Nachoman

Well to give you an example I have fifteen year old shimano 105 brakes that are still going strong and work perfectly, whereas I have blasted through many tektro brakesets over the years. Inferior product, inferior quality and inferior stopping power, imho.

memebag

I have some that are only about 10 months old. They can lock up my wheels, so they can't have any more stopping power. Maybe they will fail soon.

mcours2006

I have Tektro brakes on one of my bikes because the 105's were short/med reach and wouldn't fit on it. The Tektros work fine, but it's not as if I am racing crits or doing crazy mountain descents.

Maelochs

Well .... anecdotes can be true and be conflicting. I have Tektros on the rear of one bike and front and rear of another and have not had issues.

I am sure they make a range of products from stamped-steel junk for mass sale for mass production cruisers sold in WalMart, and brakes at a variety of price points. The set on my Dawes have thousands of miles on them so far.

What it takes to wear out a brake set though ... what did the pivots ovalize? I don't get it.

Also... why did you keep buying Tektro brakes if they wore out so fast?

Anyway ... best part about buying a bike with a weak component is it is easy to convince yourself you need an upgrade.

memebag

And that's really why I was asking what's wrong with Tektros. They work fine, but if there's some excuse ...

Smithson1

I have used Tektro brakes for years and have had no problems. I had a pair on my last bike for 7 years and current bike for 2 years and they work great.

msu2001la

It's a $900 bike and you can buy 105 calipers for like $30 online if you really hate the Tektro's.
You guys might be overthinking this a bit.

kevlar_heart 

Hahahahaha a my thoughts exactly. I was just pointing out some differences in the new generation Nashbar 105. Still can't understand the change out in the fork, etc., the last iteration was a super ride and needed only a few component tweaks.

Thanks everyone for playing...

exmechanic89

I'd ride that Nashbar bike in the OP. Love to have it, in fact.

deapee

Aluminum is better than cheap carbon. Most people won't admit that though. The only debatable opinion would be whether aluminum is a better frame material than a high end carbon frame.

xodondum

did anyone buy 1? how do you like it?

king_solom0n

I have the 'older' one with the full carbon fork. Seems pretty good but I can only compare it to aluminum bikes and an old Orbea Orca. It's more comfortable than my aluminum bikes and feels faster than the Orbea. I don't notice any flex but I'm not really a strong rider.

I've swapped some components: Shimano RS10 wheels for some Chinese carbon clinchers (Yoeleo 50mm), FSA Gossamer cranks for Shimano 105 5800 cranks, aluminum seat post for Hylix carbon seatpost, Tektro brakes for 105 5800 brakes, and a Serfas saddle.

I got mine during one of 30% off sales so I got it for around $860. For that price, you can't beat it even without the changes I've made. I've ridden it for about 800 miles so far and the only issue I've ran into is some occasional creaking. Not sure what's causing it but it hasn't bothered me enough yet to look into it.

draganm

bingo!

sure they can " lock up" the rear wheel when skidding to a stop in front of your favorite coffee shop , but my buddy and I were coming down a very steep hill in the foothills of the Rockies and he had his Tektro's clamped down as hard as they could go and the bike just wasn't slowing down. Barely kept it in the lane, 600 foot drop on the right side past the guard rail.
Part of this might be pads, but I suspect the alloy is just inferior quality. At some point they stop increasing pressure to the pad and just flex/bend instead.
So like any other component, it depends on how/what conditions you need it to perform under

draganm

that's a nice looking bike and 900 bucks who can complain? I remember that frame BTW, the head tube and seat stays are very distinctive. It's been around for a very long time and maybe 7-8 years ago they were selling on Ebay as bare frames.

People here called them " Chinarello's" and huge debates ensued about how good they were etc. Obviously if a major retailer has picked them up and is selling them in quantity then the answer to that question is " pretty good".

My Masi creaks a little too around the seat post, normal for Carbon AFAIK

EBDB

I have bought two bikes from Nashbar so far and I have no complaints.

Nashbar cx 105
Cavalo squadro dura ace

Wait for the 30% off though to maximize your savings. btw, they do offer 30 day price match which they honored for me on the first bike, bought at 25% off, then two weeks later they ran 30% off. Very easy to deal with.

friedymeister89

Does anyone know which frame the previous carbon 105 is based off of? I have the bicycle too and I've had no issues with it other than creaking from the seatpost, which is starting to bother me. Does anyone have any suggestions?

I also find the brakes to be rather crappy - they don't inspire confidence during descents.

pvillemasher

I had what I was certain was a creaking seatpost or seat, only to discover that the creaking was coming from the headset. Noises all come from "down there" because your bike is below you, so it's difficult to figure out where.
Can you make it make the noise without riding, like pushing on the seatpost while standing next to the bike or something?

WNCGoater

4100 miles on one set of Tecktro brakes in mountainous terrain. No problems. Never even needed to change the pads.

Motolegs

Apply some carbon assembly paste to the seatpost esp around the area where it is clamped. Use a torque wrench.

jordanair45

I would ride one man, if you really want CF. But, you can get an awesome trek emonda ALR/CAAD12 in that price range if you find a deal, which it what I would take, personally.

I've smoked riders uphill on a $230 nashbar bike vs their carbon bikes (starting to sound like durian rider lol). Man thing about bikes isn't the materials, its the feel and fit, for you! Its all about how much you enjoy it and fitness level will get you faster.

Yes, tektro brakes are trash. Swap those out asap.

tl;dr wouldn't hesitiate to ride a CF nashbar bike, I have their flat bar disc bike for commuting and it has been great. But, you can probably get a nice feeling/lighter aliminum frame for that price. I do believe the nashbar CF bikes come in at 19lbs. Not bad, but you can get a diamonback podium with some 105 and HED wheels (I think even full carbon fork/seatpost) that comes in at 16.5lbs for that price at discount. Or an emonda/caad at 18lbs

dksix

I have a FSA Gossamer 10 double crankset on my bike before getting my full 6700 groupset. They weighed about the same, maybe 20 grams difference and I don't make the power to have noticed and flex in either. I went from a 10 speed mix of FSA cranks, 5600 DR's, 6600 brakes, IRD cassette and MicroShift STI's to full 6700 group with 6800 caliper. The Ultegra is lighter, smother shifting and the 6800 brakes are a huge step up from the 6600 but the only real advantage in my mind is rear exiting shift cables look 10 x better.

I think there was about 20 grams difference between my FSA and 6700 cranksets.

memebag

Can someone please explain what's wrong with Tektro brakes?

Nachoman

They suck. You're welcome.

mstateglfr 

Nothing. Tektro makes a lineup that meets price points and naturally makes concessions to meet said price points.
Tektro brakes can be perfectly adequate for recreational and also heavy enthusiast use...which encompasses most everyone here. You just have to use the correct models. They are the Chevy of brakes and they likewise make cheap and expensive products.

pvillemasher

One of my bikes has Tektro brakes...they work fine, similar to the Shimano 105 brakes on my other bikes.