Alternatives to the BIG 3 (Shimano, SRAM, Campy)

Staylucky · Jun 3, 2013

Hello,

I love building bikes...probably more than riding most days, so because of it, I'm a bit of a gear junkie and enjoy trying different manufacturers outside the BIG 3.

I was wondering if anyone has experience with Far & Near brakes? They look very cool, I like the industrial design but performance is always more important.

I have a bike now with Tektro R540's and I've used the same on bikes I've built up for friends with good results, but I don't find them as good as Shimano 105's or higher or SRAM Rival or higher. They are a bit flimsy at high speed's.

I look forward to hearing from anyone with experience good or bad with Far & Near

Thanks for the insight!

Mr_Clean · Jun 3, 2013

I've seen their products. The finish seem to be okay, typical of Taiwan made bling components (token, kcnc, etc). They don't make complete groupsets like the big 3, so no contest. If I were to buy a seatpost today, I'd rather drop dime on a beautifully made black Thomson Masterpiece. :thumbsup:

mjduct · Jun 3, 2013

Their stuff is alright, I like all the crazy stuff you can get from fairwheelbikes.com they can definitely make your ride unique if you are willing to pay for it.

Ventruck · Jun 4, 2013

Far & Near was rated pretty well in Fairwheel's shootout. They put it as their top pick with the EE brake (which iirc they were affiliated with the development of, so go figure). Was really good value. Only real knock was the supplied pads.

fairwheelbikes.com ? View topic - Fair Wheel Brake Shootout #3

Staylucky · Jun 10, 2013

cool. I came across a few calipers on ebay at a fair price. I want to replace my Tektro's with something with better performance but want something....spiffy I guess you can say. I might go ahead with the purchase.

Alternatives to the BIG 3 (Shimano, SRAM, Campy)

Staylucky

Mr_Clean

mjduct

Ventruck

Staylucky

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