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Good brakes in 2022

bullcrew

3 Dude Approved
still favorite brakes to-date. strong and consistent.



only 'gripe' (which doesn't even affect me) is the closest you can dial the levers to the grip might not be close enough for small hands.




That's good to know I have paws for hands 3 and 4 xl gloves....yeah buddy offered me a set well below cost so I'm deciding if I want to ace my cost R 2mm galfer rotor and green pro pads combo...they are badass..
 

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
54,232
20,016
Sleazattle
Anyone ever drill and tap some holes into their calipers for adjustment screws like Hayes. Would certainly compromise the strength but seeing the mounting bolt maintains compression I doubt it would be much of a problem.
 

6thElement

Schrodinger's Immigrant
Jul 29, 2008
15,827
13,063
Anyone ever drill and tap some holes into their calipers for adjustment screws like Hayes. Would certainly compromise the strength but seeing the mounting bolt maintains compression I doubt it would be much of a problem.
popcorn.gif
 

4xBoy

Turbo Monkey
Jun 20, 2006
7,014
2,847
Minneapolis
Anyone ever drill and tap some holes into their calipers for adjustment screws like Hayes. Would certainly compromise the strength but seeing the mounting bolt maintains compression I doubt it would be much of a problem.
Pic. for clarification.

Screenshot_20221120_111925_Chrome.jpg
 

Gary

"S" is for "neo-luddite"
Aug 27, 2002
7,536
5,470
UK
Maybe I'm just too used to my own techniques for aligning brake calipers but the Dominions I've fitted I didn't really find the crosshair grubscrew system anymore helpful for aligning the caliper to the rotor than without.
I tend to align many normal calipers in a similar way to Hayes fitting instructions anyway though. ie. by just nipping up the caliper mounting bolts tight enough that you can then align the caliper by hand before torquing them down properly. I'm pretty sure I didn't even bother using the grub screws to aligning the last few sets then just nipped them into place afterwards to look as if they had been used.
 
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Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,853
9,557
AK
Its a superior system, especially as time goes on and your caliper adapter/frame interface gets indexed.
 

Andeh

Customer Title
Mar 3, 2020
997
973
Anyone ever drill and tap some holes into their calipers for adjustment screws like Hayes. Would certainly compromise the strength but seeing the mounting bolt maintains compression I doubt it would be much of a problem.
Not an engineer, but looking at mine they take out an awful lot of material. I'd guess you could probably do it on other brakes, as long as the caliper body material is strong. I'd be hesitant to try it on Shimano since they like to make things out of cheesium.
 

toodles

ridiculously corgi proportioned
Aug 24, 2004
5,479
4,719
Australia
To me the main benefit would be to set once and make centring the caliper in the same spot after removal easy, but I really wasn't having a huge issue with it for the past however many years without the crosshair alignment. I certainly don't see the benefit being worth the risk or drilling and tapping threads in a caliper that wasn't built with it in mind.
 

Gary

"S" is for "neo-luddite"
Aug 27, 2002
7,536
5,470
UK
Not an engineer, but looking at mine they take out an awful lot of material. I'd guess you could probably do it on other brakes, as long as the caliper body material is strong. I'd be hesitant to try it on Shimano since they like to make things out of cheesium.
Mate of mine is on his 3rd saint caliper this year because of them continually snapping across the mount
He's not an engineer either mind ;)
 

Andeh

Customer Title
Mar 3, 2020
997
973
Mate of mine is on his 3rd saint caliper this year because of them continually snapping across the mount
He's not an engineer either mind ;)
Yeah, a buddy of mine has had 2 XTRs break at that point. Never seen any other brand break there, hence the name & shame of Shimano.
 

