First road bike: braking?

I'm in the market for my first road bike. I currently use a '94 Trek
970 mountain bike with slicks for commuting (3 miles) that I've
upgraded several times over the years (notably XT V brakes, Rockshox
FSX carbon fork, and a few other things) but I've been doing some
slightly longer rides and have found it uncomfortable, particularly my
hands get numb after a while.

So, I've been test driving a few road bikes. While they have all
seemed to be more comfortable and seem more efficient, the brakes have
invariably seemed to be far less powerful than I'm used to. Is this
universal for road bikes? Is there any way to make them stop faster?

-alan


--
Alan Hoyle - - http://www.alanhoyle.com/
"I don't want the world, I just want your half." -TMBG
Get Horizontal, Play Ultimate.

On Tue, 26 Aug 2003 21:19:47 -0400, "S. Anderson"
wrote:

Try using Kool-Stop pads, the pink ones. They seem to have good braking and
others here seem to agree.

The salmon Kool Stops also don't coat your bike with gray crap if you
ride in the rain.

Barry

While they have all
seemed to be more comfortable and seem more efficient, the brakes have
invariably seemed to be far less powerful than I'm used to. Is this
universal for road bikes? Is there any way to make them stop faster?


My Ultegra brakes seem to stop me pretty quick.

On 27 Aug 2003 06:06:00 -0700, Art Harris wrote:

Alan Hoyle wrote:
So, I've been test driving a few road bikes. While they have all
seemed to be more comfortable and seem more efficient, the brakes have
invariably seemed to be far less powerful than I'm used to. Is this
universal for road bikes? Is there any way to make them stop faster?

That's surprising. Modern dual-pivot road brakes have a lot more
stopping power than older road brakes. Specifically, what model brakes
have you been trying? Any of the current Campagnolo or Shimano
dual-pivot models should provide excellent braking. Perhaps they're
not set up properly, or you're not getting a good grip on the levers.

Make sure the rims are clean and the pads are adjusted properly. Try
the *salmon* colored Kool Stop pads (not red or pink [?]).

See:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/b...ml#continental

Art Harris


I don't know -- my old Trek and my new LeMond have similar stopping power,
in my opinion.

--
Bob M in CT
Remove 'x.' to reply

Never rode a recent road bike, I never liked road bikes.
I did several 30 miles road rides on my MTB. For the hand problems, good
gloves and bar ends do the trick for me. With the bar ends I can changes the
position of my hands to prevent them from getting numb.
As for the brakes, the V-brakes are very powerfull in the woods even on very
steep hills. But above certain speed 25 mph (going down a hill on pavement)
they don't break as well as I would like them to. For my next MTB I'll go
with disc brakes.

"Alan Hoyle" wrote in message
...
I'm in the market for my first road bike. I currently use a '94 Trek
970 mountain bike with slicks for commuting (3 miles) that I've
upgraded several times over the years (notably XT V brakes, Rockshox
FSX carbon fork, and a few other things) but I've been doing some
slightly longer rides and have found it uncomfortable, particularly my
hands get numb after a while.

So, I've been test driving a few road bikes. While they have all
seemed to be more comfortable and seem more efficient, the brakes have
invariably seemed to be far less powerful than I'm used to. Is this
universal for road bikes? Is there any way to make them stop faster?

-alan


--
Alan Hoyle - - http://www.alanhoyle.com/
"I don't want the world, I just want your half." -TMBG
Get Horizontal, Play Ultimate.

On Wed, 27 Aug 2003 10:14:02 +0000, Paul Bielec wrote:

Never rode a recent road bike, I never liked road bikes. I did several 30
miles road rides on my MTB.

But that is about the limit for most people on a mountain bike.

But
above certain speed 25 mph (going down a hill on pavement) they don't
break as well as I would like them to. For my next MTB I'll go with disc
brakes.

So, your mountain bike doesn't brake well going downhill on roads, and
your solution is to get another mountain bike? For riding on roads I'd
have to recommend, let's see, oh yeah, a road bike.

--

David L. Johnson

__o | Enron's slogan: Respect, Communication, Integrity, and
_`\(,_ | Excellence.
(_)/ (_) |

So, your mountain bike doesn't brake well going downhill on roads, and
your solution is to get another mountain bike? For riding on roads I'd
have to recommend, let's see, oh yeah, a road bike.
I'm talking on going down a very steep hill on a small pavement stretch
nearly at the end of a XC trail. Right at the bottom of the hill, the trail
goes back to the woods while the road continues staight. I'm not convinced
that a road bike would brake any better at around 30 mph still on the slope.
Anyway, I find road bikes boring. I prefer the woods to the bike path.

In article ,
"David L. Johnson" wrote:

On Fri, 29 Aug 2003 10:42:00 +0000, Paul Bielec wrote:

I'm talking on going down a very steep hill on a small pavement stretch
nearly at the end of a XC trail. Right at the bottom of the hill, the
trail goes back to the woods while the road continues staight. I'm not
convinced that a road bike would brake any better at around 30 mph still
on the slope.

30 mph should not be a problem for any bike.

Anyway, I find road bikes boring. I prefer the woods to the
bike path.

Chaqu'on a son gout, I suppose. I don't much care for bike paths myself.
I use my road bike to ride on --- roads.

Uh, Hunh???

Next weekend you will be riding the local river trail ( MUP ) with several
hundred of your clubs members.

No such thing as ³Share² or obeying traffic laws or stop signs.

Beautful century ride however.

HAND

--
³Freedom Is a Light for Which Many Have Died in Darkness³

- Tomb of the unknown - American Revolution

"Paul Bielec" wrote in message ...

Anyway, I find road bikes boring. I prefer the woods to the bike path.

The highways are anything but boring. Make a few left turns.

-Luigi

Anyway, I find road bikes boring. I prefer the woods to the bike path.


Bike paths are usually boring . But so is riding at walking speed over rough
terrain. The real thrill is riding in a pack at 25 mph or so. That's a real
rush.