Shimano 105 brakes have arrived..quickly!!

Mid afternoon yesterday I ordered a couple of new BR-5700 Shimano 105 brakes from Jenson USA to replace the mysterious and not really working all that well set of brakes that came with my Specialized Tarmac Elite.

Well.. they have arrived already. Had to cross the border as well.. WOW. I am impressed. I will certainly order from them again. Came to my front door within 24 hours of ordering!

All told shipping plus the cost of the brakes came to $140 CDN. If I had ordered these from Canada Bicycle Parts would have been $160 (even though shipping would have been free) so I saved $20 and still got what I wanted.

Came nicely and safely packaged and both boxes were new and unopened.

Opened them up and got my first look at these brakes. They certainly look the part and I think they will complement my bike very nicely and completes my 105 group (although these are 5700 and I have 5600).

Looking at the brakes a bit closer they certainly appear to be of much higher quality. 

Will go through the install tonight and see how it goes!

Fit Kit – 2010 Specialized Tarmac Elite

2022 UPDATE…I sold the bike and bought a Ribble. It was time. Loved this bike for all those years and sold it for 1k.

2020 UPDATE…I still ride this bike ALL THE TIME.

Here is a Ride from June 2020. Still going fast 10 years ON!!

I changed the seat to a more comfortable Fizik and the bar tape to Black (White Bar Tape is evil!) but the rest is still mostly the same.

What follows is my original review of the 2010 Specialized Tarmac elite.

This bike replaced my 1986 Gardin, which was long in the tooth and if I was going to get serious needed something else.  I bought this bike in August 2010 from the LBS in Smiths Falls Ontario, SportX, and got what I felt was a very good deal as this was towards the end of the year. I thought my budget would only allow me to get the Allez Comp, but came home with the Tarmac!

The bike looks like this

Likes: Smooth ride, great shifting, comfortable, looks great, fast!

Dislikes:seat, brakes

Frame

The frame is Specialized FACT IS 8r carbon fiber, what that means I don’t know but this frame is light, looks great, is stiff and I like the angles it has. I did a lot of internet agonizing over aluminum versus Carbon Fiber and checked with friends and Carbon Fiber just seems the way to go right now. Specialized certainly likes a very fat down tube which compared to the skinny down tube on my Gardin is outright huge and it’s the one aesthetic aspect of the bike I don’t like, other than that the rest looks sweet in my mind. I think in 2011 this frame is called SL2 while the S-Works and higher end spec bikes are 10r/SL3. Either way this bike delivers more than my pedaling can offer. I removed the Saxo Bank sticker on the top tube (super easy, not very well attached really) and I like the carbon weave on the top top. Kept the sticker on the seat tube as that didn’t deter from the overall look.

DriveTrain

The 2010 Tarmac elite uses a Shimano 105 5600 group which includes double crank, brake lever/shifter, and front and rear derailleurs. In a perfect world this would be SRAM RED or DuraAce or Campy Super Record but those are not within my budget and wanted to buy from an LBS so 105 it was. BikesDirect.com seems like an interesting model to get better components cheap so maybe in the future? 

I have done about 700kms so far and nothing has broken, shifts on the rear so far are pretty quick and crisp. Every once in a while I have to tap the brake/shifter lever a bit to get it to engage but not worrisome.

Front is a bit more difficult, I worry a bit that I have broken the lever as it takes some time to move it up or down on the crank, usually just have to do it again. Still has always worked in the end and nothing I am too worried about. I rode a Shimano 2300 equipped Giant bike this summer and the chain was all over the place, dumped the chain a few times, and was frustrating. So far the 105 has held up great.

There is a new Shimano Group for 2011, the 5700, and the 2011 bike is SRAM APEX equipped which I think I would have preferred that but not unhappy with what I have.

CockPit

This is where the Tarmac shines compared to my Gardin. There is a more comfortable reach to the handlebars and the position of the brake levers and the bends in the bars are much more natural.  Maybe a few too many wires but you get used to that right away. The 2011 105 group hides the wires BTW.

Wheels

Don’t really know what to say here. They are wheels. Nothing fancy but do the trick. The rims are Maxic CXP 22, the tires are Specialized Mondo Pro II. The Hub seems to be a no-name brand. No complains really but I assume an upgrade will make a big difference. May be something on my list for next year.

Seat

Seat is a Specialized Toupe (size 143). This is one area that I think I will have to swap out. My butt and this seat just aren’t agreeing. Usually after about 20 minutes the little pain spots appear. I am trying to see if the seat works itself into a better fitting position as I lose weight but consigned to the fact that I will have to find something a bit plusher. There just isn’t enough material for a comfortable seat here.

Brakes

Left the worst for last. I have been trying to figure out who makes these brakes. There are no identifying marks that I can see. I went to an online shop where you can see all the brakes they sell on one page and tried to do a visual match. Nothing. If anybody knows let me know.

It is the only thing I have had to adjust, the rear brake keeps getting a bit loose and rubs. And now I have noticed that the glossy black finish is starting to come off. Already looking at 105 brakes as that would make the bike complete as well but doing some research as naturally you can go with any brakes you want.

Final Thoughts

I am super happy I took the plunge to spend a couple of grand on this bike. Have been pleased with it every time I take it out.  I see myself upgrading to something better over time but for somebody who is overweight and needs to get fit don’t see needing to get anything else until the engine is no longer what is keeping me back!

Since I took the picture below have added about another 100k. 700k seems like a good point in your use of a bike where you start to get a feel if you think you will really like it, and I think I am really starting to love this bike. Swap out the seat and the brakes and I think this may be the start of a great relationship.