Paul Racer or Tektro 559 brakes?

[pinkshogun]

For those who have tried both, lets hear your opinions

[rccardr]

Have used the 559's on a number of conversions, including on my Pelizzoli when I run 650b's. Generally speaking, a good, solid caliper brake, although some of them seem to come through with crappy pads. They take standard Shimano-style pads, however, so easy to replace. The ones I have used are nutted, but assume they also come with flush mount studs and nuts.

Like any super long reach caliper, there is some flexing, but it's less than other ones I've ridden.

[hummus_aquinas]

I've got racer's. they have a surprising amount of power for a standard reach caliper. does your bike have the provisions for a cable stop?

[pinkshogun]

I switched headsets to a low stack Shimano 600 and picked up some needed room for a front cable stop. If i go Pauls i will get one of those 'paper clip looking' binder bolt mounted rear stops

of course Kool Stops will be used

[kingpin75s]

I will qualify by saying that I have not ridden the 559 brakes. However I liked my experience enough with my Paul center mount medium Racers that I had my Steve Potts frame built around the post mount version of the longer reach Racers. I was just reminded that I need to get back out to the garage to finish that build :roll eyes:

The ability to set the pads on the Racers right where you want is really nice and I have found that I really like the control and modulation I get. I feel they have a more nuanced feel than my side pulls and plenty of power. This based on my experience with center mount mediums only to date.

[R3awak3n]

I have never ridden Pauls but the 559s are great brakes, probably not as powerful as the Pauls since that kind of brake always provides a bit more power but I always had adequate braking power with the tektros and they cost a third of the pauls

[donevwil]

Anyone know is the long gone Rivendell Silver long reach brakes are just more nicely finished 559s with better pads or something altogether different? I pulled a set off my wife's winter bike that is having Paul posts brazed on.

[jtakeda]

Anyone know is the long gone Rivendell Silver long reach brakes are just more nicely finished 559s with better pads or something altogether different? I pulled a set off my wife's winter bike that is having Paul posts brazed on.

Same thing with a nicer finish

[zzy]

556/559s with better pads are very decent brakes. I prefer to use cross levers with them for a little extra leverage. Pauls have significantly better absolute power, especially with frame bosses.

I really wish VO would make an extra long reach version of the Grand Cru brake. A really beefy 73mm caliper would be great.

[NHAero]

I'm bumping this to see if there's any more experience out there. I have the 559s with Koolstop salmon pads on my 1972 Bob Jackson and would love more braking power. Also happy to hear experience with the Dia Compe 610 that Velo Orange sells.

[clyde the point]

TRP all the way for me, Paul’s were finicky and too much going on to be useful to me. Why bother with a straddle cable and subsequent mounts? To each his own.

[R3awak3n]

I'm bumping this to see if there's any more experience out there. I have the 559s with Koolstop salmon pads on my 1972 Bob Jackson and would love more braking power. Also happy to hear experience with the Dia Compe 610 that Velo Orange sells.

the velo orange dia comps are really good brakes, MUCH better than the 559s

[Hilltopperny]

I briefly used the Velo Orange Gran Cru and they worked quite well. They looked good and stopped my 200+ self without being overly flexy. Nice looking as well.

I used the old TRP ones years ago and found them to be kind of flexy for me. They still stopped the bike, but the modulation and flex were not really what I prefer.

I like Paul products. I have not used the center pull brakes, but have used Klampers, mini v’s and touring cantis. Once set up properly they work well. They are expensive, but USA made and pretty bombproof from my experience with them.


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[mass_biker]

Switched from the standard Tektro mid reach on my all city Mr. Pink to VO Grand Cru.

The Tektro, while functional, were definitely flexy - like way flexy - and I'm not the largest or daringest descender.

The VOs are decidedly stiffer and offer more consistent modulation. No problems here in any condition.

[rccardr]

I'm bumping this to see if there's any more experience out there. I have the 559s with Koolstop salmon pads on my 1972 Bob Jackson and would love more braking power. Also happy to hear experience with the Dia Compe 610 that Velo Orange sells.

What levers are you using? I found that 559's work best when paired with Tektro's own lever or with a Shimano SLR lever (1050, 1051, 640X, BLr400, BLr600).

The 1050 is the only non-aero lever I've used with 559's that provided truly exceptional stopping power and modulation. Hard to find but they are out there.

[NHAero]

The brake levers are Shimano 5700 STI, 3x10.

What levers are you using? I found that 559's work best when paired with Tektro's own lever or with a Shimano SLR lever (1050, 1051, 640X, BLr400, BLr600).

The 1050 is the only non-aero lever I've used with 559's that provided truly exceptional stopping power and modulation. Hard to find but they are out there.

[Turkle]

I use the Tektro 559 long reach brakes on my "getting around town" bike with Tektro RL340 brake levers and Kool-Stop brake pads on SUN CR-18 rims.

I'm a 205-lb guy, so I really notice stopping power in brakes. These brakes are definitely "flexy," so much so that I definitely notice the lack of braking power if I'm going fast. Braking at slow and medium speeds is perfectly fine and works with superb modulation. But if I'm really cruising downhill and have to stop suddenly, then I can't trust these brakes to stop me safely.

Now, for my "go to the brewery / run errands" bike that's perfectly fine, as I'm not riding that thing in a performance situation. I am very happy with them as currently set up. But I would absolutely want something more powerful for the bikes that I ride in more demanding situations!

YMMV. For lighter riders this likely wouldn't be a problem! But for riders in the 200+lb area, in a performance situation, I would strongly recommend something more powerful.

[NHAero]

Just to be clear, I'm using the 559 because a long reach brake (47-57mm) isn't long enough. The 559 is rated at 55-73mm reach and the pads are about halfway down. I don't know if the Dia Compe 610 will even be long enough.

The Racers are really $$$, but if they are the best...the brakes are the weak point on this bike. And Jan Heine has managed to out-price Paul Components with his Rene Herse equivalents - $198 per caliper and you don't get the attachment bolts! But they are rated at 65-80mm reach.

I don't know if each company rates reach the same. I've seen reach defined as the vertical dimension between the attachment bolt and the center of the brake pad, and I've also seen reach defined as the diagonal dimension between the bolt and the top edge of the rim.