How much braking power should I expect?

[indysteel]

Also, could you have had your brakes engaged just enough that the pads glazed a bit on the descent and your rims heated? I know a small rider who heated through her rims descending Diablo because she was slightly dragging them the entire time instead of applying and releasing, and repeating.

I generally brake and release repeatedly to avoid overheating so I don't think it was that. And my fit is good. I can reach my brakes without any problem from my hoods and drops. These descents were steep but not overly long. If they'd been any longer, my hands would have really cramped up. There's an 8-mile climb in Tennessee that I want to do in September, and I want to feel more confident about it than I currently do.

I've got an appointment with my fitter tomorrow and will chat about it with him. As a general matter, how much do the calipers themselves matter?

Thanks, gang!

[Eden]

I think the calipers make a big difference... many bikes with middle of the road Shimano (not sure about Campy) group sets have cheap Tektro brakes on them. IMHO they aren't very nice.... I can definitely tell the difference between good calipers and bad ones - mainly in how grabby they are, the good calipers are much more smooth, but yeah maybe in how hard you have to grip the brakes too.

That said, I think long descents can be just as tiring as long ascents.... if its a twisty descent and you have to do a lot of braking, it can be quite hard on your upper body. So, some of it may be the brakes and some of it may be getting used to the descending too.

[SadieKate]

The calipers can matter a lot but Mirage are modern dual pivot short reach calipers. These should be plenty stiff.

Remember that those calipers would have been Record calipers only a few years back.

BTW, were you smiling as you were descending? I ask because it helps you relax. I wonder if you had your hands tensed even if you weren't squeezing the levers. Just asking because I certainly empathize.

Yeah, I thought your fit would be good.

[alpinerabbit]

yeah talk to the bike store guy. have him try it out on a full stop and see what he thinks.
Have him check the rims, too.

ps. yes, there are differences. I found the cheaper 105 on our rental bikes more "aggressive" than my ultegra or previous campy. they bite, but you can't "dose" as subtly. But that should not be your problem as you're saying they don't bite at all?

[Tuckervill]

That was great, Mimi, thanks!

Karen

[indysteel]

The calipers can matter a lot but Mirage are modern dual pivot short reach calipers. These should be plenty stiff.

Remember that those calipers would have been Record calipers only a few years back.

BTW, were you smiling as you were descending? I ask because it helps you relax. I wonder if you had your hands tensed even if you weren't squeezing the levers. Just asking because I certainly empathize.

Yeah, I thought your fit would be good.

Smiling? Probably not. For some reason, these downhills in particular had me spooked because they had sharp turns at the bottom that the ride organizers warned us about. Plus, some of the roads were kind of torn up. I felt more uneasy than I normally do. I'll watch my upper body tension next time.

Frankly, I was tense all the way around for at least half of this ride. I had the hot foot from hell and it made for a very long day in the saddle.

I'll make sure everything checks out. The more I think about it, the more I have to wonder if my cables have stretched since March. That seems like a likely issue.

Thanks for all the helpful input.

[aicabsolut]

Calipers matter. In my experience trying to stop from slow speeds (anticipating the stop) on a steep downhill grade (almost always catch a red light at the bottom), Ultegra calipers are a huge step above 105. I will probably upgrade my 105 calipers to Ultegra or Ultegra-SL before I upgrade my shifters because they bother me so much. I can lock up a wheel without too much effort on the flat by grabbing hard, but there's something about these calipers where some added gravity is just too much for them.

I know that some other manufacturers (SRAM, Campy), tend to have similar functionality in lower end models as higher end for all components, and weight and design are the primary advances made with more $$, but perhaps not with everything, like your calipers.

[SadieKate]

Campy has traditionally brought in new designs at the Record level and then moved everything down a level (last year's Record is relabeled as current year's Chorus). Those Mirage calipers should be the same as the Chorus brakes I rode from 1999 to 2007, and were plenty powerful.

Campy has also been known for stiffer arms across the levels as opposed to Shimano, which has had noticeable differences between levels.

Indy, I betcha that the tenseness had a lot to do with it. I've done the same thing.