# tektro aries mechanical disc brakes



## kcihtred2 (Oct 19, 2016)

So I am looking at a radwagon
RadWagon Electric Cargo Bike | Rad Power Bikes

I am 95% sure this is the bike. Only part I cannot find reviews on is the tektro aries mechanical brakes (had to email the company to find what model they used).

I have read some reviews saying pads can be iffy on tektro's (but that is a $8 fix).

advice?


----------



## jestep (Jul 23, 2004)

Ride them until the wear out, then get some of these: Clarks M2 Hydraulic Disc Brake + Rotor | Chain Reaction Cycles

These are cheap hydros but they're going to be incomparable better than the tektros.

Just speaking personally, I don't like mech discs at all and I've used everything from no name OEM ones to BB7's to TRP cyclocross racing ones. Even the high end ones are hardly an upgrade over V brakes. Just me, but I'd ride them until the pads are toast or you can stand them and get some hydros.


----------



## kcihtred2 (Oct 19, 2016)

jestep said:


> Ride them until the wear out, then get some of these: Clarks M2 Hydraulic Disc Brake + Rotor | Chain Reaction Cycles
> 
> These are cheap hydros but they're going to be incomparable better than the tektros.
> 
> Just speaking personally, I don't like mech discs at all and I've used everything from no name OEM ones to BB7's to TRP cyclocross racing ones. Even the high end ones are hardly an upgrade over V brakes. Just me, but I'd ride them until the pads are toast or you can stand them and get some hydros.


so tl;dr they aren't the best. but they aren't going to kill me?


----------



## jestep (Jul 23, 2004)

kcihtred2 said:


> so tl;dr they aren't the best. but they aren't going to kill me?


As long as they're setup properly they should be safe. If they feel mushy, good quality compressionless cables can make a big difference as well. In either case get used to them so you know their limits on that specific bike.

Mech discs typically leave a lot to be desired especially in situations where you might need a lot of breaking power. Because they bike you're looking at is powered and likely to be heavier than a normal road or mountain bike, hydraulic discs would make a ton of sense as well. But like I said in my first post, just wear out what you have before deciding to upgrade or not, I was just pointing out a cheap but very worth potential upgrade.


----------



## camo1010 (Nov 26, 2016)

I use Tektro Novella mechanicals on my drift trike. They need to be set spot on to be completely effective. They are still pretty good but hydros will always be better. 
Mechanicals tend to glaze the rotors as well.


----------



## phlegm (Jul 13, 2006)

There are only two things you should not cheap out on: helmets, brakes.


----------



## Harold (Dec 23, 2003)

They're cheap mechanicals, but I don't necessarily think that any ol cheap hydro will always be better. I've experienced some awful hydros in the past. The old Hayes Sole come to mind, in particular. I also wouldn't buy just any cheap hydros.

Shimano does their brakes right, and I wouldn't hesitate to buy an inexpensive set of their brakes for a budget bike.

Keep in mind, if you buy hydraulic brakes as an aftermarket upgrade for your bike, you will have to trim the lines. After that, most likely, you will have to then bleed them. According to the grapevine, Shimanos can often be trimmed without a bleed. I'm not good enough to do that, so I just do a mini bleed to push the air out. Shimanos are dead simple to bleed, so it's not a big deal. I just installed a set of Shimano M9020 brakes onto my fatbike, because shimano replaced my M985 brakes that had some corrosion on the levers. Had to trim both the front and rear lines.

I'm also going to emphasize that an electric cargo bike is going to need some pretty robust brakes. You may not ride it fully loaded most of the time, but for those occasions when you do, you want to make sure you can stop it reliably.


----------



## camo1010 (Nov 26, 2016)

You can get hybrid set ups now as well that are hydro brakes but use a cable


----------

