Interesting point- there has been a trend towards straight fork blades in recent years, which is contrary to the way things developed over the preceding 120 years, where curved blades became the norm. A straight blade may well have to bend a fair way forward to give 1cm vertical deflection, but a curved blade less so, particularly if the curve is concentrated towards the bottom of the fork as with top quality French Constructeur bikes. I have watched the front wheel of my old 1980s hand built Reynolds 531 steel tourer deflecting nicely over the bumps by at least 1cm vertically. I have also noticed the difference between the deflection of my Pompino's fork with 32mm Vittoria Voyager Hypers and the forks of my current touring bike, built to take take front panniers when unloaded with 35mm Vittoria Voyager Hypers- the latter forks are stiffer and only ride nicely when fully loaded. The ride quality also is worse on the tourer until it is loaded up, despite the bigger but otherwise identical tyres.
Awful brakes on my ebike
- Thread starter flik9999
- Start date
Hey I swapped the fork out for one with slightly longer reach this allowed me to fit my dual calliper. It now stops like a dream for me.
I kinda like the vintage look and feel of the bike and a straight fork would look wierd. Saying that I have loads of inner tube and wires all over the place but im not sure how I can really sort that out as they gave me way too much wire.
However as I have always found V brakes too strong as I have to press them super lightly when I ride my girlfriends sirrus to stop me flying over the bars. Feel like this is a good compromise and I probably wouldn't like disk brakes if they are even stronger than V brakes.
Is there something different with V brakes and E bikes? Like is a V brake equivelant to a calipur brake because of all the extra weight or does it perform exactly the same?
I kinda like the vintage look and feel of the bike and a straight fork would look wierd. Saying that I have loads of inner tube and wires all over the place but im not sure how I can really sort that out as they gave me way too much wire.
However as I have always found V brakes too strong as I have to press them super lightly when I ride my girlfriends sirrus to stop me flying over the bars. Feel like this is a good compromise and I probably wouldn't like disk brakes if they are even stronger than V brakes.
Is there something different with V brakes and E bikes? Like is a V brake equivelant to a calipur brake because of all the extra weight or does it perform exactly the same?
D
Deleted member 4366
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The difference between hydraulic disc brakes and rim brakes is not how much it stops you, but how controllable, reliable and consistent the braking is. They solve exactly the problem you've highlighted.
Glad you found a straightforward solution that works for you, brakes are quite a personal thing IME, I like a well set-up v-brake, find even dual pivot calipers a bit lacking in power and cantilevers rather fiddly and inconsistent on the whole, though I do run one on the back of my touring bike.
Disc brakes are certainly very good in terms of stopping power and wet weather performance but have their own issues as well, particularly with drop bars where going to hydraulic disc brakes would mean either spending large sums on new forks plus hydraulic disc brakes specifically for drop bars (TRP Hylex are probably the most reasonable here but are still over £100 each), or swapping to straight bars and totally changing the nature and look of the bike.
Cable disc brakes are available for use with drop bar brake levers but they have various design compromises, e.g. the cheapest ones such as Avid BB5s have one moving pad and one fixed, the moving pad pushes on the disc deflecting it against the other pad, and only one pad is adjustable which often means that you have to realign the caliper every time you adjust for pad wear- the cable adjuster is not very useful for adjusting for pad wear as using it will alter the actuator arm to a less efficient angle.
Next up in price (about £80 for two brakes) are the brakes with two pad adjustment e.g. BB7s, with these pad wear adjustment is a lot easier, but they still have one moving pad and rely on flexing the disc against the fixed pad. Best of all cable designs are ones that have two moving pads, e.g. TRP Spyre, but these are about £60 each. For most people BB7s are probably the best compromise.
Ok so did a shift in really heavy rain and definatly want better brakes. I dont wanna splash out for disk brakes and from what Iv heard the ones which work with drop bars are mechanical and therefore not much better than rim brakes.
So should I go and install a front V brake or just upgrade my pads?
Are V brakes much stronger than duek caliper or should I focus on my pads. V brakes would require new forks.
So should I go and install a front V brake or just upgrade my pads?
Are V brakes much stronger than duek caliper or should I focus on my pads. V brakes would require new forks.
Give a different set of pads a go. If that doesn't work, you've only lost a few quid.
I used to have dual compound rim pads, from Kool Stop, on a high powered bike, and they were much better than the standard ones that came with the bike.
Kool Stop
They are based in the USA, but look around online, UK vendors do stock them.
If you could post a close up of your current caliper, then it might be easier for forum members to give you a definitive answer.
I personally can't see an issue. IIRC, the Kool Stops and also Jagwire pads I fitted, were slightly curved to follow the curve of the rim. Therefore, width shouldn't be an issue.
Please don't rush out and buy though, until you have some other members suggestions.
I don't think you'll have any issues fitting a good branded pad to those calipers.
Modern pads tend to come with highly adjustable shim fittings, to allow the pad to be adjusted parallel to the rim.
Plus, as you say, a wider pad will mean more contact surface of pad to rim, so should provide better stopping power. Definitely clean the rim with some kind of degreaser first though.
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