New Boardman Race brakes upgrade??

Hi everyone,

I'm typically used to my mountain bike that has hydraulic disc brakes and now I got myself my first road bike (semi-decent I hope!), I just find the brakes are severely lacking.  Is this just something I need to get used to or is there anything I can do to improve braking performance?  I find I go a lot faster and it's kinda scary!!

Cheers, Paul

Comments

  • You've got to get used to it. You'll learn to ride smarter so you don't need to yam them on too.

  • Shouting 'WHEEEEEEEEEE!' as you go downhill at speed stops it being scary image

  • Unless it's GB overtaking you! image

  • I tend to shout ARRRRGGGGGG!!!!  as I go downhill...but thanks I'll try WHEEEEEEEE next time hopefully that will help! image

  • If your tyres aren't as hard as steel then the corners at the bottom of the hills can be scary. 100 to 110 psi it says on my tyres. I can only get there with a track pump.

  • I have the Boardman Team Carbon from 2009 (I think!) and whilst i know little about bikes, I read a couple of reviews that said the non branded brakes they used were adequate but not great, and might be worth an upgrade.

    Having said that, they're fine for me!

    I'm not sure what kit the latest Boardman bikes have tbh.

  • Thanks Blisters, never noticed that!  I'll certainly need a new pump.

  • Gladys, mine has the Tektro R730 Dual pivot brakes - but that means nothing to me.

    If I were to upgrade would it just be new pads, or the complete assembly?  Either way, would anyone be able to recommened what's any good? I've read lots of reviews and people are saying mine are good, but they are cheap in comparison with other types....everything is relative, and I don't feel good about them at all.

  • Different pads can make a difference, as can different calipers or even different wheel rims or set up - but I reckon you'd be better off getting used them first. 

    You just have to accept that at 40mph on a descent you aren't going to be stopping quickly - just ride to the conditions, look ahead and trust to luck.

  • I have Ultegra on the roadie and they ain't bad but ain't even close to the hydraulic discs on the MTB which are branded and half decent but can't remember what.

    The latest cross bikes seem to be disced up. Quite what use any of this is, I have no idea.

  • Don't forget you've only a tiny patch of rubber on the ground. You really don't need massively powerful brakes to lock a wheel up.
  • Stick tri bars on it and keep your hands well away from the brakes, problem solved! 

  • Braking is for pussies image

  • Dustboy wrote (see)

    The latest cross bikes seem to be disced up. Quite what use any of this is, I have no idea.

    a lot of X bikes are used in muddy conditions - discs don't suffer as badly in mud compared to calipers as they have bigger braking surfaces and tend not to get as clogged up as calipers and rims.  they also stop quicker which can be bonus.

    some road bikes are now appearing with disks - I bet they won't be as powerful as MTB hydraulics though!  and I think in due course, there will be more and more usage of disks in road bikes

  • Haven't Cervélo started supplying P5's with hydraulic rim brakes ?

  • Discs still aren't UCI legal for road racing - I think it'll come but whether they'll become the default option I don't know.   I've heard people say discs can get very very hot far more so than rims - some of the pile ups you see in pro racing people are going to be lying on discs - but then those pile ups are normally on flat road rather than descents which is where I suppose the discs are going to get hot.   

    I think the big benefit of discs on road bikes will be you can brake effectively with carbon rims - and the rims can be designed without designing a braking surface in mind so there will be aero and rim weight benefits.   I say big benefit - big in terms of the tiny marginal gains you get in bike design.   

  • Paul J-R, from memory I've seen a few reviews that mention the brakes on Boardman bikes being a bit rubbish, and Tektro are budget kit makers.  I suspect this is one of the corners they cut to hit the price points.

    I'd just go with the same make/model as the groupset on the bike (probably SRAM, maybe Rival? ) as these will be an improvement.  

  • you'e right about the design benefits of disks pops - by removing the braking surface away from rims it gives designers much greater flexibility in the design of wheels and frames.

    MTB discs can get exceedingly hot but the pads cope with this fine although when they get consistently too hot it can lead to serious brake fade. I had that on a long steep twisting descent on my MTB in Thailand and lost the front brake completely and just had about enough at the back to slow me.  I still had to bail out on one bend into the undergrowth to stop me crashing over an edge.  that was a scary moment so I let the buggers cool down for a while before I carried on

    Cervelo's PF does have hydraulic rim brakes - Magura I think are the suppliers

  • I've got a Boardman Team Comp, and upgraded thebrakes to a set from Planet-X, with Swisstop pads, and they are excellent, much better thanthe original.  Better still, they are gold, so sparkle in the sun,

  • Thanks everyone - looks like Triathletes are far more crazy than runners - guess I'll need to find a club to get myself converted! image

    M...TRIumphant - yes mine is in fact the Team Comp (my mistake in title)....do you know exactly what model your brakes are?  I'll take a look at them, cheers.

  • Paul, I think you need to get used to the braking ability of a road bike first, and throw some decent pads in there. See how you get on. This could be a £20 spend rather than £100, to find you can't tell the difference.

    I have the PX brakes on my TT bike, they're single pivot which can be a right PITA to set up (think caliper brakes on old-style BMX).

  • Has anyone seen the Cologna road bike with the disc brakes, apparently its the future and makes the top tube look un cluttered.

  • Im sure disc brakes will soon be the standard on road bikes for all the reasons put forward by pop and FB, it will lead to a radical change in wheel design. Equally now that I am riding a bike with ultegra Di2 i'm sure that electronic shifting will soon be the norm on everything. Its shifts instantly regardles of how much power you have one and never needs adjustment, in short fantastic. So good that I'm going to convert my Neil Prye Alize to Di2 as well. looking forward to disc brakes! Downside is that you won't be able to retro fit them to rim brake frames.

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