Senior Ryder 00 

Hi folks,
I have a bunch of 10 speed Shimano 105 (5600/5700) components & recently got a 700c disc brake road wheelset. Are there any disc brake calipers that will work with the 5600 or 5700 lever/shifter combo? Certainly would like to tryout a disc brake road bike.
Thanks & regards,
Van

bboy314

TRP Spyre, Avid Bb7 Road to name a couple. Look for calipers made for short pull/road pull.

Kontact 

You need road disc brake calipers, because of the difference in cable pull between an MTB cable lever and a road cable lever. The TRP Spyre is generally regarded as great balance between price and function.

Senior Ryder 00 

Thanks for the quick reply.
Cheers,
Van

cyccommute 

If you want to go really high zoot, there’s always Paul’s Klampers. You can even get arms to change the pull. Now, are they worth three times more than the TRP Spyre? Maybe. Maybe not. They are great brakes.

Max Reheat

Hi Van,
For a Shimano alternative you could look at their BR-R517 cable pull calipers. I picked up a pair of these fairly cheap and run them with Tiagra 4600 shifters and they do a great job.

veganbikes

TRP Spyre, Paul Klamper, Growtac Equal, TRP HY/RD or BB7 Road would be good options. Shimano Mechanical calipers always have looked terrible unfortunately. Probably fine enough brakes (so long as not tourney or similar level) but all the others listed are good well regarded brakes.

Senior Ryder 00 

OK, now that we’ve closed that one, any ideas for a reasonably priced frameset?😳. Keep in mind, these are “only” 105 ten speed parts.
Cheers,
Van

Rick

The Klampers are worth every penny. Prior to purchasing them I couldn't find a real review were somebody answered the questions instead of pouting about the price and cracking on the one piston design. I recently found a review were the reviewer setup the Paul Klampers and accidently set them up the way I did By using the Yokozuna Reaction cable housing. They have really good stopping and modulation as good as some hydros.

bboy314

Any particular style or frame material you’re after? I have an older Velo Orange pass hunter I like. Soma and Surly also have steel options. Otherwise most major manufacturers will have offerings in aluminum or carbon. Of course if you already have wheels you’ll want something compatible with those.

AveCaesarAve

I have to disagree on the Shimano calipers - I had the BR-RS305 installed on my road bike and they look really well. For untrained eye they can be mistaken as Shimano 105 BR-R7170 hydraulic calipers.

cyccommute 

I have 4 bikes with Klampers. I like the brake and it works well. They have a very nice bling factor but they just don’t function that much better than far less expensive brakes. It’s not that the less expensive brakes function poorly…far from it. Avid BB7 or TRP Spyre are excellent brakes. They just happen to cost less. The TRPs aren’t my favorite due to their delicate pad adjusters but they function well.

I read the review you linked to and I gotta say that I think the author took some literary liberties. I don’t know what kind of mechanic he is either. I’ve installed them on 4 bikes now and I’ve never experienced anything like “… installed them and did the initial 2 rides (30 miles total) right before I left for an event in Oregon. They weren’t stopping really great and were a bit noisy.” Mine were ready to go out of the box and stopped well from the first time they were applied. I’m not a believer in the whole “pads need to be bedded” thing either. I’ve had many disc brakes and not a one of them performed poorly from the first application of the brake.

Senior Ryder 00 

Hi,
Best match to my riding style would be what use to be called “sport touring” geometry. May now apply to gravel bikes. Either steel or aluminum. My townie is an old aluminum Giant Iguana with discs. Everything else is steel. Don’t particularly care for hybrids.
I have tendonitis in my shoulders & it is aggravated by stiff frames. I have two Waterford Paramounts that I can only ride for short distances.
Thanks for the feedback.
Cheers,
Van

Rick

Are you running compressionless housing with the Paul Klampers. What brake pads do you use? I am replacing the crane creek levers with the TRP levers today. I am not using the short piece of soft housing that goes in the tight curve. The Yokozuna Reaction housing doesn't flatten out in the curve like the other brands of compressionless housing. I am ordering some Trickstuff pads when in stock also.

frdfandc

Personally I'd go with the TRP Spyres over anything else. Spyres have good reliability, reasonably priced, and are a dual pull, so both brake pads move inward to clamp the rotor as opposed to the BB7 Road single side pull.The TRO HY/RD aren't worth the money. Might as well just go full hydraulic.

Make sure to run quality compression less housing. I've always used Jagwire Pro cables. You could go with their Elite Sealed, but I think it's overkill for a road bike.

Rick

The TRP Spyres are a little on the flimsy side and there adjusters are weak and annoying to use. Dual piston isn't as powerful as the single piston made by Paul.

If you want high quality compressionless housing than run Yokozuna Reaction housing It doesn't flatten out around sharp bends on the road bars.

frdfandc

They might not be as powerful as the Pauls, but their significantly more affordable. I consider Paul's stuff to be high end. Not everyone can afford it. I can and I'd still go with the Spyres. Power isn't everything. It's part of what's needed in a brake system. Modulation is more important than power. Locking up a wheel due to high power isn't everything you want in a brake system.

cyccommute 

No because I haven’t found any need for compressionless housing. The Pauls work just fine with no lack of ability nor any need for any kind of upgrade in braking power. But that’s my point about all brakes. Less expensive brakes work just as well without any further need for upgrades either.

Rick

I only have one bike. I have good modulation I have never locked up the brakes on this bicycle. I saved and bought the Paul Klampers knowing they would be durable. Using the Yokozuna Reaction brake cable housing made the brake modulation very good. The Klampers cost more than some hydros. I have frame couplers so mechanical brakes are what I use. If I weighed less than 200 lbs I might consider using something like the Spyres. I have an ebike rotor on the front of my bike. I use sintered pads and am about to order the Kool-Stop Aero-Pro sintered pads. Those other calipers don't stop or modulate as well as my Klampers.

squirtdad

do you have a frame with disc mounts and a fork designed for disc with mounts? not clear, but kinda needed

Senior Ryder 00 

Hi,
No frame, only an aluminum fork with a 1 1/8 steerer, which I considered putting on my Ridley CX bike. I’m still looking for suggestions on a frame or frameset. Not looking for anything high $ or exotic. My only disc bike is a 2004 Giant Iguana set up as a townie with 9 X 1 gearing & 29er wheels.
Sorry for the confusion. Seems my posting became an argument about cost vs performance of disc calipers.
Cheers,
Van

Eric F 

What is your frame budget? "Reasonably priced" is vague.

Senior Ryder 00 

Hi Eric​​​​​​,
Since this is a bit of an experiment & I’m a retiree, I’d like to keep it below $250 for frameset. Looking for suggestions because I have reduced price access through the co-op where I volunteer. Also, we periodically get unique items donated.
Thanks & regards,
Van

veganbikes

Those ones look a little better but I haven't seen them in real life just in pictures. It would be tough to mistake them for hydraulics but certainly the pads would help on that front if looking from far away.

Rick

There is a significant increase in stopping power and modulation with the compressionless housing. There is absolutely no sponginess in the levers either. I am heavy and still can't lock up the rear brake with this setup. I live in the high desert and there is mostly up or down. The brakes have only squaled when hot, coming down a grade. I am going to try the heatsink model of the Kool-Stop pads. I spoke to paul about the pads this week. Paul sent me the new KLAMPER ADJUST DETENT KIT. There is a grub screw, spring and ball bearing. This makes the pad adjusters work better.