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Would you change these brakes?
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I've been riding a Scott Plasma 5 for the past few seasons. I really like the bike though the front brake does not have much stopping power. It some center-pull Tektro brake that comes with the Plasma 5 because it fits well under the brake cover. The standard rear brake is an Ultegra, but I swapped that out with a TriRig Omega X because I needed clearance for a Stages power meter. That rear brake has pretty solid stopping power.

I've since moved to a P2Max power meter, which doesn't have the brake clearance issues the Stages did. I'm wondering whether it would be worth picking up an Ultegra brake for the rear and moving the Omega to the front. Nick at TriRig was able to get an Omega to fit under the front brake cover by making a few cutouts (see here). It doesn't look as "clean" on its own but with the front hydration you can't tell the difference (like here).

So – any thoughts on whether moving the Omega to the front (to replace the OEM Tektro) and installing an Ultegra rear brake would be a worthwhile upgrade in terms of stopping power?

Thanks!

A few other details since people may ask:
Front wheel is a FLO 60 carbon, rear wheel is a FLO disc w/aluminum brake track.
No, I don't really care about front brake performance when racing. But the vast majority of the time I'm riding the bike is in training and I would like to be able to scrub speed faster and more confidently on open roads.
A new tri bike with disc brakes is not in the cards unless someone wants to float me the $$.
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Re: Would you change these brakes? [Northy] [ In reply to ]
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Do you have a spare front aluminum wheel? I would just run a cheap alum rim on the front for training days (with the appropriate brake pad). Then when you're racing you can swap to the carbon rim and brake pad and lose some of the performance. It's way less work and is free (assuming you have a wheel).

At the very least, you should borrow a front wheel and pads to see if this helps before dropping the cash and time on a new brake setup.
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Re: Would you change these brakes? [Northy] [ In reply to ]
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Northy wrote:
I've been riding a Scott Plasma 5 for the past few seasons. I really like the bike though the front brake does not have much stopping power. It some center-pull Tektro brake that comes with the Plasma 5 because it fits well under the brake cover. The standard rear brake is an Ultegra, but I swapped that out with a TriRig Omega X because I needed clearance for a Stages power meter. That rear brake has pretty solid stopping power.

I've since moved to a P2Max power meter, which doesn't have the brake clearance issues the Stages did. I'm wondering whether it would be worth picking up an Ultegra brake for the rear and moving the Omega to the front. Nick at TriRig was able to get an Omega to fit under the front brake cover by making a few cutouts (see here). It doesn't look as "clean" on its own but with the front hydration you can't tell the difference (like here).

So – any thoughts on whether moving the Omega to the front (to replace the OEM Tektro) and installing an Ultegra rear brake would be a worthwhile upgrade in terms of stopping power?

Thanks!

A few other details since people may ask:
Front wheel is a FLO 60 carbon, rear wheel is a FLO disc w/aluminum brake track.
No, I don't really care about front brake performance when racing. But the vast majority of the time I'm riding the bike is in training and I would like to be able to scrub speed faster and more confidently on open roads.
A new tri bike with disc brakes is not in the cards unless someone wants to float me the $$.

what brake pads are on the Tektro? Pad compound makes a huge difference.

Then, you might want to look at what levers you are using, and see if you can find something that pulls more cable per mm of lever throw, which will increase the clamping power at the brake.

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Re: Would you change these brakes? [JasoninHalifax] [ In reply to ]
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JasoninHalifax wrote:

what brake pads are on the Tektro? Pad compound makes a huge difference.

My experience has been that Tektro pads really suck. Shimano pads are significantly better, Kool-Stop even better...

"I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 10, and I don't know why!"
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Re: Would you change these brakes? [Warbird] [ In reply to ]
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Warbird wrote:
JasoninHalifax wrote:

what brake pads are on the Tektro? Pad compound makes a huge difference.

My experience has been that Tektro pads really suck. Shimano pads are significantly better, Kool-Stop even better...

Depends on the specific pad. The cheap Shimano pads, the ones that aren’t separate from the pad holder thingy, they suck too.

Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly
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Re: Would you change these brakes? [Northy] [ In reply to ]
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There must be something fundamentally wrong with your setup. I have a Plasma 5 and I believe the front brakes are the best I have ever tried. I have them coupled with DA brake levers and Swiss Stop carbon brake pads for a Zipp 808 front wheel.

You must have the wrong pads, the wrong levers or the brake not well adjusted.
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Re: Would you change these brakes? [ecce-homo] [ In reply to ]
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ecce-homo wrote:
There must be something fundamentally wrong with your setup. I have a Plasma 5 and I believe the front brakes are the best I have ever tried. I have them coupled with DA brake levers and Swiss Stop carbon brake pads for a Zipp 808 front wheel.

You must have the wrong pads, the wrong levers or the brake not well adjusted.

Sounds like a consensus that I should check/change my pads. They look ok, but there may be better options. Pretty sure they're the pads that came with the FLO 60. I don't know what FLO was shipping at the time.

Brake levers are Shimano. I assume Ultegra since the bike is Ultegra Di2. I'd be surprised if there's a huge jump in performance between Ultegra and DA.

If better pads make the difference then that'll be a simple and cheap fix. Thanks all!
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Re: Would you change these brakes? [JasoninHalifax] [ In reply to ]
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JasoninHalifax wrote:
Warbird wrote:
JasoninHalifax wrote:


what brake pads are on the Tektro? Pad compound makes a huge difference.


My experience has been that Tektro pads really suck. Shimano pads are significantly better, Kool-Stop even better...


Depends on the specific pad. The cheap Shimano pads, the ones that aren’t separate from the pad holder thingy, they suck too.

True, but then I doubt anyone is putting those on a Plasma... :)

"I'm thinking of a number between 1 and 10, and I don't know why!"
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Re: Would you change these brakes? [Warbird] [ In reply to ]
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Quick update and question.

I got some SwissStop Black Prince pads for my front carbon FLO60, and it does stop better than my earlier pads. Thanks for the suggestion/recommendation everyone.

So now my question is, what are your go-to best pads for aluminum brake tracks (my rear wheel is aluminum track)? Also SwissStop, either original Black or BXP?
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