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.
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!
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.
Thanks, that’s something I hadn’t heard before. I’ll pass it along to a friend who’s been bummed about there being no great options for medium-reach rim brakes compatible with the updated brake-cable pull on Shimano 11-speed brifters.
To the extent that you understand the “why”, do you attribute the braking-performance difference to
a) the Grand Cru’s mechanical advantage mates properly with the R8000 levers
b) the Grand Cru brake arms are stiffer than the R451, to a noticeable degree of losing less braking force
I second the TRP RG957, they’re incredible, and not overpriced like some options. Fantastic on a mid drop Genesis Equilibrium, that clears a 35 without mudguards, maybe a 30 with.
A stark improvement on the non-series Shimano ones I had on there before.
As other have said TRP/tektro is the best bang for bucks on the market. I found a discounted pair of Tektro R559 and the braking truly surprised me, similar to a well functionning late ultegra/DA.
When I’m off the bike I dream about Paul’s or Grand Cru, but when I’m back on it I realize it’s all just vain.
Anyways, I hope you’ll share your final build. Sometimes I wonder if my mid-reach bike is the red-pill in my hy-disc matrix
TRP R957 are great. Paul Racers (non medium I have the long reach ones) too, very powerful but feel very on / off (and require notably more force than regular side pulls).
These no-thrills shimanos work well and clear a Barlow Pass 38 mm (YMMV on real world sizes) .
Works really good with short-pull flat bar levers and now with the Weinman levers on Woodchippers.
I had the 451 brakes on a bike for half a year, and didn’t have any issues with stopping power. (Using with 8-speed Sora brifters from the 10-speed era, based on hood shape). I’d guess those brifters were set up for classic Shimano dual-pivot pull ratio.
That said, I have huge hands and am probably less sensitive to braking performance issues than the median cyclist.
Note that the tight clearance on the front brake (in the first pic) is a function of the frame’s brake-bolt-to-dropout distance, not does-the-brake-have-room-for-38mm-slicks. You can see in the 2nd picture that the front brake has pads near top of adjustment slot, while the rear brake has the pads lower down.
