EE brake + Campagnolo lever = mush. Rigid housing the fix?

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RedRacer
Posts: 412
Joined: Sat Jan 21, 2006 6:13 pm

by RedRacer

My set-up is 2015 EE brakes with 2015 Campagnolo Super Record Ergopower levers. The front brake feels great - low drag with crisp and firm response and modulation. The rear brake isn't very impressive - the first part of the lever travel feels ok but as soon as the pads start to squeeze the rim the lever feel gets very mushy and vague. At the same time the section of housing between the frame and the brake caliper flexes and compresses a lot.

My guess is that most of the lacklustre feel and performance is due to the rear section of cable housing. If I am right about this, would going to rigid, segmented housing (Aican, Alligator, Power Cordz, etc) improve the situation? Ideally I only want to run the rigid segmented cable for the section from the frame to the caliper and not from the lever to the front of the frame. I have owned segmented aluminum cables in the past and I don't like the noise they make and I find they can be difficult to fit correctly with internal-routed frames like mine.

Suggestions?

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fa63
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Location: Atlanta, GA, US

by fa63

You can also try Yokozuna Reaction housing; it is not segmented but I have found it to be very stiff.

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RedRacer
Posts: 412
Joined: Sat Jan 21, 2006 6:13 pm

by RedRacer

fa63 wrote:You can also try Yokozuna Reaction housing; it is not segmented but I have found it to be very stiff.


Thanks for the tip. Could I use short section of Yokozuna Reaction outer housing front the frame to EE caliper while retaining the Campagnolo inner cable? It seems as if most of these fancy cable systems require the use of proprietary small diameter inners with Teflon liners.

I am trying to avoid going away from Campagnolo outer housing up front because the aftermarket stuff is usually a different outer diameter and doesn't fit well into the Campy lever….at least that is what happened last time I tried on a different bike.

**Edit - the Campagnolo inner cable is 1.6mm which is the same size that Yokozuna lists for their housing so I think it should work??

RJKflyer
Posts: 56
Joined: Wed Sep 26, 2012 7:53 pm

by RJKflyer

I have found rears lose feel vs. fronts due to cable runs which are terribly susceptible to routing and detail.

I don't believe that compression of housing is at all your issue.

Looking at yours, I'd suggest that one issue is that as you apply greater force the cable is 'bending' over the exit point from the frame. That 'loop' wants to straighten out and it's bending over the edge of the exit point and thus squeezing the cable housing onto the cable. Harder you brake, the more drag/mushy feel you get, yes?

(and thus a segmented housing might be even more prone to nipping the inner)

If it were mine, I'd look at slightly more outer on that last run from top tube to calliper - so there's more 'loop' and so less chance of it getting pulled hard over that exit edge (on the basis that more cable and outer does potentially provide more drag but that is less bad than the sharper nipping you might be getting).

I've done other obsessive adjustments like using a short length of thin tubing over the outer at an exit point, then hiding under heatshrink - in this case to improve alignment where a cable entered an oversize cable stop causing it to sit permanently at an angle and thus rub the inner on the edge of the outer.

Every detail matters...!

glepore
Posts: 1408
Joined: Thu Mar 28, 2013 4:42 pm
Location: Virginia USA

by glepore

+1. Add more rear housing before you go to something else. Its not the brakeset.
Cysco Ti custom Campy SR mechanical (6.9);Berk custom (5.6); Serotta Ottrott(6.8) ; Anvil Custom steel Etap;1996 Colnago Technos Record

964Cup
Posts: 195
Joined: Tue Dec 18, 2012 1:31 am

by 964Cup

I agree about the longer rear outer. As an aside I use Nokon on my SR15 bike only for the rear brake outer and the gear cable section from the BB to the RD. I find this improves brake feel and shift precision, without the noise of the outers creaking and rubbing at the front, and with easier insertion into the levers. Front sections are all Campagnolo as shipped with the SR levers.

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bikerjulio
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Location: Welland, Ontario

by bikerjulio

Is that a continuous housing, or is it stopped at the frame? Can't tell from the pics.
There's sometimes a buggy.
How many drivers does a buggy have?

One.

