Submitted by
R. Ortega
a Weekend Warrior
from San Diego
Date Reviewed: June 5, 2002
Strengths: Nice workmanship, light.
Weaknesses: No better braking performance than my (really) old Dia-Compe 986s. Not cheap and I've heard they're up to $120 for the set. Dialing in these brakes is a b.tch.
Bottom Line:
These are a really nice-looking set of brakes, but they're overrated.
Submitted by
john
a Weekend Warrior
from Somerville, MA
Date Reviewed: March 16, 2000
Strengths: Excellent brake for STI-equipped Cyclocross bikes.
Weaknesses: EXTREMELY difficult to dial in.
Bottom Line:
I bought these brakes for two reasons:
1) STI brake levers and traditional cantiliver brakes don't mix well because of the lever's lack of pull. While canti-specific road levers exist, I prefer STI shifting to bar-end shifting, and so chose the SRP "Mr. Grumpys", which promised to be Cyclocross-ready brakes that compensated for lack of lever pull by extending the lever arm (see the picture on srp's website if you haven't seen them before).
2) and, they were on sale for 1/2 price ($49 each).
When the brakes actually arrived in the mail I was impressed by their minimalist design and light weight (thanks to the titanium bolt kit included). Fitting them onto my bike was another matter entirely.
(it's worth noting at this point that the brakes came with fat red Ritchey canti brake pads)
Unlike traditional cantilever brakes (i.e. Shimano brand), the SRPs are essentially non-adjustable - a direct result of their minimalist design. A single pivoting eye-bolt lets you rotate the brake pad within the brake body, but there is neither a toe-in adjustment, nor a parallel up/down adjustment. Unfortunately I can't imagine any way of adding adjustability without comprimising design in this situation.
Luckily, the rear brake fit perfectly. With the brake pads pushed all the way against the brake body, the pads were perfectly toed-in, and the brake pad posts perpendicular to the rim.
The front brake pads didn't fit at all, however, and were in fact _toed-out_ on the rim. No amount of sanding fixed this and finally on the advice of my friendly LBS mechanic/cyclocross rider I used a vise and a huge pair of pliers to physically bend the brake pad post to an appropriate angle. This kind of adjustement is far beyond what any home mechanic should reasonably be expected to do to adjust his/her brakes.
The good news: now that they are finally dialled-in, the brakes work terrifically. I've got much more stopping power than I did with my old XTR cantilevers, and the levers don't come anywhere near the handlebars when I jam on the brakes.
In conclusion: The results I've achieved with these brakes only moderately out-weigh the sweat and tears I put into adjusting them.
Nicely crafted pair of cantilevers, easy to adjust pads and that is all, the braking lack of modulation and the return spring tension system lack of tunability. I will give them a two chili because of the nice Titanium harware included, and the facts that they deliver an increase of power compaired with a standard type shimano cantilever, ah ! and also they look good!.
Submitted by
jerry
a cross-country rider
from Corvallis, Or
Date Reviewed: January 24, 1997
Bottom Line:
A bit spendy but very easy to adjust, I'm 180lbs cross-country rider in very steep, dirt, rocks, and hard pack in Western Oregon, Set-up is important and when dialed in they work great. I've paried them with Real Levers and am very satisfied with the combination.
Submitted by
Rex
a cross-country rider
from San Diego,CA USA
Date Reviewed: May 15, 1996
Bottom Line:
These are by far and away the best brakes I have ridden with. I have ridden Machine Tech before and they aren't nearly as good as my potent SRP stoppers. They are light as a feather with titanium bolts and the quality is impecable. The Ritchey pads they come with are great and they will stop you on a dime. Plus the modulation is excellent. I have them paired with Avid Speed Dial Levers(The good ones) and they are a perfect match. If you are going to buy new brakes and don't want V-Brakes, I would highly recommend buying these.
Submitted by
Joe
a cross-country rider
from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Date Reviewed: April 18, 1996
Bottom Line:
I bought these after giving up the battle against inferior cantilevers that rely on asymmetric washers for proper toe-in. Less time fiddling about with the bike equals more time riding.
*Construction* 5-star quality construction, as one would expect from SRP. Comes with titanium hardware (thus ensure that an anti-sieze compound such as Ti-prep from Finishline is used before attempting to install on a titanium frame), heavy duty straddle wire, and red Ritchey brake pads. Does not come with the required straddle cable hanger.
*Design* The design of the brakes is such that adjustment of the position of the pads in each of the three planes is accomplished by movement of separate parts of the brake. Good Thing. However, everything is still cinched by a single bolt, unlike the Avids, which I believe (correct me if I am wrong) rely on separate bolts. Another slight drawback is that the position of the pads move slightly when the bolt is cinched tight, and this movement must be accommodated for in the initial adjustment of the position of the pads before the bolt is tightened. This is accomplished relatively easily. The brake pad is mounted outboard of the cantilever arm (ie, if installed as rear brakes, the brake pad post is to the rear of the cantilever arm, rather than in between the arm and the seatstay. This I find to be a Good Thing as it allows extra long pads to clear the seatstays or the fork sliders when the brake is unhooked, which in turn makes cleaning easier. The titanium bolt that holds the pad in position (theoretically) can be tightened with either a 10mm spanner or a 5mm allen key. However, the bolt head faces inboard rather than outboard (ie towards the front in the case of rear brakes) which means that there will never be enough clearance between the bolt head and the seatstay (or the fork sliders) for the use of the 5mm allen key. Bummer. On-trail adjustments would therefore require a tool such as the Cool Tool which has an adjustable wrench. The coil spring is infinitely adjustable because it does not rely on the 3 holes in the brake bosses to keep the spring in place (rather like the Dia-compe 987). This allows the customisation of brake feel. Finally, the pivot relies on a brass bushing. Effective, but requires periodical greasing, unlike some other high-end brakes which rely on sealed bearings. This is not necessarily a Bad Thing as it allows user-serviceability.
*Performance* Depends on how you set it up!
*Value* The market for brakes will have to be reassessed due to the introduction of the Shimano V-brakes, which is, by all accounts, the current benchmark. Overall, I think that the SRPs are slightly pricey, although it does the job, and it does it well.
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