Lightweight long-reach brakes--any interest?
Moderator: robbosmans
Would anyone here be interested in a lightweight, high-end, long-reach brake? I've been talking with a well-known manufacturer and there's a possibility that they could retool slightly to produce their current brake in a long-reach version, but I'd have to buy 10 sets. Just gauging interest, I'd hate to have 10 sets of $500 brakes sitting around. Actually probably 8 since I'll keep 2 for myself.
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rustychain
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FYI, M5 brakes come in long reach weigh 200 grams for the set. The choice for tandoms I'm told
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xnavalav8r
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Interested? Yes. In my budget? Probably not.
Hey,
So I looked into developing lightweight long-reach brakes, had a brief discussion with Bram at M5. Although it can be done, the costs are pretty high. I personally would be willing to pay quite a bit for lightweight long-reach brakes (and I'd be willing to front the money to develop), but at the price levels we're talking about I doubt I could sell the 20 pairs I'd need to recoup my costs.
I'm going to continue to explore options. The problem with lightweight long-reach is that they necessarily need to be more heavily constructed because of the braking forces involved, unless they're built like M5s which are inherently stiff due to their design. In other words, we won't be seeing long-reach carbon-fiber or eeBrakes!
PS: I'm the same person as above...I just lost forgot my password and for some reason the system wasn't recovering it for me.
J
So I looked into developing lightweight long-reach brakes, had a brief discussion with Bram at M5. Although it can be done, the costs are pretty high. I personally would be willing to pay quite a bit for lightweight long-reach brakes (and I'd be willing to front the money to develop), but at the price levels we're talking about I doubt I could sell the 20 pairs I'd need to recoup my costs.
I'm going to continue to explore options. The problem with lightweight long-reach is that they necessarily need to be more heavily constructed because of the braking forces involved, unless they're built like M5s which are inherently stiff due to their design. In other words, we won't be seeing long-reach carbon-fiber or eeBrakes!
PS: I'm the same person as above...I just lost forgot my password and for some reason the system wasn't recovering it for me.
J
Hello All,
We do custom carbon fiber parts and specialize in prototype and small scale production. Please shoot me some images of what you are looking for in a long reach lever and maybe we can work something out.
Ric R
www.concept2composite.com
We do custom carbon fiber parts and specialize in prototype and small scale production. Please shoot me some images of what you are looking for in a long reach lever and maybe we can work something out.
Ric R
www.concept2composite.com
Hi,
Just noticed this thread. You can count me in. I've been searching, to no avail, for a set of the (no-longer-made) long-reach Brams Brakes for a few years now, as I'd like something a bit lighter and more effective than the Shimano dual-pivot offerings for my light tourer/audax bike
j.
Just noticed this thread. You can count me in. I've been searching, to no avail, for a set of the (no-longer-made) long-reach Brams Brakes for a few years now, as I'd like something a bit lighter and more effective than the Shimano dual-pivot offerings for my light tourer/audax bike
j.
I gave up on this idea...a small run of long-reach M5s would end up being quite expensive as they would have to retool.
However, it's still something I really want. Given that Calfee is selling a lot of "Adventure" carbon fiber bikes that take 32 mm tires, it seems like there would be a real market for something like this. He's putting crappy TRPs on these bikes (or at least the few I've seen) because there are no other options.
However, it's still something I really want. Given that Calfee is selling a lot of "Adventure" carbon fiber bikes that take 32 mm tires, it seems like there would be a real market for something like this. He's putting crappy TRPs on these bikes (or at least the few I've seen) because there are no other options.
What I don't understand is that M5 used to make them - so surely they have the tooling/settings necessary to do the machining? I can understand that there would be some set-up costs, but how high can that be? I assume that these are CNC-machined, so if the programming still exists... But I'm not an expert in this field.
Something else that I've not really researched (ie by checking the various threads on other parts of this forum, for example), but consider to be a good idea is producing a lightweight, robust (but not cheap - can't have everything!) touring bike - if you're going to be hauling everything you need on an expedition, be it long or short, paring away the bike weight so you can keep everything manageable makes sense. And it helps if you do need to use other means of transport (ie flight weight restrictions) as well..
Keep me posted if you do manage to come up with anything that can beat my existing (modified) 105 long-reach calipers..
Something else that I've not really researched (ie by checking the various threads on other parts of this forum, for example), but consider to be a good idea is producing a lightweight, robust (but not cheap - can't have everything!) touring bike - if you're going to be hauling everything you need on an expedition, be it long or short, paring away the bike weight so you can keep everything manageable makes sense. And it helps if you do need to use other means of transport (ie flight weight restrictions) as well..
Keep me posted if you do manage to come up with anything that can beat my existing (modified) 105 long-reach calipers..
I'm not sure a lightweight touring bike would be relevant...after adding 25-50 lbs of stuff to your bike does it matter if the bike itself weighs 23 or 28 lbs? In any case, there are a number of companies producing nice titanium touring bikes.
I can contact Bram again and get an exact quote on the costs for the long-reach M5. He's not the most communicative person in the world so it might be a while. I know of at least 10-15 people who would buy them in a second if they were similarly priced to the current model. Maybe I can reach out to Craig Calfee and see if this is something he might be interested in.
I can contact Bram again and get an exact quote on the costs for the long-reach M5. He's not the most communicative person in the world so it might be a while. I know of at least 10-15 people who would buy them in a second if they were similarly priced to the current model. Maybe I can reach out to Craig Calfee and see if this is something he might be interested in.
xrs2 wrote: He's [Calfee (ed.)] putting crappy TRPs on these bikes (or at least the few I've seen) because there are no other options.
Everywhere I looked the Tektro long reach calipers (R559) is getting good marks. But it's mostly commuters and tourers using them, so they might not be ridden as hard as ambitious road cyclists would ...
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I use Planet X brakes and really like the power/modulation. They work with 32mm tires as long the frame/fork are designedso the pads can be at the very bottom. Not a big problem with a custom frame. but the forj is an issue. I use an ENVE fork and it fits a 28mm tire just fine but not much bigger.
When I was buying the bike I debated going with cantis for bigger tires but wanted a light/racy biker and anything other than a road fork meant a lot of extra weight in fork and brakes.
If for some reason you can find a suitable fork for longreach light calipers, then any light caliper with drop pad holders should be an option. These are rare but they are pad holders that lower the brake pads 3-5 mm.
When I was buying the bike I debated going with cantis for bigger tires but wanted a light/racy biker and anything other than a road fork meant a lot of extra weight in fork and brakes.
If for some reason you can find a suitable fork for longreach light calipers, then any light caliper with drop pad holders should be an option. These are rare but they are pad holders that lower the brake pads 3-5 mm.
