I also have a pair of Grand Crus on a Soma ES that replaced a set of Shimano R451s. The Shimanos were paired up to to a set of mechanical R8000 shifters. Per Shimano’s compatibility chart, these were compatible but would suffer from diminished braking performance. I’d say that “diminished braking performance” turned out to be a nice way of saying “utter crap.”
In my experience, switching to Grand Crus felt like going back to disc brake bike by comparison. They’re beautifully made, stop well, and have great modulation. For reference, I live in the mountains so the delta between the two brakesets I’ve run on this bike is probably more extreme. I would suggest them to anyone who is interested in mid-reach brakes.
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Yeah it makes sense that you’d notice more of a difference under those conditions. And also the Tektro 539s were quietly taken for granted (by me) for ~10 years while being pretty good for excellent value. My take on the Grand Cru may have more to do with having had reasonably good brakes to begin with.
Instead of all new brakes, one option you can try is using offset pad holders and a compact reach brake, such as these from BDop Cycling: BDop Brake Pads and Holders - BDop Cycling I’ve been using those on my Stinner for 10 years now, mounted on SRAM Hydraulic rim calipers and Whisky No.7 RD+ fork (mid-reach, AKA “standard”, hole placement). I’ve got a picture here somewhere from when I mounted a 36mm wide tire to see if everything cleared…found it!
Thanks to everyone that’s responded! This is a trove of helpful information.
Lots of great info here, no surprise 
I think the Shimano BR-R650 is no longer made, but that’s a very good brake and likely better than the current Shimano offering. I looked for a while and found a pair (they’re not particularly rare) for my wife’s Salsa Casseroll which is running 700Cx32 tires. The disadvantage is that even paired with Tektro levers that have the button that allows some slack in the cable they don’t open enough to let the 32mm tire slip out easily. I have a Paul Racer on my vintage Bob Jackson because I need a long reach brake, and that brake opens nice and wide. Takes a bit more work to get it set up right. Paul makes a Racer Medium which perhaps would be an option.
This isn’t going to help Josh (not big enough clearance) but for those on a somewhat narrower tyre – I’ve had luck with SRAM Force 22 calipers around a 700x32 Conti GP5000 on my road bike.
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