Back to the brakes topic - I got inspired to order the MTB-pull drop levers. Thinking that I already have a nice disk wheelset - might as well try it with my shiny chino-hybryd-hydro callipers. If imlach got a good result out of spykes, I might give disks one last try before I go reaming out the carbon frame for drop callipers.
Trp Spykes vs bb7
- Thread starter Imlach
- Start date
Appreciate the link in PM. I will probably get the 40 bob one from ebay as its got black. Cracking deal though. Fingers crossed it'll perform as well as my beloved b17s
I will be taking the monkey out for a few rides this week, I'll try to take them to some of the most hilly woodland I know a bit south of me, which is perfect terrain to test them.
I reckon that is you best bet. In all honesty I got a shudder thinking you would put caliper rim brakes on it - if I was driven to that point the frame would get relegated for other things awaiting a touring or CX frame with proper canti bosses to come along.
Are they the Tektro do-dars? I've used them and they did the job well. You may find the pivot point and lever profile a little weird initially since they physically can not be a 100% match to a traditional road short pull lever.
...Is that a single speed without a tensioner or ghost gear? 
Yep, tektros. Still need to get a bar end shifter, or do a ghetto shift hack and mount a 9 speed dt shifter on the lever
I believe caliper brakes put less stress on the fork compared to disk brakes, so the front should be fine with calipers... My road bike has a carbon fork and a caliper brake and it seems to be OK. The rear is the concern, where the bridge is rather thin.
I even found a set of Dia-compe extra long reach brakes that will work on this frame.
But will give disks one last chance.
What's the general though on re-using old disks that are not heavily worn with new pads? A big no-no, or should work OK?
Yep, tektros. Still need to get a bar end shifter, or do a ghetto shift hack and mount a 9 speed dt shifter on the lever
I believe caliper brakes put less stress on the fork compared to disk brakes, so the front should be fine with calipers... My road bike has a carbon fork and a caliper brake and it seems to be OK. The rear is the concern, where the bridge is rather thin.
I even found a set of Dia-compe extra long reach brakes that will work on this frame.
But will give disks one last chance.
What's the general though on re-using old disks that are not heavily worn with new pads? A big no-no, or should work OK?
Right, @Imlach how did you bed your pads & rotors in?
Installed the tektro levers. Funny pivot point indeed. Ran them with the chinese hydro-hybrid thingies. Did a 20-stop bed in and the brakes are starting to bite. Still not rim-brake level. If I brake from the drops, I get good leverage, but if I brake from the hoods, I'm not getting much bite at all.
I can fit alternative MTB calipers I guess.
Or use a BMX caliper brake up front and retrofit bosses on the seatstays & epoxy then onto the frame with cf tow
The frame might end up on ebay, but it's really sweet to ride so I want to try and make it work.
Installed the tektro levers. Funny pivot point indeed. Ran them with the chinese hydro-hybrid thingies. Did a 20-stop bed in and the brakes are starting to bite. Still not rim-brake level. If I brake from the drops, I get good leverage, but if I brake from the hoods, I'm not getting much bite at all.
I can fit alternative MTB calipers I guess.
Or use a BMX caliper brake up front and retrofit bosses on the seatstays & epoxy then onto the frame with cf tow
The frame might end up on ebay, but it's really sweet to ride so I want to try and make it work.
Got them fitted yesterday with a short couple of circuits around the block to bed in the pads. Done my usual 22 mile commute on them today & very pleased. They are sharp - I locked the back wheel a couple of times. I may back them off a bit but I'll be doing 100 mile or so over the next week first before I make up my mind. I've got to bleed the Hope Mono's these replaced so I can fit them to my ebike & I'm resisting temptation to get another set of BB7's instead.
Didn't really do much, didn't even test the brakes before I took them for a 15 km trip on hilly gravel paths, they started biting over time and are increasingly biting. But still, with my rim brakes it's far quicker engagement, and I use the same levers. When you say brake from the hoods, what do you mean there?Right, @Imlach how did you bed your pads & rotors in?
Installed the tektro levers. Funny pivot point indeed. Ran them with the chinese hydro-hybrid thingies. Did a 20-stop bed in and the brakes are starting to bite. Still not rim-brake level. If I brake from the drops, I get good leverage, but if I brake from the hoods, I'm not getting much bite at all.
I can fit alternative MTB calipers I guess.
Or use a BMX caliper brake up front and retrofit bosses on the seatstays & epoxy then onto the frame with cf tow
The frame might end up on ebay, but it's really sweet to ride so I want to try and make it work.
I'm running drop bars, with long-pull tektro levers as of tonight, similar to the ones in Woz's photo. If I keep my hands on the hoods, there's no bite. If I use the full lever from the drops, I'm starting to get some response. Part of the problem is the different pivot location and part of the problem is the longer cable pull I guess, but still, I expect a lot more bite.
Might take them on another wee cycle, but will be enjoying the bliss of caliper brakes on a different bike tomorrow morning.
I'm definitely not buying another disk brake frameset ever, even if that means that I'll need to braze my own frames from various Reynolds scraps that I can find at the tip. Enough is enough. Pizza cutters are for pizzazz.
I still have a few options with this frameset though.
- Ebay it and be happy
- Put in a flat bar and be happy.
- Put in BMX calipers (will require some epoxy & cf reinforcing work on the rear triangle mount
), build a new wheelset and be happy.
Might take them on another wee cycle, but will be enjoying the bliss of caliper brakes on a different bike tomorrow morning.
I'm definitely not buying another disk brake frameset ever, even if that means that I'll need to braze my own frames from various Reynolds scraps that I can find at the tip. Enough is enough. Pizza cutters are for pizzazz.
I still have a few options with this frameset though.
- Ebay it and be happy
- Put in a flat bar and be happy.
- Put in BMX calipers (will require some epoxy & cf reinforcing work on the rear triangle mount
), build a new wheelset and be happy.
