FSA SL-K brakes

We've got on really well with these FSA SL-K dual pivot brakes over the past couple of months, finding them to offer an excellent level of power in dry and - especially - wet conditions.

SL-K is FSA's second-top range. Like Shimano have their Dura-Ace kit at the top followed by Ultegra, and SRAM have Red followed by Force, FSA have K-Force up top and then their SL-K kit. As far as the brakesets go, the SL-K design is essentially the same as the K-Force although it uses stainless steel hardware (main pivot bolts and cable attachment) and alloy pad holders whereas the K-Force comes with titanium hardware and carbon pad holders. You're talking about a weight difference of 20g per brake absolute max. The 302g weight for both callipers (148g front, 154g rear) compares to Shimano's claimed weights of 293g for Dura-Ace and 330g for Ultegra.

These are as straightforward to fit as any calliper brakes. Swapping them on takes minutes and it's a painless Allen key job; nothing complicated there at all. A barrel adjuster on top of the inner arm allows you to alter the cable tension easily enough and you can alter the height of the pads between 40 and 50mm. The ratcheted quick release lever gives enough clearance for even chunky tyres and the dual-compound pads are interchangeable with Shimano's.

Okay, so that's all the background stuff. Out on the road, where it really counts, we were impressed. These brakes are really powerful. In the dry, they have a real bite to them when you apply the pressure but it's on wet roads that they really prove their worth. We took two bikes out in the rain, one fitted with the SL-K brakes, one fitted with Shimano Ultegras. Don't get us wrong, the Ultegras were good; we really rate them. But the SL-Ks had noticeably more punch. We found that they were less affected by the weather and enjoyed the confidence that gave us going downhill and into turns.

Any negatives? Nothing major. The gap in the inner arm and the groove in the outer arm are both magnets for mud. Rather than dirty water rolling off, it stays in those recesses. But that's not a major criticism. It takes two seconds to clean them. Apart from that, all good. I like them a lot.

In terms of price, the SL-Ks aren't cheap, but they fall between Shimano's Ultegras (£119.99) and Dura-Ace (£259.99), and for the performance and all-round quality, we'd say that was fair enough.

Verdict

Lightweight callipers that provide powerful stopping in both wet and dry conditions