So let's just say I'm drivin' this buggy...
and if you fix your attitude you can ride along with me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GekiIMh4ZkM

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breezerboy
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Location: Bristol, UK

by breezerboy

I have Super Record/EE-brakes on both my Pegorettis, one with Campagnolo outer, the other with i-links. Although perceptible, not a big difference in lever feel/performance between the two so I suspect it's more to do with setup than cables. If you have full length outer, it will obviously make more of a difference though so Yokozuna may be your friend.

RedRacer
Posts: 412
Joined: Sat Jan 21, 2006 6:13 pm

by RedRacer

bikerjulio wrote:Is that a continuous housing, or is it stopped at the frame? Can't tell from the pics.


Not a continuous outer.

RedRacer
Posts: 412
Joined: Sat Jan 21, 2006 6:13 pm

by RedRacer

The feedback given here has been very useful. I will revise my set-up to make the rear outer section longer with a larger arc upwards....maybe add 2" of outer :noidea:

I still like the idea of compression-less outer housing if it is compatible with the 1.6mm inner Campy cable. Does that leave Yokozuna as my only option?

The Jagwire Road Pro Brake kit looks promising too http://jagwire.com/products/v/road_pro - silent (no metal sections) and supposed to be slick Teflon inside with low expansion Kevlar housing, plus it looks normal, unlike the strange looking Yokozuna Reaction spirals.

fh8425
Posts: 132
Joined: Fri Dec 04, 2015 3:20 pm

by fh8425

off topic since we are on the rear brake .. i could not get mine brake pad to be closer to my rim as recommended cos when i make a maximum left turn of the handle bar, the brake is activated(i suspect it is due to the routing of the brake cable thru the top tube with out the outer housing). Couple with the compression problem and having a bigger gap between my brake and rim makes it even more "spongy" when i apply the brake fully.

But it does still brakes as required.

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bikerjulio
Posts: 1900
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2009 10:38 pm
Location: Welland, Ontario

by bikerjulio

My suggestion is that the problem is in the preparation of the housing, or some other installation error. There's absolutely nothing wrong with Campy housing, and no reason why there should be any difference between front and rear brake feel.

Is that a ferrule on the housing, or part of the brake?

Campy brake housing does not require ferrules.
There's sometimes a buggy.
How many drivers does a buggy have?

One.

So let's just say I'm drivin' this buggy...
and if you fix your attitude you can ride along with me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GekiIMh4ZkM

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Cheers!
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Joined: Sat Aug 05, 2006 2:29 am
Location: Mountain View, California
Contact:

by Cheers!

Sorry to dig up an older thread. I was wondering if the original poster resolved this. I recently setup a pair of 2016 EE brakes on my 2008 Cervelo R3 SL. I too have the exact same problem. Greay feeling front brake. Mushy rear. I'm on sram red levers. I've tried many different lengths of housings but can not get the housing to get the cable to come out of the stop/adjust ferrule of the EE brake.

tadrums
Posts: 130
Joined: Tue Jul 11, 2006 6:41 am

by tadrums

Judging from your image, the rear section of housing appears too short. EE's design requires more housing movement than typical side pulls. I have EEs on all my bikes and find them to have a lighter touch than any other. Just my $.02.
RedRacer wrote:My set-up is 2015 EE brakes with 2015 Campagnolo Super Record Ergopower levers. The front brake feels great - low drag with crisp and firm response and modulation. The rear brake isn't very impressive - the first part of the lever travel feels ok but as soon as the pads start to squeeze the rim the lever feel gets very mushy and vague. At the same time the section of housing between the frame and the brake caliper flexes and compresses a lot.

My guess is that most of the lacklustre feel and performance is due to the rear section of cable housing. If I am right about this, would going to rigid, segmented housing (Aican, Alligator, Power Cordz, etc) improve the situation? Ideally I only want to run the rigid segmented cable for the section from the frame to the caliper and not from the lever to the front of the frame. I have owned segmented aluminum cables in the past and I don't like the noise they make and I find they can be difficult to fit correctly with internal-routed frames like mine.

Suggestions?

Image

Image
TA

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bearsdidit
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by bearsdidit

I've had a ton of issues with a mushy rear brake with Bianchi bicycles. With Shimano brakes, new housing and a coated brake cable made a huge difference but no experience with Campy yet.

by Weenie


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