# Dia Compe 985, 986, or 987's?



## wrey (Sep 27, 2008)

So I am putting together a new build, and I have the opportunity to use my choice of Dia Compe brakes. 985, 986, or 987. I prefer the 986's. I think they are the simplest, easiest to adjust, and most attractive. And most importantly I think they have the best "brake feel". Just curious if anyone had an opposing opinion.


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## GMF (Jan 10, 2004)

I enjoyed the 986s when I had them. The looked nice and could be set up for a reasonable amount of power, but they were fussy, and the aluminum was soft. They wore poorly through their frequent readjustments. 

The 987s = any generic later model shimano canti, and the 985s... Never played with those.


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## uphiller (Jan 13, 2004)

I remember the 986's having the same problems that the previous guy mentioned- frequent adjustment and soft metal. It's a shame, because the brake geometry was quite good.


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## chefmiguel (Dec 22, 2007)

No complaints from my 987's, they work well and had none of the issues GMF or Uphiller experienced with the 986.


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## unicrown junkie (Nov 12, 2009)

GMF said:


> I enjoyed the 986s when I had them. The looked nice and could be set up for a reasonable amount of power, but they were fussy, and the aluminum was soft. They wore poorly through their frequent readjustments.
> 
> The 987s = any generic later model shimano canti, and the 985s... Never played with those.


 Couldn't stand the 986s, to me they really never deserved the attention. The soft metal part was mostly due to the weird conical spacers, and at the '94 Worlds in Vail the Dia Compe guy at the booth(great attitude, btw) gave me brand new high quality conicals which did not squish, and helped the brakes somewhat. But still they had a weird feel, at best.

My faves were the 987s, and I refused to try them at first because of my 986 experience. But those 987s worked wonders, with either myXCPro levers or my DC SS7s.

Never rode the 985s, so no opinion.


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## colker1 (Jan 6, 2004)

DC 987s coupled w/ shimano slr plus levers is the best breaking i've had this side of discs. Have not tried rollercams though.


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## old'skool (Jul 2, 2011)

I wanted to like my 987s, but didn't. Mostly because the of the cable attach point, which is behind the arm. Could never really get them dialed in, as adjustment was next to impossible.


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## EBasil (Jan 30, 2004)

I liked the 987's because they were easy to dial in (for canti's) and worked great with SS7's, for example. My wife still has the 987/SS7 combo on her singlespeed. Works great, weighs little.


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