Cable disc brakes ?

shinobi

Senior Retro Guru
Hi all
Just wondered what experience you guys have had with cable discs ?

Every set I have ever tried have been shocking , horrible spongy things that drag and don't stop .

Is there a combination that actually works with good lever feel and power ?

Cheers Paul
 
The History Man":24qjoggq said:
Avid bb7 with xt v levers work fine on my salsa 29er.
Avid bb7 seems to be the name that crops up most often , any secrets to set up to get good lever feel ?
Paul
 
Make sure you're using V-brake type levers with your cable discs, canti-levers will not pull enough cable.
I've found even budget cable discs work pretty well (better than most rim brakes at any rate).

The Avid calipers are about as good as cable discs get, TRP are another one to look at though.
 
I suspect Jimo has it.
One other point to add is that the Avids come in two versions, one for road and the other for V-levers. Check you don't have road brakes (or pair with different levers).
 
Re:

I have BB7 on the front of one of my bikes but it does need more attention than hydraulics. You can buy a full set of Clark's M2 hydraulics, front and rear callipers, levers, pre-bled and 2 disk rotors (£32.99 delivered on eBay) for the cost of one BB7 caliper and rotor. The Clark's are way superior imho.
 
Re:

Bb7 + compressionless cables can be set up to outperform hydros.

My mtb runs bb7s front and rear and I have another 2 bikes with them on the front (one has rim brakes on the rear, the other a Spyre due to heel clearance).

They aren't as fit and forget as hydros but like I say, a bit of time spent setting them up and all 4 of mine now outperform any hydro I've owned and/or used.
 
FWIW, the biggest problem with cable discs is the cables. You need absolutely top notch cables, with perfectly square ends and high quality stainless inners.
We transformed the ones on my wifes bike by switching from some mid range clarkes stuff to Dura ace/XTR inners and outers.
 
Re: Re:

mechanical_vandal":165ddtdd said:
Bb7 + compressionless cables can be set up to outperform hydros.
Really?
Same pad compounds, same disc, more losses?

Probably pretty close, or crappy hydraulics, but even with the best will in the world a cable will by design be *slightly* worse than a hydraulic. Unless you are matching cost, as hydraulics tends to be more expensive.

You may prefer the feel, but thats a different matter altogether.

And the way the performance drops out is a deal breaker for me.

Just have to persuade the wife to get hydraulics on her CX bike
 
I saw a bike the on the train on wednesday evening, this was obviously set up for reliable distance work,

It was a custom Ti frame with a D1,2 alfine rear hub with toothed belt king headset, spiked tyres and some very nice looking silver cable operated discs.

I would have liked to have found out what they were but the owner wasn't very talkative at all even though I parked my bike next to his and was obviously another cyclist who was interested in his choice of bike.

The train was the wales to Birmingham Int.
 

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