[JAragon]

Throw them away. Or at least replace the pads with something better.

 

[eflayer2]

once you change the pads they work as good as say, Ultegra at least. I have DA brakes on one bike and Tektro on 2 others. Not a racer, but I can't tell the difference.

Long reach Tektros at aebike for $38 a pair. These come with shoes that make it easy to replace just the pads. I know they don't look quite as good, but all in all they look and work fine.

 

[alienator]

Try different pads. Pads make a bigger difference than different people acknowledge. Black or Salmon Kool Stops (Salmon brake better, shorter lifespan), Swissstops in black or green (green is comparable to Kool Stop salmons.).

 

[bigbill]

I use the long reach ones on my commuter. Once I replaced the pads with black koolstop ones, they were 100% better. The old pads always felt like I was braking in the rain.

 

[eflayer2]

Tektro pads have a unique feature

they keep the braking surfaces clean by sanding them down as you brake.

 

[Lab Worker]

they keep the braking surfaces clean by sanding them down as you brake.

Thats not unique, Shimano pads have done this for years.

I thought the idea was that your rims were supposed to last longer than your brakepads, but according to Shimano I must be wrong. On the bright side, at least you save money on brakepads, expensive item that they are

 

[gizzard]

Chuck 'em out

If you're serious about stopping you would throw them away. They are cheap, nasty dual pivot knock-offs and are mediocre at best. Changing the brake pads only marginally increases their stopping power. Do yourself a favour and buy a pair of new Ultegra, 105 or comparable Campy callipers.

 

[filly]

you're joking, right?

If you're serious about stopping you would throw them away. They are cheap, nasty dual pivot knock-offs and are mediocre at best. Changing the brake pads only marginally increases their stopping power. Do yourself a favour and buy a pair of new Ultegra, 105 or comparable Campy callipers.

they're fine, just change the pads. I use'em on my TT bike...I always come to a stop when I need to

 

[daneil]

Tektros get a bad knock because they're cheap. After my Ultegra/600 dual pivots blew apart before a race a few weeks ago I bought a set of Tektro single pivots for $25. Put on a set D/A pads and they work like a charm. What gets me is a lack of single pivots on the market. Basically you have a cheap set from Tektro and the crazy expensive Cane Creeks. Good braking for a great weight (mine are 300g a set, not 0G, but light enough for me).

 

[aablog]

Change the pads. I had little confidence in my tektros at first. Instead of going out ange getting a set of Ultegra brakes, I opted to see if koolstop pads would make a difference. I'm still using my tektros and have no issues with the post koolstop braking performance. I'm a clyde, so they can stop me, they should work for the average rider.

 

[boon]

i've had the same problem with the tektro brakes that came with my bike - bugger-all braking power. anyway, after reading this thread, i decided to replace the brake pads today. unfortunately, i could not find any Kool Stop pads here in Auckland, New Zealand. so i bought a set of BBB triple compound and boy, what a difference they made. and to think that i was on the verge of replacing the brake calipers when the problem was substandard brake pads.

 

[capt_phun]

Keep them on the bike as long as you want, or care too. They will stop the bike fine, especially after you change to Kool-Stop Pads. Eventually you will get upgradeitis and then you replace them, long long after you go to a better wheelset, cranks, etc etc. Brakes, were the last thing I upgraded. If you never uprgrade them, you'd never notice much difference in the end. If you get weight-weenish then they eventually come off.

If you change them out, just keep them as a spare. You'll won't make much $$ on them and it would better serve to have a spare brake set just in case. I sold off my old brakes to a bud, and when I sent my Zero G's in for upgrading, I was without brakes, and so bike, for a week.