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I have a Lectric 2.0 ST ebike and it seems it is hard to find a good replacement for its Tektro MD-M280 calipers. I was wondering if the Tektro MD-C550 could be better as this model is dual piston but I do not exactly know how to verify this.

a) Could MD-C550 be a direct replacement? b) Are there any other models that could replace the MD-M280

My goal is to have a better and more reliable braking system while minimizing the number of changes. Therefore, my first tentative is to find mechanical/semi-hydraulic (cable actuated hydraulic) calipers to just replace the original MD-M280 and left everything else original. I feel this could be very helpful for the maintenance of the bike. For my bike the volume of the calipers could be critical but I do not mind changing rotors.

I wonder if this is the right place to ask this kind of questions. If not, please forgive me as this is the first time I make a question in this site.

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    Welcome! I think it might help if you let us know why you want to replace them / what you want to achieve by replacing them, and if you want to keep them mechanical, and if you want to keep the levers.
    – Burki
    Commented Jan 24 at 8:28

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If you want to replace your mechanical by another mechanical the main specs to pay attention to are the mounting points and cable pull. They differ between "MTB" and road standards: MTBs use "post mount" standards, road bikes use "flat mounts". Cable pull refers to amount of cable travel needed to actuate the brakes, road calipers require less travel than MTB ones. The MD-C550 is a flat mount caliper, so I would assume it's a road one and not compatible with the M280 without adapters.

But generally speaking, unless you need mechanical brakes (there are some applications where they are preferred, like touring), you'd be better off by replacing the brakes by hydraulic brakes (the whole circuit is sealed so not sensitive to dust ingress, and they compensate automatically for the wear of the pads). Entry level Shimano ones (MT200) are very good, dual pistons. A kit that contains the caliper + the handle costs the same a quality mechanical caliper.

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  • The problem with Shimano lever is that my ebike has a wire that signals the bike about the braking action and this level does not include that wire.
    – Jose
    Commented Jan 24 at 8:51
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    I wonder if something in the GRX groupset has electric brake switch options? Or OP might have to find some kind of separate switch. Perhaps a microswitch positioned so the lever presses it (fiddly-faffy and not waterproof) or maybe there's an inline hydraulic componen that can work as a switch without compromising brake function.
    – Criggie ♦
    Commented Jan 24 at 9:45
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    @Criggie I guess you meant CUES? (GRX is a gravel groupset). To my knowledge, Shimano doesn't indeed have braking system at any level, but Magura does have one, and IIRC Tektro has an hydraulic lever with brake light switch as well.
    – Rеnаud
    Commented Jan 24 at 15:18

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