Cane Creek 200SL

Price Paid:  $120.00 at Chain Reaction Cycle

Favorite Ride:
Ride from home to work 20 miles round trip

Bike Setup:
Genesis Flyer single speed road bike with Try All 108.9 16 teeth freewheel and 18 teeth freewheel on flip flop hub.
Sugino Track 48 tooth crank. Shimano road bike pedals. Michelin Pro 3 Race tyres on Alex AT-400 32 hole black with CNC sidewall rims and Formula track hubs.

Summary:
Bought these to upgrade my 10 speed road bike which is currently off the road because I am waiting for a new drop out from the frame supplier so buying little bits to upgrade from time to time. Bought a single speed (Genesis Flyer)to get me through the off road period and its perfect for my commuting.
So fitted the Cane Creek Sl200 brakes to replace the shimano sora that came with the bike. I had already bought the brakes before I read the other reviews and so I bought SwissStop Green pads to ensure that these brakes worked. Well they didn't I am 200 pounds and these brakes are an absolute hazzard.I immediately took them off the bike and replaced them with the Shimano brakes that the bike came with. Currently in dispute with suppliers since their policy claims will not take back anything that is fitted or used however not sure how I would have know the brakes were useless unless I had fitted them and tried them out. At £120(rrp £219) I was expecting a superior brake to the shimano sora (rrp £29.98) But it just failed miserably I know I am heavier than your average cyclist but these brakes don't come with a weight warning!

Strengths:
Can't think of any but I suppose they are pretty little shiny things.

Weaknesses:
Do not stop the bike in good time even with the best pads available making riding a complete nightmare on the city streets or downhill in London town.

Similar Products Used:
Shimano Sora (much better )
Campagnolo Centaur (much better locks up wheels in emergency stop if required)

Price Paid:  $140.00 at ebay

Bike Setup:
Moots(Hamsten) Campy reord/chorus. Cane creek brakes. Speed Dream sheels

Summary:
These brakes are nicely made and supported by a great company. That said, the stock pads kill the overall brake. I used them for a while and was very unimpressed by their overall stopping ability. They required a huge amount of force to slow the bike and never did an acceptable job. Rather than toss them, I tried changing the pads to Kool Stops red pads (I think they are considered WET Condition pads). Lo and behold, the brakes are completely different. They modulate well, they can lock the back wheel, and they can haul my butt down from speed pretty damn well. I am using Campy chorus carbon levers and they modulate fairly well. On blazing fast longhill descents, they sometimes squeel a little, but tht may just be the alignment of the pads. I have thought about changing them out, but really, why bother? I have no qualms using them.

Strengths:
Light, ti bolts, nicely manufactured. Still look pretty shiny after a long time. The company backs their products with great service, so if I ever need service, I imagine it will be forthcoming.

Weaknesses:
stock pads are a joke and have probably put off huge numbers of riders. Cane Creek should sell them stock with something better

Similar Products Used:
none

Price Paid:  $0.00

Bike Setup:
BMC Road Racer SL01, Basso Coral set up as TT bike

Summary:
I love these brakes. Not only do they look so much better than ugly dual pivot brakes, they brake just as well IF you replace the stock pads with Kool Stop pads. The stock pads are poor; the Kool Stop pads work excellent and make the brakes completely different. Very light calipers. I have a set in silver and in black, both sets look great and work well. They are still available direct from Cane Creek.

Strengths:
light, attractive

Weaknesses:
stock pads are poor

Similar Products Used:
Campy, Shimano dual pivots, Dia Compe sidepulls from back in the day

Price Paid:  $0.00 at gottaridebikes.com

Favorite Ride:
smooth pavement

Bike Setup:
Giant TCR, Zipp 404s, FSA carbon cockpit, Ultegra derailleurs, DA shifters, speedplay pedals.

Summary:
great brakes, had them on my old bike, so i just moved them to my new bike.

Strengths:
light, effective, tough

Weaknesses:
kinda poor value, but oh well

Similar Products Used:
nothing else

Price Paid:  $200.00 at bike builder

Favorite Ride:
Climb up, fast down

Bike Setup:
Hand-built Leader Carbon/Aluminum frame, Dura-Ace brakes, carbon bar/post/fork, Fizik Arione seat, SPD-SL pedals.

Summary:
Bought these on the recommendation of my bike builder; they're light and good quality. Gee, too bad they don't STOP.

Strengths:
They don't weigh much. If you don't either, then maybe these are worth it.

Weaknesses:
They don't actually work for an even slightly heavy rider. I weigh 170 lbs (78 kg), which isn't particularly big. Using these brakes, I came down a 40 MPH hill with an intersection at the bottom -- a hill I've ridden many times -- and these brakes wouldn't/couldn't stop me in time. I rode right out into the intersection (which fortunately was empty) under full brake pressure. The wheels didn't even lock, and they didn't slow me down anywhere near enough. I pulled off these brakes the next day and replaced them with Dura-Ace brakes. Cost me a few grams but worth it.

Similar Products Used:
Shimano 105
Shimano Dura-Ace