Gary

"S" is for "neo-luddite"
Aug 27, 2002
7,536
5,470
UK
Yeah, a buddy of mine has had 2 XTRs break at that point. Never seen any other brand break there, hence the name & shame of Shimano.
Were those both rear calipers also? and were they on shimano mounts?
some shimano post mount adapters are designed such that when you offer the caliper to the mount the connection between the two is not actually flush. Shimano's idea of fixing this seemed to be adding longer bolts with concave/convex washers above the caliper. Which clearly still won't fully relieve the stress caused on the caliper.
:nerd:
 

Andeh

Customer Title
Mar 3, 2020
997
973
Were those both rear calipers also? and were they on shimano mounts?
some shimano post mount adapters are designed such that when you offer the caliper to the mount the connection between the two is not actually flush. Shimano's idea of fixing this seemed to be adding longer bolts with concave/convex washers above the caliper. Which clearly still won't fully relieve the stress caused on the caliper.
:nerd:
Yes, and yes.
 

norbar

KESSLER PROBLEM. Just cause
Jun 7, 2007
11,346
1,587
Warsaw :/
Forgot a about Duncon. They still going?
Naah. They died around 8 years ago. Weirdly they had the strongest start from the 3 distributor started Polish bike companies but they didn't expand abroad plus their later fs bikes had a fton of issues. I still use a proto DC Pussy as my pumptrack bike.
 

Brian HCM#1

MMMMMMMMM BEER!!!!!!!!!!
Sep 7, 2001
32,119
378
Bay Area, California
Naah. They died around 8 years ago. Weirdly they had the strongest start from the 3 distributor started Polish bike companies but they didn't expand abroad plus their later fs bikes had a fton of issues. I still use a proto DC Pussy as my pumptrack bike.
They also purchased the rights to Karpiel in like 2009/10ish. Jan was hoping it would elevate the company, deeper pockets etc. but it never happened. It lasted 2-3 years then Duncon went out.
 

norbar

KESSLER PROBLEM. Just cause
Jun 7, 2007
11,346
1,587
Warsaw :/
They also purchased the rights to Karpiel in like 2009/10ish. Jan was hoping it would elevate the company, deeper pockets etc. but it never happened. It lasted 2-3 years then Duncon went out.
I remember he made a reasonably modern geo version of Disco Volante (or Army? Not sure) one off for a friend of mine.

Still imho it was a bad idea to go with Jan at that time. I remember some of his theories on stiffness and he was just wrong on those. Plus the 2nd iteration of his bikes had some issues (like the fact that the adjustable geo affected suspension by way more than current geo adjusts do and good geo meant bad susp). Despite the cult status those bikes were not liked by the people that rode them. You could get a better bike in 2010.

They generally had issues with finding a good designer/engineer at Duncon. Their main guy was not really into bikes as much as he wanted to chase other things if I remember right. Dartmoor and NS bikes also fared better because they won over the less competitive DJ and hardtail market (especially easier to grow locally since Poland is 90% flat). NS also always looked great so that helped them stand out. (Their Creative guy started a gravel brand now, not sure if he still designs them)
 

Brian HCM#1

MMMMMMMMM BEER!!!!!!!!!!
Sep 7, 2001
32,119
378
Bay Area, California
I remember he made a reasonably modern geo version of Disco Volante (or Army? Not sure) one off for a friend of mine.

Still imho it was a bad idea to go with Jan at that time. I remember some of his theories on stiffness and he was just wrong on those. Plus the 2nd iteration of his bikes had some issues (like the fact that the adjustable geo affected suspension by way more than current geo adjusts do and good geo meant bad susp). Despite the cult status those bikes were not liked by the people that rode them. You could get a better bike in 2010.

