I used Force brakes on one of my bikes, and they were the best brakes I ever used. I ended up parting that bike out to finance a couple of commuters and I was hesitant about selling the brakes because I liked them so much.

If they would have fit the commuter bike I built I would have kept them but I needed longer reach brakes.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy them again if I need a new set of brakes.

 

They is good. Went from 105 to Force and it's certainly better - plus they look good too! They come w/ Swiss stop pads btw.

 

Sweet deal!!
Thanks for the feedback guys.
Didn't realize the forces came with swiss stop pads. I thought it was just the red.
I built up a TT bike for a guy at work and it came with swiss stop pads for aluminum rims and some for carbon rims. Bike was full red groupo and he had carbon tubulars on it.
He said he was never going to run aluminum rims so he gave me the extra pads that came with it. Nice guy!
I think I'm going to click the place order button......= )

 

I have the even cheaper Rival brakes - they're excellent.

However, even cheap SCR-3s are darn good with Swisstops.

 

That Cane Creek is just a rebadged Tektro. They are fine.

 

I was originally going to just get another scr3 to match with the front but they have been out of stock from my distributor for a while now.
At the price i can get the force brakes for through work (bike shop) kind of makes it a no brainer.
I have been patiently waiting for the scr rear to be in stock for over a month....can't wait any longer!!!!
I am planning a build for my wife and will use my existing brakes on her bike, and upgrade the rear when it is available.

 

I had Rivals on my bike with Kool Stops. I rode a bike with the Force brake calipers and the Swiss Stop pads. Couldn't tell a difference between the two.

I do like the finish of the Force calipers better.

 

I replaced Rival calipers (Swiss Stop pads) with Force calipers (2nd gen) & DuraAce pads. There was no difference in braking performance. The advantage of Force brakes are negligible weight saving, caliper centering adjustment, and looks. However the Ultegra 6600 brakes from a previous bike and Campagnolo Veloce brakes on my Cinelli are incredible.

 

Second that on the Veloce's. I don't know if it is just the brakes, or the rims they're grabbing, but that was the best $40 I've spent on components. No QR on them, though.

 

I'm very happy with my Force brakes
4000+ miles this year, and they stop smoothly & quickly in all conditions.
The centering screw is nice to have, and they're light.
No complaints


Just make sure that the cable pull on your levers is compatible.

 

I have a set of ultegra 6600 shifters.
From what i understand they have the same brake lever pull ratio as the Sram shifters.
But the newer 5700/6700/7900 brake lever pulls different?
Is this correct?

 

Do you guys know what is the rubbery tape that is on the left side of the brake?
Can it be removed?

 

Yes, it prevents scratching during shipping.

 

I have a couple of sets of force brakes. They're great.

 

Does anyone know when installing do you need a wrench to hold the front while you tighten the hex bolt? I have installed Shimano before and they don't have the 2 flat spot for a wrench.

 

Nope. The friction from the star washer will prevent the brake from spinning when you tighten it. I put grease inside and outside the fixing nut, which also allows the nut to tighten into the frame easily and prevents corrosion.

 

I've had mine since 2009 and I've always been able to HIT THE BRAKES!!! enjoy.

 

They are, I use 105-5700 shifters with SRAM Rival brakes.

 

Although 105-5700 will work with Force calipers, they will work better when matched with the Shimano 4600,5700,6700,7900 calipers. From what I understand, the new SLR brakes altered the design so that most of the mechanical gain is now in the calipers instead of the levers. It is V-brakes vs canti-levers. The V-brake arms have more leverage gain therefore the hand levers need to pull more cable.

In my opinion, you are not going to realize a significant braking improvement by replacing R580s with Force. However if your are getting a great deal on the Force calipers then why not. In my opinion, you would be better served by replacing them with Shimano 5700 calipers

For whatever it's worth, my brother's bike has Shimano 5700 levers. I swapped the original Tektro R530 for Shimano Tiagra BR4600 calipers that use the new SLR design. The braking is much better. Less effort is required to get same stopping power as the R530.

 

I know that the cable pull of 5700,6700,7900 is different compared to the 5600,6600,7800 generation and shimano doesn't recommend mixing calipers and levers of different generation. Celebrazio: Bicycling - Shimano Road Bike Parts Compatibility

So is it correct to infer that sram force calipers work better with the 5600,6600,7800 generation levers than with the newer 5700,6700,7900? Or mixing is not optimal in either case?


I'm not getting any great deal on the Force calipers. I've just read great reviews on them and I thought I should give it a try. But I guess I'll buy ultegra 6700 calipers instead.


By the way do anyone knows what's the difference between ultegra 6700 calipers and dura ace 7900 calipers apart from 24 less grams and a double price tag?