Long/Mid Reach Brakes

[campy man]

Similar to this thread below ... trying to decide between Paul Racer M, TRP RG957 and VO Grand Cru. Lots of great feedback on the Shimano R650 but ... it's Shimano :no:

https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=178889&highlight=rg957

Hoping Paceliners with experience with these brakes can share. :)

[sparky33]

The VO and TRP brakes are both terrific stoppers. The main difference is aesthetic.

There may be another thread where these brakes are discussed already.

[AngryScientist]

the paul racer M's require a cable hanger, which ideally you would build a bike around, vs an afterthought.

i have both the VO and TRP calipers. both excellent.

[Big Dan]

Similar to this thread below ... trying to decide between Paul Racer M, TRP RG957 and VO Grand Cru. Lots of great feedback on the Shimano R650 but ... it's Shimano :no:

https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=178889&highlight=rg957

Hoping Paceliners with experience with these brakes can share. :)

If you were serious about braking you wouldn't say that.
The R650 is better than all of those.

[AngryScientist]

The R650 is better than all of those.

disagree.

[choke]

I have Racer Ms (post mounted) and absolutely love them. I've never tried the other two. Another option with comparable reach that are reasonably priced are Dia-Compe 610s. The Paul and Dia-Compe require a cable hanger which some find to be a big deal but it isn't one for me; they would be my first and second choices but I also hate dual-pivot brakes.

One point: all of the brakes that you mentioned are mid-reach (47-57mm) rather than long reach (57-67mm). For some reason many companies call mid-reach brakes 'long reach' these days.

[NHAero]

I'm curious if any of the alternatives to the Shimano caliper have hardware that isn't plated and therefore rusts. Only my Shimano calipers are rust-free. I hate buying what is kinda a re-branded Taiwanese brake from VO or Rivendell and find that it's as rusty a year later as the Tektros on several of our bikes (isn't TRP the same company as Tektro? Doesn't this company make the VO brakes?)

Feel free to correct any mis-assumptions above!

[ripvanrando]

TRP RG957 are one of my favorite all-time brakes. They proudly sit on a bike absolutely abused by rain, salt, and all sort of weather. They look new to me. They work perfectly. Excellent braking force and modulation and plenty of tire clearance.

[ERK55]

Agree w/the above. The TRP’s are great, not that much different from my Campy-labeled brakes. Have the Paul Racer M’s (post mount) on another bike...no complaints. 33c tires on both with room to spare.

[R3awak3n]

the VOs are EXCELLENT. I have a pair in silver for sale. but seriously, they are amongst the best caliper brakes I have used, short, mid or long, doesnt matter.

[Mzilliox]

Similar to this thread below ... trying to decide between Paul Racer M, TRP RG957 and VO Grand Cru. Lots of great feedback on the Shimano R650 but ... it's Shimano :no:

https://forums.thepaceline.net/showthread.php?t=178889&highlight=rg957

Hoping Paceliners with experience with these brakes can share. :)

The TRP is the superior brake of these 3 choices and the best of the mid reach i have tried.

[PaMtbRider]

Another vote for Paul Racer M I've had both post and center mount and can't really tell a difference. I also have a bike with the Shimano 650 which are nice but not any better than the Pauls. The only ones that truly suck are some cheaper tektro (trp) that are rusty and lack power.

[Bradford]

I have the Shimano brakes and they work exactly as they are supposed to work. They stop my 250 pounds going 45 MPH and that is probably more than you are going to need.

[oldpotatoe]

If you were serious about braking you wouldn't say that.
The R650 is better than all of those.

Pretty funny...for the OP, Paul’s excellent but again, need cable hangers. The others are a wash, TRP with a slight edge. VO and shimano tied. All mentioned work well. Aesthetics might be the ‘determiner’.

[sparky33]

it's as rusty a year later as the Tektros on several of our bikes (isn't TRP the same company as Tektro? Doesn't this company make the VO brakes?)

I've had Tektro label brakes corrode, but the TRP (RG957) brakes are more durable in that regard and are better all around. The VO Grand Cru brakes are a different animal and probably not related to Tektro...CNC'd and slightly different design, pretty.
Gosh, isn't it nice to live in a time when even the worst components are still very good.

[NHAero]

That is the truth Steve!

worst[/I] components are still very good.

[JasonF]

I've used both the TRP and VO brakes extensively and prefer the TRPs. Seemed to modulate better and were a touch stiffer than the VOs.