They generally had issues with finding a good designer/engineer at Duncon. Their main guy was not really into bikes as much as he wanted to chase other things if I remember right. Dartmoor and NS bikes also fared better because they won over the less competitive DJ and hardtail market (especially easier to grow locally since Poland is 90% flat). NS also always looked great so that helped them stand out. (Their Creative guy started a gravel brand now, not sure if he still designs them)
He did make a newer Disco & Army. I was the US distributer for Karpiel from 2007-2014. Lots of Disco's were available only a handful of Armageddon's were made. Basically identical bikes suspension wise. They rode fairly well, pedaled/ cornered better than his original bikes. Unfortunately Jan kept the geo kind of the same with the newer bikes, I did have him slacken out my 2010 Disco a bike which felt better, he then started to do the same on the Discos/Armageddons until they stopped production. He's made a few 29ers for some in the recent past, but not sure if he's going to continue them.
 

norbar

KESSLER PROBLEM. Just cause
Jun 7, 2007
11,346
1,587
Warsaw :/
He did make a newer Disco & Army. I was the US distributer for Karpiel from 2007-2014. Lots of Disco's were available only a handful of Armageddon's were made. Basically identical bikes suspension wise. They rode fairly well, pedaled/ cornered better than his original bikes. Unfortunately Jan kept the geo kind of the same with the newer bikes, I did have him slacken out my 2010 Disco a bike which felt better, he then started to do the same on the Discos/Armageddons until they stopped production. He's made a few 29ers for some in the recent past, but not sure if he's going to continue them.
I remember you could get the geo to be reasonably modern (by 2010 standards) but then I think the travel went to 230 or 240 and it didn't have the best leverage curve. Though my main issue was stiffness. I remember Jan saying on some events DH bikes didn't need to be stiff (and I think maybe even said noodly bikes = better traction) and while I weigh as much as a wet poodle flexy bikes are something I hate. Not because I ride fast but I think anyone benefits from as much laterall stiffness as possible.
 

HardtailHack

used an iron once
Jan 20, 2009
6,630
5,443
Yeah, a buddy of mine has had 2 XTRs break at that point. Never seen any other brand break there, hence the name & shame of Shimano.
Mentioned it before but my old Magura Julie snapped there, did a sorta 180 endo to rear hop and it went bang.
Guess it wasn't really meant to take load that way.
 

canadmos

Cake Tease
May 29, 2011
20,190
19,156
Canaderp
Were those both rear calipers also? and were they on shimano mounts?
some shimano post mount adapters are designed such that when you offer the caliper to the mount the connection between the two is not actually flush. Shimano's idea of fixing this seemed to be adding longer bolts with concave/convex washers above the caliper. Which clearly still won't fully relieve the stress caused on the caliper.
:nerd:
Shimano post mount adapters have always seemed dodgy to me. As you mention they don't sit flush and the bolts aren't that great either, they rust and have 4mm heads on them.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,853
9,557
AK
With great power comes…loose rotors? My front rotor bolts were all loose towards the end of the ride today. Since im vacationing and installing rotors just for a few days, I don’t think to locktite them…but wow. Wonder if the power of the t4v4 and 223 has something to do with it. Definitely haven’t had bolts go loose so fast. Centerlock is on my racing xc bike, but thats a pain because you have to bring a relatively big and heavy tool for a single purpose when weight is a premium (traveling).
 

boostindoubles

Nacho Libre
Mar 16, 2004
7,839
6,145
Yakistan
After the first proper ride on the Shigura setup I feel a little silly. I went from Magura Trail Sports 180f/160r to Magura TS 4 pot calipers f/r mated to Shimano 8100 levers. The TRP fluid hasn't shown up yet so they have a mix of Magura and Shimano blood. I went to 180f/r rotors also.

But damn this Shigura setup feels like the first real set of brakes I've had. Pulling the lever feels like pulling the trigger on a gun. I can't get the lever within an inch of the grip.

I think part of it is moving to the dual 4pot and bumping the rear rotor to 180mm. They feel amazing though. I've got Magura rotors coming also so it's even gonna get better.
 

boylagz

Monkey
Jul 12, 2011
558
61
SF bay area
Formula Cura 4 brakes for about 3 months now. Best lever feel imho vs Codes, current gen Shimano 4 pots. With a good bleed (which is so easy to do), lever feel is consistent no matter what, with all the power you need. Only shlt part is no swivel screw at the caliper end.
 

