you go to the Tandem section , there are fans of the TRP Spyre,
a double acting , ie both pads move into the disc, caliper

and the combined hydraulic in the caliper TRP HY RD in commuting/cross

1 poster talks about his..

I have never held one of either in my hand, so rely on their Recc, if you wish.

I've run both BB5s and 7s, set both up for cross/road bikes, and have worked on the whole range of CrossRips.

IMO, the step up from BB5 to BB7 is not worth it. And I don't like the final setup for either -- using the road specific calipers with STI shifting units, there seems to be overly much throw at the lever for movement at the caliper, and getting them set up with no brake rub is more difficult than it should be.

If you are considering an upgrade, go with the TRP HyRd, as found on the CrossRip Ltd, or just ride the BB5s for a year or two while road bike disk brake tech catches up to demand.

Side question, is it worth the price to go from the crossrip to the comp? My LBS said the disk brakes really make a difference, but what is your take?

If you lived where it was warmer, I'd suggest a test ride with a garden hose wetting the rims or discs so you see the benefit. I'm minly a road rider, with some dirt and trail riding, so I prefer the simplicity of rim brakes. But there's no denying that discs are superior in wet or dirty conditions, and also spare you from worries abour rim abrasion and wear from dirt and sand embedded in brake shoes.

IMO- discs have benefits, but only you know if you're planning the type of riding where you'll realize the full benefits and can justify the cost difference.

The component pick is a bit different.. product managers seem to stick on the 50-34 doubles on the upper models.. .

IDK if that combination suits where you ride, vs having the middle of a triple

that covers most riding ....


if the ratios you use most are requiring, both shifters be operated a lot of the time to shift between them ..
thats kind of the funcional downside of compact doubles..

The comp is a triple, I'm not interested in using a double.

The BB7s are easier to adjust and center, although the newer generation BB5s aren't as bad as they used to be.

Hub mounted discs are a lateral move but not the huge improvement that many would have you believe. Even in wet conditions, they are only a marginal improvement...largely because you are trading a huge rotor (aka "the rim") for a smaller rotor. Rim brakes on bicycles are discs with all the benefits that come with disc brakes.

of course components can be changed .. if a lot of the package is appealing



the FAQ of 'is it worth-it?' is a personal economics question.

I run a BB5 on the rear(160) and a BB7 (180) on the front. If you are going to upgrade , buy the new Deore Hydro disks , great upgrade for little money. Some claim performance in line with XT-XTR and better than SLX. Shimano is great at trickle down technology. BB7 is better on the front IMO with a larger rotor but only with compressionless housings and teflon inners. By the time you do that you are into Deore. JMO.

Deore hydro's might be a good upgrade from the Avid BB5's but will they work on the bike that was mentioned ?

http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes...crossrip_comp/

After roughly 1,700 miles and numerous close calls due to the horribly weak braking performance of the Tektro Novella mechanical disc brakes that were OEM on my 35 pound Trek Wahoo 29er hardtail, I upgraded to Shimano M445 hydraulic disc brakes and the improvement in braking performance was the difference between night and day. They’ve been awesome over the last several hundred miles of road use and my only regret is not having made the upgrade to hydraulic disc brakes years ago.

If I were to ever revert back to mechanical disc brakes (for their shear simplicity), I wouldn’t purchase anything lesser than Avid BB7’s, but I’m altogether sold on my Shimano M445 hydraulic disc brakes. It's awesome to finally acquire stellar braking performance.

+1. This is a drop-bar bike. Hydro brifters are expensive. Like, 700bucks--and then you need to upgrade to Di2, as well.

OP: I like BB7s far more than BB5s, but probably not enough to pull off the brand new BB5s in favor of brand-new BB7s. I have far more experience with the long-pull avid disc brakes than I do with the short pull (I've never really worked on the road version), but I'm thinking that the benefit of dual pad adjustment might be slightly more important on the short-pull versions...

In any case, I'd go for the rim brake version, and see how ya like it. If braking performance is underwhelming, you could go with mini V's or a better cantilever set (Tektro Oryx aren't so nice... and that's not just Tektro snobbery. The cr720s have a very nice feel).... You'll still be saving money and headaches versus the disc version. Let's remember, Trek is marketing this thing as a "road bike for the real world". My road bike spends 90% or more of the time in the real world, and it has dual-pivot calipers.

hth,
Rob

TRP hylex separates out the Brifter and puts the master cylinder in the lever body instead ..

https://www.trpbrakes.com/category.p...d=206&subcat=0

then accept downtube orother places for your shift Lever.

You made a good choice with those brakes. Shimano's current crop of hydraulic discs are so much better than anything else. Even the M3XX series hydraulics are very, very good.

These would cost $320/set, plus the cost of non-integrated shifters.

The problem with this forum is that someone asks a question about mechanical discs/ rim brakes on a specific line of bicycles, and a bunch of ppl recommend hydros that won't work with his intended set-up or else would require a ton of $$ and massive changes to other systems on the bike. Why not just cast your vote for the various options he actually asked about?

Whatever.. :rolleyes:

I got my Bike Friday as is .. it had BB7 on it .. lever, speedial Mountain V type ,
I use trekking bars .. ITM made.

Roadie , If he wants to change the 5 to 7's or Spyres thats his choice. what me worry?

I had an Avid Rohloff 4 bolt disc, from a procrastinated HS33 rim to disc conversion..

so I swapped it out, removed the thicker Magura/Galfer, since the mech flexes the disc
and the same sort was in front.

and they were a cheaper consumable ..

I did ask about other optins, but hydro is to much coin for me, right now trying to decide on base model or the comp. no one has them around to try though :(

No Trek dealers in WI ?, :roflmao: Corp HQ is there ..

No one has my size in stock....

they, dealers in general, restock regularly did you ask about when the next order is coming in?

At that level, I don't think the brakes make a big difference, both are meh, and it would come down more on if I thought the carbon fork was worth the extra $100 (I certainly think so), and/or planning upgrades in the future vs. selling the bike outright, basically stock, to get a better bike in the future. The Comp, you can upgrade the brakes; the base level CrossRip not so much.

CrossRips are popular and it's early in the season. Size selection and availability are sporadic at the moment.

Some bikes , the Dealers that went to the Trade show , made pre season orders ..

they that have the storage space , got most of the popular limited run models

Trek Portland was one , they were gone , by mid season in the warehouses ..

but the pre season dealers had them in their stock ..