[thwart]

Reminds me of the article (from Velonews?) several yrs ago about the bikes of Paris-Roubaix... one team was running these Shimano mid-reach brakes but had buffed out the logo.

Dedicated Campy fan here who has the 650's on a bike and has to admit they're excellent.

[Luwabra]

Br-r600 will throw my arse over the bars no prob w kool stops. Havent tried the others as I wanted max clearance per mike Varley blog. That said I’ll be in the market for a set of trp or vo blacks purely for aesthetics

[cachagua]

I just built up a bike using the TRPs, and I found that it's kind of a pain to switch wheels. Opening the quick-release on the caliper, and the one on the lever, and rolling the barrel adjuster down half an inch, will not let the wheel out easily (tried two so far: Challenge 700X36 on Belgium+, and Bon Jon on TB-14), and in fact loosening the cable anchor and letting the caliper open up to its widest still doesn't allow the tire through.

I'm not suggesting this is a point in favor of any other brake -- I read in a review that the VO has pretty much the same problem. I also had to struggle with 7700 calipers using 700X27 tires, so it's something that happens. Price we pay for big ol' juicy tires.

The way I fixed the 7700s was I cut about 3mm off each brake pad. This left plenty of compound to stop with, even plenty of groove depth to carry away water (if that's what those grooves are supposed to be for) but totally fixed the problem. The added benefit was that, since the brakes close tighter over the rim with less pad, there's more height clearance over the tire.

I did the first set by hand, and it could have been more exact... I think for subsequent ones I'm going to build a fixture to hold the pad and be able to cut them flatter. I'm imagining a few inches of steel angle with a regular brake shoe or pad-holder out of a spare brake, that I slide a pad into, cut it, slide it out and cut another... if anyone else is interested I'd post some photos of what I put together, and if it's really a raging success I'd consider doing a set of pads for people for... I dunno, a Paceline donation. Plus postage, of course.

Or. OR! Someone may know a better/easier way to set the brake up so that the wheel goes in and out without binding?

One other thing, my TRPs came with the pivots all loose and sloppy -- not the center ones, those were fine, but the ones at the right. Tightened 'em up and the braking's great, more than enough power and nice progressive feel, using regular Cane Creek levers.

[Andy340]

I use the VO Grand Cru with Yokozuna Reaction cables - excellent brakes and will clear 35mm tires on c17 rims. I had to trim PDW metal fender (45mm) for clearance.
I assume this clearance issue is common for mid reach calipers but it would be interesting if that is not the case and there are mid reach brakes with similar braking but better clearance for fenders.

[campy man]

If you were serious about braking you wouldn't say that.
The R650 is better than all of those.

Was strongly considering the TRP RG957 but Ribble has the R650 at a very good price.

https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/shimano-r650-57mm-brake-set/#pid=23794

[NYCfixie]

R600 was 8/9 speed era and old Shimano SLR pull.
R650 was 10 speed era and new Shimano Super SLR pull.

I have the 650s on a flat bar road bike and they are really good.

VOs came out when Shimano did not make a high quality more modern version mid-reach brake.

TRP RG957 came out when they realized they could make a better version of the Tektro ones and sell them for more money.

IMHO - TRPs are the best. VOs are second best. And then Shimano (which were once the best). Why would you try to save a few dollars on brakes that might save your life one day?


HampCo suggests the TRP RG957.
Seven suggests the VOs.


Buy the TRPs (or VOs). They are better and cost about $50 more. Amazon even has the black TRPs for $123.95 right now: https://www.amazon.com/TRP-RG957-Reach-Bicycle-Brake/dp/B00JNAEOWI/


Was strongly considering the TRP RG957 but Ribble has the R650 at a very good price.

https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/shimano-r650-57mm-brake-set/#pid=23794

[JDino]

I run the Tektro R539 calipers on my All City Mr Pink and they are completely acceptable. Caliper rim brakes are still not going to stop anywhere as well as modern disc brake bikes so what we are debating here between brands and models is a very small difference in stopping power.

Besides, setup is really the x-factor when comparing how brakes work and whether you're using them for carbon or non-carbon braking surfaces. I recently switch to Mavic Open Pro rims from a Roval carbon rim and I can actually stop fine now.

Tektro and TRP are the same company so I imagine their long reach caliper brakes are very similar. Paul makes your bike look fancy and their components are quality so if you don't care about price, probably go that route.

I just accept that side pull caliper brakes for road bikes are just a mediocre way of stopping but it's a road bike so you shouldn't be worrying about stopping too much anyways.

The vast majority of bikes will be disc in the next few years so this may be a moot conversation, haha.