Da Peach

Outwitted by a rodent
Jul 2, 2002
13,681
4,904
North Van
Alright, so... I got swept up in Christmas giddiness and bought a set (or 2) of Hayes Dominion A4.

Having done a bit of nerding out previously, I realised that I'd need to either buy some clamps for the AXS shifters (dropper, shifter), or get the Peacemaker adapters available from Hayes.

So, in my frenzy, I bought 2 Peacemakers (perhaps 3 beers deep).

They arrived yesterday, and it they sent me the wrong ones... As I was researching whether I was really 4 beers deep and ordered the Shimano by mistake (I didn't, they just shipped the wrong ones), I discovered that there isn't a Peacemaker available for the dropper remote. Shit.

So, given I am at my desk, and not in my shed, does anyone know if I could just steal part of my clamp from my Codes that have the matchmaker adapter and use that half of the claim with my Dominions?
 

norbar

KESSLER PROBLEM. Just cause
Jun 7, 2007
11,346
1,587
Warsaw :/
Alright, so... I got swept up in Christmas giddiness and bought a set (or 2) of Hayes Dominion A4.

Having done a bit of nerding out previously, I realised that I'd need to either buy some clamps for the AXS shifters (dropper, shifter), or get the Peacemaker adapters available from Hayes.

So, in my frenzy, I bought 2 Peacemakers (perhaps 3 beers deep).

They arrived yesterday, and it they sent me the wrong ones... As I was researching whether I was really 4 beers deep and ordered the Shimano by mistake (I didn't, they just shipped the wrong ones), I discovered that there isn't a Peacemaker available for the dropper remote. Shit.

So, given I am at my desk, and not in my shed, does anyone know if I could just steal part of my clamp from my Codes that have the matchmaker adapter and use that half of the claim with my Dominions?
Why are you doing your bike part shopping on shrooms?
 

toodles

ridiculously corgi proportioned
Aug 24, 2004
5,479
4,719
Australia
Lol, I've now got Dominion A4s on both bikes as well.

Previously I was using the Hope matchmaker thingys on my Tech3 levers for the SRAM shifter and Bikeyoke dropper. I thought about getting the Hayes Peacemakers, but (a) I can't find a LHS one for the dropper and (b) they want $55 for them here.

I ended up just going back to separate clamps for them after rummaging through the garage to find the old clamps I took off. Funny story - SRAM wants like $40 for that bit if you lose the stupid thing.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,853
9,557
AK
Separate clamps every time. I got caught on a vacation in Bellingham when my 785 era with i-spec b puked. I was using an 8000 shifter and no shop had the -85 lever/brakes anymore, no shop had any way to adapt the current 000 series to the shifters either. Ended up jerry-rigging something up but screw integrated mounts, they can screw you bad on a bike trip. Never again.
 

Da Peach

Outwitted by a rodent
Jul 2, 2002
13,681
4,904
North Van
I suppose I can just use my Code clamp to only hold my dropper remote...

I've not actually been within 40ft of my bike in about 4 weeks and can't think of what might work/clash.

Aliexpress clamp time!
 

toodles

ridiculously corgi proportioned
Aug 24, 2004
5,479
4,719
Australia
Separate clamps every time. I got caught on a vacation in Bellingham when my 785 era with i-spec b puked. I was using an 8000 shifter and no shop had the -85 lever/brakes anymore, no shop had any way to adapt the current 000 series to the shifters either. Ended up jerry-rigging something up but screw integrated mounts, they can screw you bad on a bike trip. Never again.
I always just chuck in one of the stand-alone clamps when I go away
 

canadmos

Cake Tease
May 29, 2011
20,190
19,156
Canaderp
For these little adapters, assuming someone can design it and do that part of the work, how much would it cost to 3d print it in metal?

Because $40-$55 for something like that is :panic: