[Lawfarm]

I have a new Scattante CFR Race...great bike, and I'm very satisfied with it thus far. It'll need some upgraded wheels at some point (stockers are Mavic Aksiums), and I upgraded the 11-23 Shimano CS-5600 cassette to an ultegra 11-28, which made a huge difference. Derailleurs and shifters are all Ultegra 6700.

The brakes, however, suck. It has Tektro R-530s. I found a great deal on a set of new Dura-Ace BR-7900s that I plan on swapping in front and rear. This being my first road bike, I've not previously worked on brakes (other than minor tweaks on pad orientation, etc.). From the looks of things, this will be an incredibly simple swap? (Loosen and remove cable, take out mounting bolt, swap caliper, reinstall mounting bolt, realign, reinstall cable). Looks like a 3 minute job. Am I missing something, or is it that simple?

From what I've read, the Dura-Ace calipers work great with the current generation 6700 ultegra shifters...but are a little TOO aggressive with the last generation 6600 shifters.

 

[Kerry Irons]

No big deal

Looks like a 3 minute job. Am I missing something, or is it that simple?

The brake swap is easy peasy. However, before you make that investment, you should just try some high quality pads (like Kool Stop) on your current brakes. That may be the fix you need.

 

[SilverStar]

R530s are great brakes, they just need better pads. Kerry's got you covered on a good suggestion (Kool Stops).

 

[frdfandc]

I'll 3rd the Kool Stop pad replacements. The R530's are actually good brakes. Its the pad material that leaves a lot to be desired.

 

[ezdoesit]

I'll 4Th that I have Tektro's on my 2008 Fuji Touring:idea: and after switching out to KoolStop I have had no problems and didn't need to change brakes.
I have the double color ones that look like an easer color and black hope this helps you out. :thumbsup:

http://www.koolstop.eu/index.php?id=60&L=1

 

[Solopc]

When I swapped out my crap calipers to Ultegra calipers on my 105 equipped Allez I only hit one small issue, if you want to even call it that. The cables were too long as the Ultegra calipers were more beefy and taller than the stock ones that came on the bike. So I had to cut the casing.

If you need to do this too, invest in cable cutters. I used side cutters, that was before I had any bike tools... Also, you will need to pull the front brake cable back from within the shifter in order to cut the front brake cable housing. Check youtube or the Park Tool website on how the cable is fed through the shifter if you can't figure it out by looking at the shifter.

The brake swap will be quite noticeable, even with stock Shimano pads I was utterly impressed. Once I put the koolstop pads on, forget about it, braking dreamland compared to the stock junk I was using before.

 

[JCavilia]

The brake swap will be quite noticeable, even with stock Shimano pads I was utterly impressed. Once I put the koolstop pads on, forget about it, braking dreamland compared to the stock junk I was using before.

I don't know what your previous "crap calipers" were, but if they were Tektro quality or similar I bet you'd have gotten 90% of the benefit from the pad change alone.

As for brake changes sometimes requiring new cables or housing -- or shortening of the old ones -- because of length requirements, that's par for the course.

 

[Solopc]

Your are not far off with your assertion of getting more benefit with a better pad. And yes, I should have been more descriptive. They were unbranded Tektro 300 series calipers. I still have them around as spare parts and I might get around to testing them with better pads for the heck of it one day.

 

[mrcookie]

i'm riding an older scattante with Tektro 740's. Mine came with Koolstops stock.....

 

[4dmg]

+1 for Kool Stop. My Cannondale Synapse came with Tektro R318 and their standard gray pads. Despite dry, clean rims, they made a grinding noise from day one. I switched to Kool Stop and the noise went away. Braking force went up by a factor of 10 as well--my first road bike I didn't know what I was missing. Brake replacement is not the next thing on my wish list any longer. Very happy.

 

[ziscwg]

I'll 3rd the Kool Stop pad replacements. The R530's are actually good brakes. Its the pad material that leaves a lot to be desired.

:thumbsup: The pad material sucks big time..............................................They took a nice shard out of my rim on the first long downhill I had.

I replaced mine with Ultegra pads and holders, much, much better. I do have a set of kool stop pads waiting as soon as I wear the Ultegra pads.

 

[ohvrolla]

Compared to the side pulls on my old bike, the 530s are like disc brakes to me WITH the stock pads.

 

[Lawfarm]

Notwithstanding the great advice above, I acquired both a set of Kool Stops and a set of Dura Ace brakes. I have tried 3 combinations now: 1) Tektros (stock); 2) Tektros with Kool Stop; and, 3) Dura Ace (stock). #3 provides the best feel and best perceived braking effort. It also provides the most consistent response in wet conditions (no more grabbing) and going downhill. The Kool Stops are a great upgrade to the stock brakes (and when needed, I'll throw a pair on the DA), but the DA were a great upgrade.