Weight Weenies

jaketim114 wrote:Why would you want Hydraulic SHIFTING? I can understand for better braking (and maybe more modulation), but shifting is indexed, so its not like any of that would matter. hydraulic shifting would also likely add weight.

I JakeTime114, welcome to the forum.

We've gone over this before in this forum many times.

In brief:
1. It's a significantly lighter system, not heavier. Look it up.
2. Set it once and forget it. No adjustments for cables needed or compensation for stretch. Bleed once per year maybe.
3. Adaptable to drivetrain speed changes easily. Want to go 10 speed to 11 speed? Just switch out a small bit on the derailleur. That's it.
4. Exceptionally durable.

Anyway, it's been covered and discussed before. Right now ACROS carries a MTB Hydraulic Shifting. It is, by all accounts, phenomenal in action. It's also expensive because ACROS is a small company and they cnc-mill each part in house. They are currently working on a road system - shift, brake (disc and rim) all in one. If SRAM were to develop hydraulic shifting, the price for such a system would be, really, affordable. They also have the potential to integrate their MTB lines to hydraulic as well, which can mean swappable derailleur systems, brakes, and more, for entirely customizable bikes.

I see, and stand corrected. I guess cables have always just worked well for me, and they're easy to deal with; I'm not a huge fan of electronic either. Depending on ease, cost, and weight of the hydraulic systems, I might be interested. I don't see any of these drawing me away from cables anytime soon, though.

Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com

MortenE wrote:Wow, those are ugly..

+1

Good on SRAM for pushing ahead and bringing hydraulic to the masses but those levers are a no-go. They prevent one of the key hand positions - on the hoods with thumb on top. Could the piston not have been horizontal and to the side?

My only wonder on road versus cross is heat handling for very small calipers. I would guess smarter folks than me have worked it out...

Guy wrote:They prevent one of the key hand positions - on the hoods with thumb on top.

You mean like normal grip, but with thumbs pointing forwards, over the top of the shifter instead of around it? I've never ridden SRAM, but I've not had a Campag or Shimano shifter that would be comfortable to hold like that.

CharlesM wrote:My only wonder on road versus cross is heat handling for very small calipers. I would guess smarter folks than me have worked it out...

one of the articles floating around (maybe VeloNews?) mentioned something about Todd Wells riding the calipers all year, so I assumed that meant for XC racing. Seems like that would be a reasonable way to confirm if their design had problems with heat buildup.

Here are some more pics and article from CN

http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/sram-red-hydraulic-disc-brakes-first-look



It (the lever/hood setup) may be bigger, but the only thing stopping me from seriously looking at them would be a ridiculous price.

I'm in for when they are released. Till then I'll keep happily using my TRP Parabox

Pharmstrong wrote:

Guy wrote:They prevent one of the key hand positions - on the hoods with thumb on top.

You mean like normal grip, but with thumbs pointing forwards, over the top of the shifter instead of around it? I've never ridden SRAM, but I've not had a Campag or Shimano shifter that would be comfortable to hold like that.

Yes. And I've ridden Campag and now Shimano shifters like that. It's a normal variation of the hood grip.

The codename for these new brakes should be "Conehead." Looking forward to Shimano stepping up to the plate with something that looks much more integrated.

You can bet the price will be around $500 since that is what upper level hydraulic discs cost.

yourdaguy wrote:You can bet the price will be around $500 since that is what upper level hydraulic discs cost.

Wonder if it will be as a shifetr/disc/caliper assy only, or as a full groupset ?

Either way, I'd need the shifters, FD & RD as I already have the crank

I was thinking more like codename Viagra or something...

ParisCarbon wrote:I was thinking more like codename Viagra or something...

Frankenlevers has a nice ring to it...

Shame because the calipers are pure s.e.x...

lordconqueror wrote:

CharlesM wrote:My only wonder on road versus cross is heat handling for very small calipers. I would guess smarter folks than me have worked it out...

one of the articles floating around (maybe VeloNews?) mentioned something about Todd Wells riding the calipers all year, so I assumed that meant for XC racing. Seems like that would be a reasonable way to confirm if their design had problems with heat buildup.

Yes, we spotted the new calipers on a number of Olympic bikes, including Wells'. We just couldn't be 100% sure what they were at the time.

Visit starbike.com Online Retailer for HighEnd cycling components
Great Prices ✓    Broad Selection ✓    Worldwide Delivery ✓

www.starbike.com