Are all boosters the same???

[bishbosh]

As above really - my Kilauea frame is not man enough for the XT V brakes resulting in very poor braking and lots of seat stay flex. Not good.

So, I am not hunting for ultra light, I am looking for ultra stiff are there any recommendations out there or are they really all the same?

Thanks,

Bish.

 

[azaro]

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewto ... t=#1174952

These any good to you. Bought them off here but haven't used them.
Believe they're Joe Murray ones so would be perfect for your Kona.

 

[bishbosh]

Possibly - are they going to be compatible with V brakes?

I would also only need / want one for the rear as I have RC35's up front.

 

[We_are_Stevo]

Yes, they'll work with V's - have some myself. You'll still see movement (fitted Gorillas to my daughters Kilauea for same reason) but no where near as much.

Your Pace fork legs may not flex but the brake bosses will - fit both...

 

[dyna-ti]

No.Some are more equal than others

 

[We_are_Stevo]

I dunno? You're putting a lot of torque through a steel stud screwed into an alloy collar - there's going to be flex under heavy braking?

I'm not a great Pace fan but I've seen plenty of period photo's of race bikes with a brace/booster fitted...

 

[Andy R]

As above really - my Kilauea frame is not man enough for the XT V brakes resulting in very poor braking and lots of seat stay flex. Not good.

Bish.

If you're having to apply excessive lever pressure to get the brake to work well then I'd be looking for the reason for that before resorting to fitting a booster.
Old age hardened pads, too hard a compound for the conditions, badly contaminated pads, badly worn rims that new pads can't conform to or bad set-up are all possible candidates.
You shouldn't need a booster to get a back brake to work well IMHO and the stays on a Kilauea aren't that light or flexy. Anyway, I always liked a little bit of flex on a rear brake - it always seems to improve the modulation.
It's why I don't use a booster with HS-33's on my '88 Explosif. Yes, I could flex the stays a fair bit but it's a rear brake - when do you ever need to be applying that much pressure?

 

[petitpal]

BITD I always used to use a Gorilla (booster, not the ape) on my Mag 21s, with middle-of-the-road cantis,and found it helped a lot. Later, when I changed frame (from steel to alu) and upgraded my front brakes to Onza HOs I moved the booster to the back and, again, found it helped.

Gorilla was always sound for me and also another excuse to have something anodized and purple. Which was nice.

 

[Elev12k]

You speak German? Take a look overhere >>

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewto ... =labortest

 

[bishbosh]

Thanks all for the feedback.

Andy R - I am confident the brakes are correctly set up but the pads are old (but only about 200 miles of use) and so are the rims so it could be a bedding in issue. Not intending to change rims or pads so I shall have to see if they improve over time now I am actually riding the thing again!

From a structural point of view, putting that amount of torsional stress into the stay cannot be a good thing so I tihnk I'll give the boosters a try.

Elev12k - do I speak German? Nein

Stevo - will a booster fit on RC35's without fouling the frame of the bike?

Azaro - you have a PM.

Petitpal - Purple? You need therapy old bean!! :shock: