anomaly

Has anyone run this setup? How is the braking power?

paxtonm

May I suggest contacting Rivendell (rivbike.com)? The company sells both and the staff is as helpful as it is knowledgable.
Mark

BikEthan

I've been running that set up but found the front brake to be a bit weak. I switched it out for a Paul neo-retro and it's noticeably stronger. Just for reference I'm 6' 2" and 210 lbs (about 220 lbs when I decided to switch brakes). Tektro recently came out with an old school style canti that may be better for braking power than the R550... or you could run v-brakes and the cane creek V specific version of the SCR-5 and any number of V-brakes that are on the market.

anomaly

When you ran the 550's did they rock back and forth a small bit when installed? The front and rear set I have a small big of play in them.

I really wish I had found the Tektro CR720s before I bought the R550s.

BikEthan

Most cantilever brakes will rock somewhat, they ride on a bushing and unless the tolerances are really, really tight you'll definitely notice some play. But this is pretty normal and shouldn't cause any problems. If it's severe it may be that the arm fixing bolts, or pads are loose, I'd check them if there's any question. I'm still running the R550 on the rear and it works fine there --better in some ways-- high profile cantis like the CR720 and Paul Neo-Retro can clip your heels and get in the way of panniers and racks unless you're on a huge frame.

Are you using the supplied straddle cable for the R550? If not the height of the straddle cable hanger and the angle of the straddle cable can have a big effect on braking performance, I'd double check the setup if you're not using the supplied cable. If the set up is OK then getting a set of the CR720s for the front may help you out if you're not getting good stopping power.