# Outside of weight, what are the differences between 105 and Dura Ace brakes?



## Typetwelve

I'm not really one for blindly replacing components but lately, I've found my brakes to be lacking. I'm currently running 105 5700 brakes and I don't feel they stop as well as they should. I've adjusted the brakes, tuned the lever throw and even switched to Kool-stop pads...but I'm still not overly impressed at stopping power at 20+ mph. 

Now...I did switch to 23mm wide wheels...which seem to have made things a bit worse...

Either way...brakes are something I take seriously so I have been looking at the upper level brakes Shimano offers...including the BR-9000 Dura-Ace line.

I've been having a hard time finding much on the functionality of these sets...as-in this one stops better than this one. Basically, all that is talked about is weight savings. Am I missing something or is this the primary difference between the 5700 and 9000? 

Not being much of a weight weenie, I am not interested in weight savings, I'm looking for better performance.

Either way...any advice would be great.


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## Cinelli 82220

I've never used 5700 but have the 7900 brakes on one bike which are a similar design and they are plenty powerful. 
The 9000 brakes are even more powerful, and are a much different design.
You should get your brakes checked out by a decent shop, Shimano brakes are usually very good. Try the new Ultegra 6800 brakes, they are the same design as the 9000 with more economical finish and material but similar performance.


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## 1nterceptor

What levers are you using now? All levers may not be compatible with all brakes.
Check Shimano's compatibility chart.


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## mann2

The pads on the DA bite better.


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## nhluhr

mann2 said:


> The pads on the DA bite better.


The pads on DA are identical.

The difference is in the material stiffness (a metallurgical difference) and the finishes to reduce linkage friction, leading to more efficient conversion of cable pull to braking power.


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## jtjose

The Dura-Ace 7900 added . 2 symmetric pivot points located closer to brake pad. This reduces flex on the brake pad itself. It also has symmetric brake points makes for equal braking pressure on both pads. There are also ball bearings at each pivot for smoothness and efficiency as well as rollers in the central arch which keeps everything moving smoothly. Finally, DA uses reduced friction polymer cables to reduce shifting effort and increase braking power.
This is just a guess, but I think the next generation of 105 will have the new polymer cables since the new Ultegra 6800 has it now, but again, this is only a guess.


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## darwinosx

nhluhr said:


> The pads on DA are identical.
> 
> The difference is in the material stiffness (a metallurgical difference) and the finishes to reduce linkage friction, leading to more efficient conversion of cable pull to braking power.


No, they aren't.


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## nhluhr

darwinosx said:


> No, they aren't.


Hush now, the grown-ups are talking.

BR-7900 (Dura Ace Brake Caliper) uses the R55C3 brake shoe.

BR-5700 (105 Brake Caliper) uses the...drumroll.... R55C3 brake shoe.


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## aramis

nhluhr said:


> Hush now, the grown-ups are talking.
> 
> BR-7900 (Dura Ace Brake Caliper) uses the R55C3 brake shoe.
> 
> BR-5700 (105 Brake Caliper) uses the...drumroll.... R55C3 brake shoe.


Yup. No such thing as a "dura ace pad".


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## darwinosx

You are very brave over an Internet forum.



nhluhr said:


> Hush now, the grown-ups are talking.
> 
> BR-7900 (Dura Ace Brake Caliper) uses the R55C3 brake shoe.
> 
> BR-5700 (105 Brake Caliper) uses the...drumroll.... R55C3 brake shoe.


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## nhluhr

darwinosx said:


> You are very brave over an Internet forum.


??? What, you want to fight me because I pointed out that you have no clue what you're talking about?


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## Typetwelve

darwinosx said:


> You are very brave over an Internet forum.





nhluhr said:


> ??? What, you want to fight me because I pointed out that you have no clue what you're talking about?


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## Cinelli 82220

darwinosx said:


> You are very brave over an Internet forum.


Is he wrong about the brake pads?


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## tihsepa

darwinosx said:


> You are very brave over an Internet forum.


And you are very wrong. Whats your point?


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## Typetwelve

I thought I'd chime in that I'll more than likely be picking up a set of 6800 brakes before next riding season. They can be found currently for $150/set and review very well. By what I've read, they will work with my 5700 shifters just fine...


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## Cinelli 82220

6800 is the home run group of the year. All the features of 9000 and a lot cheaper, for a negligible weight difference.


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## Typetwelve

Just thought I'd chuck it out there that with the $10 off code, you can get a set of 6800 brakes for $121 shipped from Chain Reaction at the moment...just about to hop on that myself...





*EDIT*
Aaaaannnd done. They should be here in a week or so.


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## easyridernyc

Typetwelve said:


> I'm not really one for blindly replacing components but lately, I've found my brakes to be lacking. I'm currently running 105 5700 brakes and I don't feel they stop as well as they should. I've adjusted the brakes, tuned the lever throw and even switched to Kool-stop pads...but I'm still not overly impressed at stopping power at 20+ mph.
> 
> Now...I did switch to 23mm wide wheels...which seem to have made things a bit worse...
> 
> Either way...brakes are something I take seriously so I have been looking at the upper level brakes Shimano offers...including the BR-9000 Dura-Ace line.
> 
> I've been having a hard time finding much on the functionality of these sets...as-in this one stops better than this one. Basically, all that is talked about is weight savings. Am I missing something or is this the primary difference between the 5700 and 9000?
> 
> Not being much of a weight weenie, I am not interested in weight savings, I'm looking for better performance.
> 
> Either way...any advice would be great.


the ultegra 6700 brakes are kinda awesome, they stop on a dime. after reading bad news about the 7900 i went for ultegra, and the reviews were spot on. 

check 6700


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## Typetwelve

easyridernyc said:


> the ultegra 6700 brakes are kinda awesome, they stop on a dime. after reading bad news about the 7900 i went for ultegra, and the reviews were spot on.
> 
> check 6700


By what over read...the difference between the 5700 and 6700 brake set is not that large (the two are nearly identical save some finish and a very small weight difference). I was originally asking about the 9000 because I read of the different design of the unit. At the time, I hadn't read about the 6800...which is considerably different than the 6700 in terms of function design. Compared the the cost of the 9000, the 6800 is a "bargain".


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## nhluhr

You should know the Dura Ace 9000 brake and the Ultegra 6800 brake share the same pad, but these are an updated "R55C4" pad vs the older versions of the groups.


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## Typetwelve

nhluhr said:


> you should know the dura ace 9000 brake and the ultegra 6800 brake share the same pad, but these are an updated "r55c4" pad vs the older versions of the groups.


lol...


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## Typetwelve

I thought I'd add a small update here…I installed the 6800 brakes tonight. The install went perfectly fine and my 5700 shifters work just fine. On a side note…these are way better built brakes than my 5700 set. The difference in build is immediate when you simply look at the two. Hopefully, the weather is good Sunday and I'll be able to hit the road with them.


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