Friday Battle: Lightweight Road Brakes

Back by popular demand, the general all-things Road forum!

Moderator: robbosmans

CippoForLife
Shop Owner
Posts: 1357
Joined: Tue Jan 23, 2007 4:35 pm
Location: Toronto, Canada
Contact:

by CippoForLife

Thanks for the positive comments and feedback on everyone's experiences.
Those who like to play literary critic are also amusing to hear from so thanks for the tips.

Of course the Fairwheel shootouts are out of this world and I give them huge props.
These Friday tests will be less quantitative and technical...Hand-built wheels are up next week for example.

Anyways...
I do dig the Planet-X stuff, but it's just a bit generic for my liking though certainly packed with value.
And AX is really beautiful stuff, but I've found them slightly difficult to deal with on the dealer service side of things.
I do agree with noting the Revel / Bontrager miss...those are actually killer brakes and they deserve mention.

Oh, and as for brands we rep...we deal with almost all of the brands listed, including Revl actually.
Planet-X is consumer direct, of course.

-Cip

kingkongsfinger
Posts: 261
Joined: Mon May 07, 2007 1:06 pm
Location: UK

by kingkongsfinger

Rick wrote:
madmole wrote:Dont forget the Planet X CNC brakes. $150 and 190 grams with swisstop green and these brake and better modulate than Sram Red. Nice looking and available in a ton of colours

:thumbup:

+1
Image
Image
"I could have done this job myself in five minutes, but as things turned out I had to spend two days trying to find out why it had taken someone else three weeks to do it wrong."

by Weenie


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

www.starbike.com



HillRPete
Posts: 2284
Joined: Tue Apr 12, 2011 8:08 am
Location: Pedal Square

by HillRPete

The PlanetX ones are being talked up a lot, wondering how they would compare against Far&Near.

dereksmalls
Posts: 2305
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2011 9:20 pm
Location: New Zealand

by dereksmalls

wassertreter wrote:The PlanetX ones are being talked up a lot, wondering how they would compare against Far&Near.


And KCNC C6 & C7 for that matter as I'm on the hunt for a light weight alloy stopper that won't cost me an arm and a leg

Privateer
Posts: 360
Joined: Thu Feb 03, 2011 2:28 pm

by Privateer

dereksmalls wrote:
wassertreter wrote:The PlanetX ones are being talked up a lot, wondering how they would compare against Far&Near.


And KCNC C6 & C7 for that matter as I'm on the hunt for a light weight alloy stopper that won't cost me an arm and a leg


I have both Planet-X and KCNC. The Planet X win hands down.

CippoForLife
Shop Owner
Posts: 1357
Joined: Tue Jan 23, 2007 4:35 pm
Location: Toronto, Canada
Contact:

by CippoForLife

Agree with the above post.
Between F & N and Planet-X, I think the latter are not quite finished as nicely.
But it's close.

dereksmalls
Posts: 2305
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2011 9:20 pm
Location: New Zealand

by dereksmalls

[quote="Privateer]I have both Planet-X and KCNC. The Planet X win hands down.[/quote]

In what way stopping power, modulation, looks? Very interested to hear.

roca rule
Posts: 672
Joined: Sun Sep 28, 2008 2:23 am
Location: so. cal.

by roca rule

me too as i am putting a ridley helium together as a climbing machine and something light yet functional will give me peace of mind on those relly tecnichal descents.

natiedean24
Posts: 380
Joined: Wed Jun 10, 2009 2:16 pm
Location: Austin, Texas
Contact:

by natiedean24

Fairwheel has a trademark on the term 'shootout'. Did not know that.

I could swear I have seen that term used in other product comparisons, even ones outside of the cycling world (gasp).

User avatar
carbon2329
Posts: 753
Joined: Thu Aug 21, 2008 1:13 am
Location: Utah

by carbon2329

Thank you for your time and effort Cippo. :thumbup:

Any comparisons/experiences/opinions(from experience) are of value here on WW :D .



P.S. It is interesting to hear your thoughts on AX and there CS, as a dealer. Wow, they just don't have things figures out here in N. America, do they. Will they ever? (don't mean to be OT, just thinking out-loud)

Imaking20
Posts: 2260
Joined: Fri Nov 18, 2011 5:19 am

by Imaking20

natiedean24 wrote:Fairwheel has a trademark on the term 'shootout'. Did not know that.

I could swear I have seen that term used in other product comparisons, even ones outside of the cycling world (gasp).


Shenanigans

Rippin
Posts: 618
Joined: Thu Feb 19, 2004 9:58 am

by Rippin

Thanks for your thoughts on the brakes, CippoForLife.
If I knew your shop carried THM products I would have ordered the Fibulas from you - damn.
Anyway, a couple of comments on the THM Fibula brakes.

You mention that the front and rear calipers are uniquely different in design.
The most current iteration of the brakes has essentially the same design front and rear. The levers on the rear are bit shorter compared to the front. The picture on your website shows the older style rear caliper.

I'm running the Fibulas with Dura Ace 7900 brake levers on carbon rims. Braking power is slightly decreased (more so in the rear) compared to the DA 7900 calipers, but I expected that because the Fibulas are optimized for a different pull ratio. Modulation is on par with Shimano. Lever feel is crisp.
Almost half the weight of Dura Ace calipers. The pair came in at 142 grams with all hardware, except for brake pads.

Perfect centering of the caliper is a bit of a pain (I've been spoiled with the centering set screw on Campy and Shimano brakes). Once you center the calipers there seems to be some small amount of off-centering creep during usage. It irks the OCD in me, but in reality, it doesn't affect the performance of the brakes.

Yokozuna housings won't work with the adjuster barrels - way too tight a fit. I switched back to the Shimano cable housing.

Some nit-picky stuff:
Brake pad holders and barrel adjusters are silver. I prefer them in black, so I had those parts anodized.

The clear coat finish on these $1000 brakes is sub-par. Dust, pin holes and orange peel effect. For this amount of money I expect a better finish, like their Clavicula crankset, which is nice and smooth.
See the upper part of the caliper in the picture below:
Image

The large recessed hole in front of the brake bolt is a big dirt collector, especially in wet weather riding. I'm not kidding. It was full of dirt and sand after a wet ride. Worse in the rear than the front caliper.
This picture shows the hole AFTER I cleaned it out. It's like a gaping, open mouth.
Image

All in all, a very functional, light weight brakeset, with a few niggling issues.
The Fibulas are staying on the bike - but I'm not getting rid of the Dura Ace calipers just yet...
____o
_`\<,_
(*)/ (*)

mattiTWOROADS
Posts: 263
Joined: Fri May 13, 2011 4:04 am
Location: Los Angeles | Boulder
Contact:

by mattiTWOROADS

Imaking20 wrote:
natiedean24 wrote:Fairwheel has a trademark on the term 'shootout'. Did not know that.

I could swear I have seen that term used in other product comparisons, even ones outside of the cycling world (gasp).


Shenanigans


yeah... off topic, but the it doesn't appear they have that trademark - at least according to the US patent and trademark office. Maybe they've applied... but...

back to topic...

I have been more than happy with my F&N's I picked up for their value. They aren't as bling as others, but they work damned well and are really quite light. I think the only thing that might get them off the parlee is a set of TRP's (or of course if someone wants to donate some gravitas to the cause).

Great idea with these shootouts™ Mike! Can't wait to read more.
TWO ROADS cycling clothiers || tworoadscycling.com
--------------------------------------------
https://www.facebook.com/pages/TWO-ROAD ... 3235790671

Post Reply